Buying a new phone is difficult, especially for new brands like Xiaomi. You should pay attention to many points, for example, what screen the phone is made of, how much RAM it has, whether the hardware is new, whether it has a strong processor, and whether the camera lens takes high-quality photos for you. Another point…
This guide will help you understand what features a new Xiaomi phone should have.
Buying a new Xiaomi phone for beginners
To begin with, you should check the following to get a good Xiaomi phone. These specifications are essential from the point of view of all experts, and paying attention to them can make you the owner of a suitable device.
- GPU
- Screen panel
- Camera
- Memory
- software
- Consumer society
1-Graphic processor
The processor of your new Xiaomi phone should be above average. The processor is as important as the phone itself. Don’t buy if the phone’s processor is not well-known or has a negative review. Most of the old Xiaomi phones, from Mediatek to Redmi Note 8 Pro, have been criticized mainly because of Mediatek’s destructive processor and device management methods. But it seems that Mediatek has solved this problem with the new Dimensity series since 2019.
Xiaomi phones with new generation Mediatek Helio/Dimensity processors have attracted everyone’s attention. Examples in which this processor is used are the Redmi Note 8 Pro, Redmi Note 9T/9 5G, Redmi Note 10S, and the latest generation of the Redmi K50 series.
The majority prefers phones with Snapdragon processors. The main reason is that Snapdragon is more open-source and efficient than MediaTek. Many competing companies like Samsung, OnePlus, Vivo, Realme, and Oppo prefer to use Snapdragon, while Xiaomi uses MediaTek in its Redmi phones. The new generation of Xiaomi 12 series has the new generation of Snapdragon 8 generation 1, which is still controversial, mainly because of the poor cooling methods inside the motherboard.
The Xiaomi 12 Ultra will come with Snapdragon 8 Gen 1+ and have the dual performance and overall phone management of the Xiaomi 12 and 12 Pro. It seems that Redmi K50 series with Dimensity series processors have better overall performance than Xiaomi 12 and 12 Pro, so Redmi K50 is a better option than Xiaomi 12.
To check the processor of your Xiaomi phone, you need to check its benchmark scores. With Geekbench benchmark scores, you can choose your phone based on the benchmark scoreboard. Most mid-range Xiaomi/Redmi phones have Qualcomm Snapdragon 680, Snapdragon 765G, Mediatek Dimensity 700, Helio G95, and G96 processors. You can also check YouTuber benchmarks.
Graphics and processors significantly impact the benchmarks of your phone in general. Most 3D games (Genshin Impact, PUBG Mobile, etc.) require good GPUs inside your Android phones. Most phones still can’t run Genshin Impact on max graphics at 60 FPS. When buying a new Xiaomi phone, pay attention to the benchmark scores or watch YouTube videos about the gameplay.
The most powerful graphics processors are placed on the latest Xiaomi and Redmi phones, such as the Xiaomi 12 series and the Redmi K50 series. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor of Xiaomi 12 and 12 Pro has the Adreno 730 graphics unit, one of the most powerful graphics units in the mobile phone market.
MediaTek Dimension 9000 Redmi K50 Pro performs very well compared to Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. The new Mali G710-MC10 GPU also works well with the MediaTek Dynamic 9000. With the excellent performance that this new generation MediaTek Dimension chip provides, Xiaomi will release more phones with MediaTek chips.
2- Panel page
Today, most mid-range and flagship devices use AMOLED, and all phones, even Apple, use Samsung’s display panels. Display panels are as important as the phone and should have a good aspect ratio, refresh rate, and color correction. Most low-end devices use IPS panels that aren’t great at color correction and are known for issues like ghosting or spontaneous screen touch.
There are three screen panels: OLED, AMOLED, and IPS. OLED is the highest-quality display panel you can find on Android devices. Most high-quality brands like Sony and Google have used this panel on their phones. Sony continues using OLED, while Google switched to AMOLED in its Pixel 6 series devices.
AMOLED is Samsung’s high-quality display panel; there are different AMOLEDs, such as AMOLED, Super AMOLED, and Dynamic AMOLED. Dynamic AMOLED is the best quality display panel you can find after OLED.
The screen’s ratio to the phone’s body is something that you should pay attention to when buying a phone. Xiaomi phones with a screen-to-body ratio close to 100% are Mi 9T and Mix 4. Mi 9T hides the camera by having a pop-up camera, While the Mix 4 has a hidden front camera inside the screen. Mix 4 is a complete example of a phone that has a screen-to-body ratio of nearly 100%.
3- Camera
The camera is one of the most important things you should pay attention to when buying a new Xiaomi phone! Your new Xiaomi phone should have an excellent camera to take great photos. Sony IMX camera sensors are the best camera sensors. Phones that have an IMX sensor can take high-quality pictures in great locations.
However, some cameras use Omnivision sensors, known for being cheap and low-quality, and you should be aware of them. Samsung ISOCELL sensors are getting better year by year. But if your phone has an entry-level camera sensor like Samsung’s GM1, it probably won’t take good photos.
4- Memory
Memory, RAM, and internal memory are among the most essential details in new Xiaomi phones. Your new Xiaomi phone must have more than 6 GB of RAM, which is more unique than LPDDR4X. Below LPDDR4X, it will not perform well.
Your new Xiaomi phone must have over 64 GB of internal memory; 32 GB is obsolete. On the other hand, eMMC storage chips are a bit slower and sometimes even the slowest when performing read or write operations. Newer mid-range phones use UFS 2.1 or 2.2, while flagship phones mostly use UFS 3.0 or UFS 3.1 for the best possible read or write performance.
5- Software
MIUI software for Xiaomi phones is the best coded MIUI software you can find; in Redmi phones, most codes are poorly written because Redmi is a lower-end brand than Xiaomi. MIUI is the worst MIUI ever coded for POCO devices. The settings are limited, the animations are not great, and the overall user experience is terrible.
The best way to get the most useful Xiaomi software is to get a Xiaomi device. Of course, if you bought a POCO or Redmi phone, your device has high features while having the worst coded MIUI software.
Most POCO X3 or Pro users buy their POCO phones to flash custom ROMs on them.
6- Community of users
The community of Xiaomi, Redmi, and POCO phone users is big. Many people are using the same device as you. You can always ask them which firmware to use, which tricks to optimize the phone, which custom ROM they install on this phone, and many other questions.
There are many Telegram forums for Xiaomi users that you can join.
Three main weaknesses of Xiaomi phones
1- Device or SIM card information can be saved
Xiaomi has recently announced that it will collect information about users’ devices. The IMEI number, IMSI number, MAC address, serial number, MIUI version, and other data may be collected.
2- Xiaomi has applied new policies on new phones
Over the past few seasons, Chinese internet startup Xiaomi has emerged as the number-one brand in the Indian smartphone market. Following the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Xiaomi has updated its privacy policy for Indian users and added several new clauses. The latest Xiaomi India privacy policy came into force on 25th May onwards.
3- Xiaomi collects personal information
According to the privacy policy, Xiaomi may collect personal information such as name, birthday, and gender. Xiaomi says that personal information may be the information you provide to them or upload to their servers, but not only that!
Two main strengths of Xiaomi phones
1- Xiaomi phones are incredibly cheap
The main reason for buying Xiaomi phones 99.9% of people is its price. You can get a Xiaomi phone with an OLED display, a triple-lens camera, 8GB of RAM, and the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor for less than $400. This means that you will benefit from the same facilities at a cost of about 60% less than a Samsung or Apple phone.
Aggressive pricing is Xiaomi’s #1 marketing tactic, beating everyone, even brands like OnePlus and OPPO, in terms of price. Xiaomi only provides its phones to customers by taking a 5% profit margin.
Xiaomi phones are not cheap because of the parts used in them but because of the unique mechanism of Xiaomi’s business. For better or worse, this is the game that Xiaomi has started, and we can expect prices to stay that way for years.
2- Excellent design
If you look at a photo of a Xiaomi flagship phone next to a picture of, for example, a Huawei or Samsung phone and ask someone to guess which image of the phone is cheaper, they will be able to think!
In terms of design, Xiaomi phones look great and have all the features like a full-screen OLED display, good build quality, high resolution, and triple camera that an Android flagship usually has.
For a non-professional person who does not specialize in phones, there is no difference between, for example, the Samsung Galaxy S20 and the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro in terms of design, and both look like flagship phones. The only significant difference is the price; you will pay about 2/3 less for a Xiaomi phone than a Samsung.