Xiaomi Mi Note hands on and first impressions

Want to see what we think of the latest flagship from Xiaomi? Keep reading for our first impressions of the Xiaomi Mi Note plus hands on video.

Early last week I was lucky enough to get my hands on the Xiaomi Mi Note for the first time. It was only a brief look and fondle, but it was long enough for me to be ultimately impressed with the flagship Xiaomi, and look forward to receiving my own.

Last evening the DHL courier dropped off my Xiaomi Mi Note and I quickly got in to the package, swapped my SIM and connected my Google account. It’s my phone now and I’m not letting it go.

Xiaomi Mi Note: Hands on and First Impressions

I’m sure not everyone is going to have the same “love at first sight” moment with the Mi Note as I have. For some the 5.7-inch display might put you off (although it isn’t that much larger than a 5.5-inch phone), and you might worry about the all glass body, but for me it’s an instant hit, well at least in the short time I’ve had with the phone.

The big surprise is the design and build quality of the Xiaomi Mi Note. I’ve been impressed with Xiaomi before, but alwasy for their specification:price ratio never their design. We saw a big update in build quality with the Mi4, and although a very good device, it wasn’t a phone I could ever really get along with.

The Mi Note is a different story. Pick it up for the first time and the first realise just how thin if feels. At 6.95mm it isn’t the thinnest phone on the market, but with a curved 3D glass design it doesn’t need to physically be the slimmest as it sure feels it.

The thickess of the Mi Note is optimal for any phone, we don’t need to see thinner phones with tiny batteries and no headphone jack, we need well designed and engineered devices, and that’s what Xiaomi are offering.

The all alloy chassis is the next part of the design I noticed. If feels like a larger Vivo Xshot, only better made. It all looks very good, and as you can tell I am throughly impressed with the build, but I am also a little cautious of the implications a fall to the ground might make to all that glass on the rear.

Xiaomi wanted to prove they could make a premium phone and they certainly have left no doubt in my mind that they can. In the next few days I’ll see if the hardware matches the premium feel of the phone.

Xiaomi Mi Note Hands on Video

Xiaomi Mi Note Photo Gallery

It’s still early days with the Xiaomi Mi Note, but everything is looking rosy so far. I have been on the look out for a phone that will replace my ageing Vivo Xshot, and I think I may have finally found one!

Later today I will post some side by side photos with the Meizu MX4 Pro and Huawei Honor 6 Plus to give you an idea of the size of the 5.7-inch Mi Note.

The full Xiaomi Mi Note Review will be up in the coming weeks.

For those of you interested in buying the Xiaomi Mi Note, I got mine from HonorBuy.com who offer shipping from either China or Italy. Pricing for the 16GB White version I went for is $489.99.