Xiaomi Mi 6 review: Social climber

Retail box

The Mi 6 ships in a regular cardboard box, which contains a Quick Charge 3.0-enabled charger plug and a USB Type-C cable. The company has also thrown in a silicone case and a USB-to-3.5mm analog adapter as an extra for the Mi 6. You will need the latter, as there are no bundled headphones.

Xiaomi Mi 6 retail box contents • the silicone case as worn on the Mi 6 • the 18W charger

Xiaomi Mi 6 360-degree spin

The Mi 6 measures 145.2 x 70.5 x 7.5mm, roughly the same as the Mi 5. The Mi 6 has notably gained some weight, though. The regular Mi 6 is now 168g, that's 39g more than the Mi 5. The ceramic model is even heavier at 182g; some 43g up from the Mi 5's ceramic edition.

Design

The Xiaomi Mi 5 won a lot of hearts last year with its stylish and lightweight glass sandwich design. In spite of the fragile build, the Mi 5 kept appearing on our recommendation lists - not only because of its feature set but for its looks as well. This year, Xiaomi righted all of the wrongs and the Mi 6 continues to wow us with style and build quality.

Xiaomi Mi 6

The Mi 6 gained almost 40g, and most of those we can attribute to the sturdy stainless-steel frame and the larger battery. Unlike the Mi 5, the Mi 6 won't break under pressure and is shaping up to be one of the better-built glass phones this year.

The highlight of the refreshed glass sandwich design is the rear piece of Gorilla 5, which Xiaomi likes to call four-sided curved 3D. Indeed, the curve flows seamlessly around the edge and continues naturally on the corners instead of ending abruptly into the frame. While this is a rather subtle improvement, we understand the engineering challenge, and it was all worth it for those extra style points.

A Gorilla 5 glass piece also covers the front of the Mi 6, but of a rather common origin - a regular flat piece with a rounded 2.5D edge along the ends. The placeholder for the capacitive Home key is almost like carved out of the front screen glass and it does not come with a metal rim as was the case on the Mi 5.

The metal rims are reserved for the camera. If you get the Ceramic Edition, those will be made of 18-karat gold!

Xiaomi opted for an all-glossy stainless-steel frame, which complements the design regardless of the finish - glass or ceramic. It is prone to fingerprints, as is the entire phone, but as far as looks are concerned the Mi 6 is nothing short of impressive.

Thanks to its mid-sized footprint, the Mi 6 fits nicely in hand and can be easily operated without stretching your fingers. The phone is slippery but not much as you'd expect from an all glossy design. It's like Xiaomi has applied some oleophobic coating. The glass and frame are somewhat grippy, but also very easy to clean- even with a bare hand.

Handling the Xiaomi Mi 6

Device overview

Unless you are looking for the analog audio jack, the Mi 6 is business as usual. Above the screen is the earpiece, which also doubles as a speaker. The 8MP selfie camera is around, a notification LED, and a couple of sensors.

Xiaomi Mi 6 • The all-glass front • the earpiece above the screen

Below the screen is the capacitive Home key, seamlessly flowing into the screen glass. The fingerprint scanner is embedded under the glass and is of the always-on variety.

In our experience the sensor is fast and pretty accurate.

The Home key is below the screen • the fingerprint scanner is beneath the glass

The dual-SIM tray is on the left side of the Mi 6, while the right side has the volume rocker and the power/lock key.

The left side • the dual-SIM tray • the right side • the volume rocker

The top of the Mi 6 has the IR blaster and the secondary microphone. The primary mic is under a grille at the bottom of the phone with the USB Type-C port right next to it, and the other grille covers the second speaker.

The top of the Mi 6 • the IR blaster • the bottom • the connectivity port

The dual-camera setup is on the back accompanied by a dual-tone flash. Depending on the model you opt for, the camera rims will be made of either 18k gold or some common alloy.

The dual-camera is the highlight on the Mi 6 back