14 DAY TRIAL // During a major press event today, Xiaomi rolled out its latest flagship which arrives in the wild as the Xiaomi Mi Note.
The Chinese smartphone maker also unveiled a more advanced version, which is touted as the Mi Note Pro. Both handsets take advantage of 5.7-inch displays so they exist more in the realm of phablets.
Anyway, Xiaomi obviously launched the Mi Note Pro as a direct competitor for Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus, which got unveiled this autumn.
So if you’re looking to purchase a handset with a spacious display, but you’re unsure of which might be worth your while, take a minute to go through our comparison of the two smartphones’ specifications to make a better idea.
Design and Display
Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus arrived on the market in October with a 5.5-inch LED backlit IPS screen with Retina HD (meaning full HD resolution). Following the tradition of previous iPhones, the device arrives with a premium metal chassis and shell on the back.
As for the Xiaomi Note Pro, it boasts a slightly larger 5.7-inch display with 2K resolution (2560 x 1440 pixels). The screen is protected by 3D curved Gorilla Glass 3 on top and the device has a metal frame around the corners.
As for dimensions, the iPhone 6 Plus measures 151.1 x 77.8 x 7.1 mm / 6.22 x 3.06 x 0.28 while the Xiaomi Note Pro comes in at 155.1 x 77.6 x 7 mm / 6.11 x 3.06 x 0.28 inches.
As you can see, the Xiaomi device is a little bit thinner and is also lighter, breaking the scale at 161 g / 5.68 oz, while the iPhone 6 Plus weighs 172 g / 6.07 oz.
Power and Performance
The Apple iPhone 6 Plus dons a 20-nanometer glass-based second-gen 64-bit A8 chipset, which is said to be 25% faster than the A7 processor inside the iPhone 5S.
It is backed up by a second-generation M8 motion, co-processor 1GB of RAM and 16GB/64GB/128GB of internal memory.
Xiaomi’s Pro model offers the services of Snapdragon’s new 810 SoC (System on Chip), making it the second device to be launched taking advantage of this platform after the LG G Flex 2.
The processor supports 4G-LTE Cat 9 network, so in theory users should see download speeds that could reach up to 410 mbps.
The handset also bundles 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage.
Camera
Camera prowess is one of the things that makes the iPhone 6 Plus so cool. But the Xiaomi Mi Note Pro catches up too.
The Xiaomi Mi Note Pro take advantage of a 13MP Sony main camera with OIS (Optical Image Stabilization), 6 physical lens, f/2.0 aperture, Philips 2-Tone LED flash plus a 4MP camera with 2-micron pixel lens up in front.
As for the Apple phablet, it arrives with an 8MP iSight camera with 1.5µ pixels, f/2.2 aperture, True-Tone flash, hybrid IR filter, five-element lens plus 1.2MP FaceTime camera with f/2.2 aperture, auto-HDR and 720p HD video recording.
Connectivity
The iPhone 6 comes with a finger-print sensor, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi calling, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, GPS/GLONASS.
The Xiaomi phablet is outfitted with Bluetooth 4.1, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, GPS / Glonass / Compass, Hi-Fi audio system, 24-bit/194KHz lossless playback support.
Operating system
Like it’s the case when two competing flagships get stacked against each other, the nature of the operating system arises.
The Apple iPhone 6 Plus runs iOS 8 out of the box, while the Xiaomi phablet arrives with the MIUI custom ROM which is based on Android 5.0 Lollipop, so we have the latest in terms of software.
Now, whether you’re an iOS or Android fan, it’s up to you decide, but the preference will probably have a great impact on what you end up choosing.
Battery
The Apple iPhone 6 Plus battery capacity is 2,915 mAh and Cupertino says it is good enough to sustain up to 24 hours of talk time and close to 16 days of standby time, while Xiaomi’s Mi Note Pro relies on a slightly heavier 3,090 mAh one, bundling the same quick charge 2.0 technology.
Pricing
The Xiaomi Mi Note Pro will start selling in China for $532 / €451 (with 64GB of internal storage), while the iPhone 6 Plus starts at $749 / €635 (for 16GB version) and goes as far as $949 / €805 (for 64GB model).