Xiaomi Mi Note review: Striking the right note

Performance

Xiaomi Mi Note utilizes the widely-used Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chipset, which was the chipset of choice for the 2014 flagship tier. So, the Mi Note utilizes a quad-core Krait 400 processor clocked at 2.5GHz, Adreno 330 GPU ticking at 578MHz and 3GB of RAM.

Xiaomi Mi Note packs a 1080p display, unlike its Pro sibling, which has a QHD display and the more recent Snapdragon 810 chip. This should give it an edge in the graphics department over the QHD-enabled LG G3 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 4.

As usual we kick off our benchmark routine with the GeekBench 3 app, which tests the multi-core processor performance.

Quite expectedly, the four Kraits 450 cores within the Xiaomi Mi Note scores similar to every other Snapdragon 801 smartphone we've tested. The octa-core processors powering the Meizu MX4 and the LG G Flex 2 do better, of course.

GeekBench 3

Higher is better

• LG G Flex2
  3604
• Meizu MX4
  3556
• Xiaomi Mi 4
  3175
• Xiaomi Mi Note
  3094
• Samsung Galaxy S5 (S801)
  3011
• Motorola Moto X (2014) Lollipop
  2970
• Samsung Galaxy Note 4
  2925
• Apple iPhone 6 Plus
  2884
• Sony Xperia Z3
  2860
• Oppo N3
  2704
• LG G3
  2370
• HTC One (M8)
  2367

AnTuTu 5 - a compound test taking in consideration CPU, GPU and RAM performance suggests pretty much the same as the GeekBench 3 - Xiaomi Mi Note is on par with its S801 siblings and not that far from the more powerful Galaxy Note 4, Meizu MX4 and LG G Flex2.

AnTuTu 5

Higher is better

• LG G Flex2
  47680
• Meizu MX4
  46922
• Samsung Galaxy Note 4
  46824
• Motorola Moto X (2014) Lollipop
  45660
• Xiaomi Mi Note
  45632
• HTC One (M8)
  44020
• Samsung Galaxy S5 (S801)
  43164
• LG G3
  42038
• Sony Xperia Z3
  40393
• Oppo N3
  39245

The BaseMark OS II 2.0 test, which adds web browsing and OS system performance to the equation, turned out quite surprising results. The overall score of the Xiaomi Mi Note is bested only by the S810-powered LG G Flex2, while all other competitors outputted a lower score.

Basemark OS 2.0

Higher is better

• LG G Flex2
  1726
• Xiaomi Mi Note
  1353
• Samsung Galaxy Note 4
  1328
• Oppo N3
  1241
• HTC One (M8)
  1199
• LG G3
  1189
• Motorola Moto X (2014) Lollipop
  1176
• Samsung Galaxy S5 (S801)
  1060
• Meizu MX4
  666

The processor single-core performance also came out impressive, beaten only by the 2.7GHz Krait 450 CPU of the Galaxy Note 4.

Basemark OS 2.0 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy Note 4
  6224
• Xiaomi Mi Note
  6068
• Motorola Moto X (2014) Lollipop
  5977
• Samsung Galaxy S5 (S801)
  5790
• LG G Flex2
  5597
• LG G3
  5396
• Oppo N3
  5341
• HTC One (M8)
  5314
• Meizu MX4
  2219

The multi-core performance of the Krait 400 processor is equal to most of the Snapdragon 801 devices but was oddly outran by other S801 devices such as the HTC One (M8) and the Motorola Moto X (2014).

Basemark OS 2.0 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Motorola Moto X (2014) Lollipop
  21841
• HTC One (M8)
  21525
• LG G Flex2
  18856
• Samsung Galaxy Note 4
  18601
• Xiaomi Mi Note
  17882
• Samsung Galaxy S5 (S801)
  17532
• Oppo N3
  16774
• LG G3
  16485
• Meizu MX4
  12671

Xiaomi Mi Note uses an Adreno 330 graphic accelerator, with the highest available CPU clock among the Snapdragon 801 gang.

The BaseMark X cross-platform GPU benchmark put the Xiaomi Mi Note a hair better than the rest of its S801 siblings. The Adreno 420 (Galaxy Note 4) and Adreno 430 (G Flex2) did noticeably better.

Basemark X

Higher is better

• LG G Flex2
  19360
• Samsung Galaxy Note 4
  18684
• Apple iPhone 6 Plus
  18297
• Xiaomi Mi Note
  13075
• Sony Xperia Z3
  12637
• HTC One (M8)
  12396
• Motorola Moto X (2014) Lollipop
  12190
• Samsung Galaxy S5 (S801)
  11744
• LG G3
  10580
• Oppo N3
  10168
• Meizu MX4
  8324

The offscreen tests of the GFX benchmark present the same result as the BaseMark X. All Adreno 330-powered devices fare the same, bested only by the Adreno 420 (Note 4), Adreno 430 (Flex2) and PowerVR G6450 (iPhone 6 Plus).

GFX 2.7 T-Rex (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• LG G Flex2
  49
• Apple iPhone 6 Plus
  44.6
• Samsung Galaxy Note 4
  41.7
• HTC One (M8)
  28.4
• Xiaomi Mi Note
  28
• Samsung Galaxy S5 (S801)
  27.8
• Sony Xperia Z3
  27.7
• Xiaomi Mi 4
  27.6
• Motorola Moto X (2014) Lollipop
  27
• LG G3
  26
• Meizu MX4
  22.7

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• LG G Flex2
  22
• Apple iPhone 6 Plus
  18.6
• Samsung Galaxy Note 4
  18.5
• Sony Xperia Z3
  12
• Motorola Moto X (2014) Lollipop
  12
• Samsung Galaxy S5 (S801)
  11.8
• Xiaomi Mi 4
  11.6
• HTC One (M8)
  11.1
• LG G3
  11
• Xiaomi Mi Note
  11
• Meizu MX4
  7.9

The onscreen GFX tests are different because of the higher resolution displays on the Galaxy Note 4 and LG G3. Yet the Xiaomi Mi Note does very well, close to the other Snapdragon 801 smartphones and the same as the Galaxy Note 4. This means - whatever the game or app - you'll be getting flagship performance for sure.

GFX 2.7 T-Rex (onscreen)

Higher is better

• LG G Flex2
  48
• HTC One (M8)
  30.1
• Sony Xperia Z3
  29.3
• Motorola Moto X (2014) Lollipop
  29
• Xiaomi Mi 4
  28.2
• Samsung Galaxy S5 (S801)
  28.1
• Xiaomi Mi Note
  28
• Samsung Galaxy Note 4
  26.4
• Meizu MX4
  21.3
• LG G3
  20

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• LG G Flex2
  22
• Motorola Moto X (2014) Lollipop
  13
• Sony Xperia Z3
  12.7
• HTC One (M8)
  11.9
• Samsung Galaxy S5 (S801)
  11.7
• Xiaomi Mi 4
  11.3
• Samsung Galaxy Note 4
  11.2
• Xiaomi Mi Note
  11
• LG G3
  7.7
• Meizu MX4
  7.4

The default Mi Browser in the Xiaomi Mi Note turned out quite capable when it comes to JavaScript performance, but the BrowserMark 2.1 test revealed its overall performance is below average. In case you are not happy with the default browser, you can always install Google Chrome. It posted very respectable scores on both tests and does an excellent job indeed.

Kraken 1.1

Lower is better

• LG G Flex2
  4621
• Apple iPhone 6 Plus
  4650
• Samsung Galaxy Note 4
  5351
• Xiaomi Mi Note (Chrome)
  5723
• Samsung Galaxy S5 (S801)
  6043
• Xiaomi Mi 4
  6137
• Motorola Moto X (2014) Lollipop
  6260
• Sony Xperia Z3
  6355
• Xiaomi Mi Note (Mi Browser)
  6382
• Oppo N3
  6460
• LG G3
  7632
• Meizu MX4
  9408
• HTC One (M8)
  10296

BrowserMark 2.1

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 6 Plus
  3389
• Samsung Galaxy Note 4
  2208
• LG G Flex2
  2086
• Xiaomi Mi Note (Chrome)
  1771
• Motorola Moto X (2014) Lollipop
  1562
• Sony Xperia Z3
  1533
• LG G3
  1453
• Samsung Galaxy S5 (S801)
  1398
• HTC One (M8)
  1069
• Xiaomi Mi Note (Mi Browser)
  748
• Xiaomi Mi 4
  744
• Oppo N3
  730
• Meizu MX4
  720

Xiaomi Mi Note provides flagship performance and currently there is no task it can't handle with ease. The MIUI 6 launcher is amazingly light, fast and smooth. The only letdown may be the lack of 64-bit support, but it could be years before it actually becomes relevant.