The Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S and Huawei P20 Pro come in as first flagship launches this year from respective brands. We compared them to find out which one is better
“The Mi Mix 2S and P20 Pro come in as the first flagship launches of 2018 from Xiaomi and Huawei respectively”
Just today, two smartphone biggies announced with their newest flagships. The Chinese giant, Xiaomi launched its third-generation Mi Mix series handset, the Mi Mix 2S, at an event in Shanghai, China. Just a few hours later, Huawei took to the stage in Paris to unveil its latest smartphones in the form of the P20 and P20 Pro. While the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S is the first smartphone in the Mi Mix series to come with a dual-camera setup, the Huawei P20 Pro is first of its kind to offer a triple-camera module at the rear. Since both these handsets come as major launches from the respective brands this year, we decided to pit them against each other. Stay with us to find out which of the two emerges on top.
It has been said time and again that Xiaomi’s Mi Mix series has one of the most beautiful-looking smartphones in the industry, and the newest Mi Mix 2S is no different. The latest launch comes from the company with the same ceramic-metal chassis that we have seen on its predecessors. The rear panel is the same glossy ceramic slab with ‘ Designed By Xiaomi ‘ inscription and fingerprint scanner, accompanied this time by a secondary camera alongside the primary sensor. The fascia remains the same with next to no bezels on three sides and a slim chin at the bottom housing the selfie camera. The Huawei P20 Pro on the other hand, is more futuristic looking with a premium glass-sandwich design and a much taller 19:9 display on the front with a notch above. Interestingly, despite having a bezel-less design, Huawei has retained the physical home button on the chin with an embedded fingerprint scanner.
Coming to the fascia, the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S flaunts a 5.99-inch Fullscreen 2.0 display with 18:9 aspect ratio and full HD+ screen resolution. The Huawei P20 Pro comes with a 6.1-inch OLED display with FHD+ resolution and 19:9 aspect ratio.
In the performance department, both smartphones are power-packed beasts. The latest from Xiaomi’s stable comes with the top-tier Snapdragon 845 SoC and is being offered in three variants with different RAM and storage capacities. The variants include 6GB RAM/64GB, 6GB RAM/128GB, and 8GB RAM/256GB models. As for the Huawei P20 Pro, it gets Huawei’s proprietary HiSilicon Kirin 970 SoC, aided by 6GB of RAM and a dedicated NPU to enable AI integration across the board. Moreover, it gets two storage variants – 128GB and 256GB with the RAM capacity remaining the same.
As for the software, Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S boots the latest MIUI 9.5 interface based on Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box. The latest software has reduced bloatware and also brings a slew of new features like customisable app lock, new notification shade, improved Mi Browser and full-screen gestures, to name a few. On the other hand, the Huawei P20 Pro runs EMUI 8.0 based on Android 8.0 Oreo. While the base operating system is the same on both smartphones, the custom interface they wield on top sets them apart.
We saved the best for the last, as now we will take a gander at the imaging prowess of both these devices. To begin with, Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S is the first Mi Mix series handset to come with a dual camera setup on the back. It flaunts a pair of 12-megapixel shooters where one is a wide-angle lens and other is telephoto. The dual camera setup offers 4-axis image stabilisation, optical zoom, and portrait mode. Moreover, Xiaomi claims that the AI-enabled scene detection on the device is capable of recognising up to 206 scenes with the help of artificial intelligence to provide better images. The front camera of the smartphone is a 5-megapixel shooter.
Coming to the Huawei P20 Pro, the smartphone is one of its kind to come with a triple camera module comprising a 40-megapixel primary camera, aided by an 8-megapixel telephoto shooter in the same housing and a standalone 20-megapixel monochrome camera just below the dual camera module. The LEICA branded cameras will be equipped with an IR-RGB sensor and a laser-focus module. As per the brand, the smartphone will be able to achieve 5x magnification level through Hybrid Zoom. There is also a feature called Light Fusion for enhanced low-light imaging. For selfies and video calling, it gets a much better 24-megapixel shooter as compared to the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S.
As for the battery, the Xiaomi offering has a 3,400mAh battery powering it. In comparison, the Huawei P20 Pro gets a bigger 4,000mAh battery with fast charging technology.
By now, it’s pretty clear that far as sheer imaging prowess is concerned, Huawei P20 Pro with its LEICA-branded triple camera module and 24-megapixel front camera blows the Mi Mix 2S out of the water. On the other hand, Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S is one of the most aesthetically pleasing smartphones in the market as of now, and should also perform like a beast. The Mix 2S’ pricing also gives it an edge, as it starts at 3,299RMB (~Rs 34,000), while the P20 Pro costs almost double at €899 (~ Rs 72,000)
Pricing aside, the question is whether you want a loaded smartphone that can produce DSLR-like images or a performance powerhouse that happens to be a head turner? Which one would you pick? Let us know in the comment box below.
