Xiaomi Mi Note & Note Pro Review

Xiaomi has been a significant part of the Android ecosystem for a number of years - even before they had ever launched a phone, they were already getting some level of attention from XDA-Developers and other custom ROM communities in the form of ports for MIUI. The launch of the Mi1 smartphone went almost unnoticed in places like the US, and compared to something like the Galaxy S2 at the time there wasn’t all that much to be amazed by other than price. However, the launch of the Mi2 was notable as it was the first smartphone to launch with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 Pro with quad core Krait CPU and Adreno 320 GPU. Although the baseline specifications of the phone were amazing, the truly incredible part was the price at 1999 RMB or 315 USD at the time. The Xiaomi Mi line has continued to develop, with high end hardware at a mid-range price. In the past 4 years, we've continued to notice how Xiaomi seems to always follow this same pattern. This brings us to the Xiaomi Mi Note Pro and Mi Note, which represent Xiaomi’s attempt to conquer the phablet market with this formula.

The Mi Note and Mi Note Pro have the same industrial design (dimensions, weight), but differ in specifications to represent different price bands of product. They weigh in as follows:

	Xiaomi Mi Note	Xiaomi Mi Note Pro
SoC	MSM8974AC Snapdragon 801 4x Krait 400 @ 2.5 GHz	MSM8994 Snapdragon 810 4xA57 @ 2GHz 4xA53 @ 1.5GHz
GPU	Adreno 330 @ 578MHz	Adreno 430 @ 600MHz
RAM	3GB LPDDR3 933MHz	4GB LPDDR4 1555MHz
NAND	16/64GB eMMC	64GB eMMC
Display	5.7-inch 1920x1080 IPS LCD	5.7-inch 2560x1440 IPS LCD
Network	2G / 3G / 4G Qualcomm MDM9x25 IP UE Category 4 LTE	2G / 3G / 4G Qualcomm X10 (Integrated) UE Category 6/9 LTE
Dimensions	155.1 x 77.6 x 6.95 mm 161 grams	155.1 x 77.6 x 6.95 mm 161 grams
Camera	13MP Sony IMX214 rear camera, 1.12 µm pixels, 1/3.06" CMOS size, F/2.0. OIS 4MP F/2.0 FFC OmniVision OV4688	13MP Sony IMX214 rear camera, 1.12 µm pixels, 1/3.06" CMOS size, F/2.0. OIS 4MP F/2.0 FFC OmniVision OV4688
Battery	3000 mAh (11.4 Wh) replaceable	3090 mAh (11.74 Wh) replaceable
OS	Android 4.4 with MIUI 6 (At launch)	Android 5.0 with MIUI 6 (At launch)
Connectivity	802.11a/b/g/n/ac + BT 4.1, USB2.0, GPS/GNSS, WiFi Display	802.11a/b/g/n/ac + BT 4.1, USB2.0, GPS/GNSS, WiFi Display
SIM Size	1x NanoSIM/1x MicroSIM	1x NanoSIM/1x MicroSIM
Launch Price	2300 RMB for 16GB (~$360) 2800 RMB for 64GB (~$439)	3000 RMB for 64GB (~$470)

Immediately, we can see that the Mi Note Pro is clearly targeted for a more high-end audience than the Mi Note, as the Mi Note Pro has a higher resolution 1440p display along with a more expensive Snapdragon 810 SoC and 4GB of RAM. The Mi Note by comparison has a 1080p display, Snapdragon 801 SoC, and 3GB of RAM to make the device cheaper. Both have the same design, dimensions, cameras, battery (90 mAh difference in favor on the Pro), and various other high level specs. The Mi Note Pro at a high level is par for the course for high end smartphones. At 299 RMB/470 USD, it noticeably undercuts other flagships in this category by about 230 dollars or more.