Mi Play Comprehensive Review: Gaming on the Go!
by mitch002
Happy Holidays Mi Fans Around the World!
Xiaomi just announced the release of its new phone just to beat the buzzer as 2018 is already ending, not only that, they also made it to the Guinness World Record by displaying a LED Christmas tree made out of 1008 Mi Play Phones, this recognition is for the largest animated mobile phone mosaic display. Xiaomi has been coming up with so many sub categories that makes consumers having a hard time to categorize on which segment that want to put their money on for a mobile phone. Born this year are the Y Series, the S Series, the Poco Series, and now the Play Series. It use to be quite simple before as we only need to know the Mi Series and the Redmi Series, now it has been segmented into so many sub categories that confuses the consumers.
The Mi Play Phone is made for Chinese consumers with a good package deal of 10 GB monthly data for 1 year, which means you get 120 GB of data for 1 year as soon as you buy the Mi Play Series, which sums up to a total value of 1000 RMB, while the base model cost 1099 RMB, catchy isnt it? The phone got sold out quite fast after it was released to the public on December 24th.
Mi Play Specs Sheet
Packaging:
The packaging is quite similar to those white box back during the Mi 6 days.
Xiaomi Play as written in Chinese
Specs at the back of the box
Got myself the Blue Variant
Whats in the BOX:
The container of the protection case is quite playfully made
Manuals, Micro USB Cable, QC 2 charger, Jelly Case and the Mi Play
Design
The Xiaomi Mi Play is a little bumped up version of the Redmi 6, a little bigger screen with a gradient back plus a beefed up SoC and thats pretty much it, packed with 10GB of monthly data (in China only). The design is not so far from the Redmi 6 and Im not really quite a fan of MTK chipset packed inside the Mi Series. I can say that the unit is quite lightweight and the bezel is quite acceptable for its price range at a base variant of 1099 RMB, given the notch is quite small. The battery cover gets scratches easily as its made of plated plastic material, therefore a transparent case is a must, thanks the the supplied protective case inside it.
Not sure if its acceptable under the Mi Series but for me its definitely well off under the Redmi Series given its specs and Redmi 6-ish similar specs for the record.
The back is quite shiny, purple to blue gradient is very Mi 8 lite color.
Loudspeaker, Mic In and Micro USB (gimme a break)
Dual Nano Sim Slot + Micro SD Card Slot (Yey)
Audio Jack and the Noise Cancellation Mic
Powerbutton and the volume rocker at the right
Teardrop notch and the 8MP Camera
12MP + 2MP Rear Cam with the LED Flash and the Fingerprint Scanner
Video Unboxing
Have to admit love the way it was rendered at the back, but the scratch resistance is amost zero as it easily gets hairline scratches
Nice round edges
Mediatek Helio P35
Mediatek in the Mi Series doesnt sit quite right with me to be honest, the MTK Chipmakers was last seen in the Redmi 6 as most Xiaomi Phones be it Mi Series, Redmi Series are predominantly occupied by the Snapdrogon Chipset. MTK is better known for its affordability rather than for its performance, but this time they beefed up with a 12nm architecture chip and its said to be more efficient than ever. Daily multitasking was not a problem with this unit since we had the 6GB variant, scoring a 87,712 points in AnTuTu while its older sibling the P22 scored a 75,606 points inside the Redmi 6.
Connectivity
The Mi Play has 10 different LTE bands support under its chassis and its a little downgrade from the Redmi 6 which supports 12 LTE bands. It's easy to switch to LTE network inside the settings but once the sim card is on data mode, the second sim will be running on 3G connectivity only. You can freely choose which sim you want to use LTE data. We have experienced no problem surfing using LTE or 3G in our home country in the Philippines as well as dual standby mode is working seamlessly. Wireless connectivity via Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac is also smooth and it also supports Wi-Fi Direct. Wireless screen mirroring is also available via the Miracast protocol, tethering data is also working perfectly. Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, and GLONASS are all present and working pretty good. Driving with Waze is quite smooth around the city of Manila.
Audio and Video
We tried to play around with the unit, watching movies on this unit was not a problem, only the loudspeaker is a little weak as we get accustomed to the Mi 8 and Mi MIX 3 loud residential louspeakers.
Camera
One of the main highlight for every smartphone release is its camera, people normally look into the camera category more often than not as this is one of the more essential function of a smartphone, being able to capture moments when it matters most. Now, the rear camera is equipped with a 12MP Sony IMX 486 coupled with a 2MP Omnivision 02A10 while the front lens is a Samsung s5k4h7. When you say its a Sony Camera Sensor, definitely we expect a little more from this camera to take better photos.
However, the camera did not perform up to my standards, as the focus is a bit slow, plus some photos are grainy, and under low light the photos are not really that good. To my surprise, I need to hold stable my hands for roughly 2 seconds after snap to make sure the photo is captured properly, which is quite a down side since I took shots rapidly and most of the phones I handle does that, only the phones of the good old days requires you to hold the camera for a while. Maxmimum video resolution is 1080p at 30fps.
Actual Camera Samples:
Selfie Camera
Sample Video
Battery Performance
We were able to achieve a sub par battery rating for this unit since we only achieved a 8 hours 19 minute rating on the SOT test using the PC Mark Battery Stress Test. Under normal usage of wifi, we used up 30% of battery in 3 hours just browsing only. Charging the phone is much worst, it completed charging using the supplied charger and cable from 13% to 100% in 2 hours and 41 minutes.
Gaming Performance:
Surprising, I was able to complete 2 full games of NBA 2k19 without any problem or glitches along the way, which is probably the lone up side of this phone.
More Benchmarks
Google Play Installation
Installing Google Play might be a hurdle for you since this only debuts in China at the moment and there is no official statement for release of this phone globally. Install the Google Installer from here and the rest you just need to keep continuing and you will be done in a few moments.
forums.xiaomi-miui.gr/index.php/Attachment/7148466/
Conclusion
It has come to this point that we need to give an overall evaluation on the phone, we love the way that Xiaomi play with the design of the phone, but sometimes we get lost along the way especially now that Xiaomi is releasing phones no longer in uniformity. Like the Mi Play, we feel that this phone should be running under the Redmi Series and not the Mi Series since its not in any way in its league nor performing like a Mi Series phone. With the name Play, Honor used it as a premium phone, while Oppo place it under the budget series. Xiaomi here we are not sure what category it should be in, placing it in the Mi Series while performing like a Redmi series doesnt sit well with me to tell you honestly. If you cant avail of the data package this phone is offering, you are better off buying the Redmi 6 as it will be more suitable of that price category.
4GB + 64GB = 1099 RMB
6GB + 64GB = 1299 RMB
6GB + 128GB = 1599 RMB
Mi Play
by mitch002
Happy Holidays Mi Fans Around the World!
Xiaomi just announced the release of its new phone just to beat the buzzer as 2018 is already ending, not only that, they also made it to the Guinness World Record by displaying a LED Christmas tree made out of 1008 Mi Play Phones, this recognition is for the largest animated mobile phone mosaic display. Xiaomi has been coming up with so many sub categories that makes consumers having a hard time to categorize on which segment that want to put their money on for a mobile phone. Born this year are the Y Series, the S Series, the Poco Series, and now the Play Series. It use to be quite simple before as we only need to know the Mi Series and the Redmi Series, now it has been segmented into so many sub categories that confuses the consumers.
The Mi Play Phone is made for Chinese consumers with a good package deal of 10 GB monthly data for 1 year, which means you get 120 GB of data for 1 year as soon as you buy the Mi Play Series, which sums up to a total value of 1000 RMB, while the base model cost 1099 RMB, catchy isnt it? The phone got sold out quite fast after it was released to the public on December 24th.
Mi Play Specs Sheet
- 5.84-inch IPS LCD FHD+ display @ 1080 x 2280 pixels, 432ppi, 19:9 Ratio, Teardrop Notch, Corning Gorilla 5
- 80.1% Screen to Body Ratio
- 2.3GHz Mediatek Helio P35 Octa-core CPU Cortex A-53 (MT6765)
- PowerVR GE8320 GPU 680Mhz
- 4GB / 6GB RAM LPDDR4X
- 64GB / 128GB Internal storage eMMC 5.1
- Expandable via microSD, up to 256GB (dedicated slot)
- 12MP 1.25μm Rear Camera, f/2.2 Aperture, LED flash, face recognition, AI, HDR, Sony IMX486
- 2MP Secondary Rear Camera, 4.2μm, Omnivision OV02A10
- 8MP front-facing camera, HDR, 1.12μm, Samsung s5k4h7
- Dual-SIM (Sim 1 Nano + Sim 2 Nano + SD Card)
- 4G LTE, 4G+
- Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
- Bluetooth 4.2
- GPS w/ A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
- Fingerprint scanner
- Micro USB Port
- 3000 mAh battery
- Android 8.1 on MIUI 10.1
- 147.76mm x 71.89mm x 7.8mm
- 150 grams
- Available in Blue, Gold, Black
Packaging:
The packaging is quite similar to those white box back during the Mi 6 days.
Xiaomi Play as written in Chinese
Specs at the back of the box
Got myself the Blue Variant
Whats in the BOX:
The container of the protection case is quite playfully made
Manuals, Micro USB Cable, QC 2 charger, Jelly Case and the Mi Play
Design
The Xiaomi Mi Play is a little bumped up version of the Redmi 6, a little bigger screen with a gradient back plus a beefed up SoC and thats pretty much it, packed with 10GB of monthly data (in China only). The design is not so far from the Redmi 6 and Im not really quite a fan of MTK chipset packed inside the Mi Series. I can say that the unit is quite lightweight and the bezel is quite acceptable for its price range at a base variant of 1099 RMB, given the notch is quite small. The battery cover gets scratches easily as its made of plated plastic material, therefore a transparent case is a must, thanks the the supplied protective case inside it.
Not sure if its acceptable under the Mi Series but for me its definitely well off under the Redmi Series given its specs and Redmi 6-ish similar specs for the record.
The back is quite shiny, purple to blue gradient is very Mi 8 lite color.
Loudspeaker, Mic In and Micro USB (gimme a break)
Dual Nano Sim Slot + Micro SD Card Slot (Yey)
Audio Jack and the Noise Cancellation Mic
Powerbutton and the volume rocker at the right
Teardrop notch and the 8MP Camera
12MP + 2MP Rear Cam with the LED Flash and the Fingerprint Scanner
Video Unboxing
Have to admit love the way it was rendered at the back, but the scratch resistance is amost zero as it easily gets hairline scratches
Nice round edges
Mediatek Helio P35
Mediatek in the Mi Series doesnt sit quite right with me to be honest, the MTK Chipmakers was last seen in the Redmi 6 as most Xiaomi Phones be it Mi Series, Redmi Series are predominantly occupied by the Snapdrogon Chipset. MTK is better known for its affordability rather than for its performance, but this time they beefed up with a 12nm architecture chip and its said to be more efficient than ever. Daily multitasking was not a problem with this unit since we had the 6GB variant, scoring a 87,712 points in AnTuTu while its older sibling the P22 scored a 75,606 points inside the Redmi 6.
Connectivity
The Mi Play has 10 different LTE bands support under its chassis and its a little downgrade from the Redmi 6 which supports 12 LTE bands. It's easy to switch to LTE network inside the settings but once the sim card is on data mode, the second sim will be running on 3G connectivity only. You can freely choose which sim you want to use LTE data. We have experienced no problem surfing using LTE or 3G in our home country in the Philippines as well as dual standby mode is working seamlessly. Wireless connectivity via Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac is also smooth and it also supports Wi-Fi Direct. Wireless screen mirroring is also available via the Miracast protocol, tethering data is also working perfectly. Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, and GLONASS are all present and working pretty good. Driving with Waze is quite smooth around the city of Manila.
Audio and Video
- Audio: AAC, HE-AAC v1, HE-AAC v2, AMR, AWB, MIDI,
MP3, OGG VORBIS, WAV (Alaw/Ulaw), WAV (Raw), FLAC, OPUSVideo: MPEG2 H.263
MPEG4 H.264 H.264 (4KSW) H.265 H.265 (4KSW) VP8 VP9 VC1
We tried to play around with the unit, watching movies on this unit was not a problem, only the loudspeaker is a little weak as we get accustomed to the Mi 8 and Mi MIX 3 loud residential louspeakers.
Camera
One of the main highlight for every smartphone release is its camera, people normally look into the camera category more often than not as this is one of the more essential function of a smartphone, being able to capture moments when it matters most. Now, the rear camera is equipped with a 12MP Sony IMX 486 coupled with a 2MP Omnivision 02A10 while the front lens is a Samsung s5k4h7. When you say its a Sony Camera Sensor, definitely we expect a little more from this camera to take better photos.
However, the camera did not perform up to my standards, as the focus is a bit slow, plus some photos are grainy, and under low light the photos are not really that good. To my surprise, I need to hold stable my hands for roughly 2 seconds after snap to make sure the photo is captured properly, which is quite a down side since I took shots rapidly and most of the phones I handle does that, only the phones of the good old days requires you to hold the camera for a while. Maxmimum video resolution is 1080p at 30fps.
Actual Camera Samples:
Selfie Camera
Sample Video
Battery Performance
We were able to achieve a sub par battery rating for this unit since we only achieved a 8 hours 19 minute rating on the SOT test using the PC Mark Battery Stress Test. Under normal usage of wifi, we used up 30% of battery in 3 hours just browsing only. Charging the phone is much worst, it completed charging using the supplied charger and cable from 13% to 100% in 2 hours and 41 minutes.
Gaming Performance:
Surprising, I was able to complete 2 full games of NBA 2k19 without any problem or glitches along the way, which is probably the lone up side of this phone.
More Benchmarks
Google Play Installation
Installing Google Play might be a hurdle for you since this only debuts in China at the moment and there is no official statement for release of this phone globally. Install the Google Installer from here and the rest you just need to keep continuing and you will be done in a few moments.
forums.xiaomi-miui.gr/index.php/Attachment/7148466/
Conclusion
It has come to this point that we need to give an overall evaluation on the phone, we love the way that Xiaomi play with the design of the phone, but sometimes we get lost along the way especially now that Xiaomi is releasing phones no longer in uniformity. Like the Mi Play, we feel that this phone should be running under the Redmi Series and not the Mi Series since its not in any way in its league nor performing like a Mi Series phone. With the name Play, Honor used it as a premium phone, while Oppo place it under the budget series. Xiaomi here we are not sure what category it should be in, placing it in the Mi Series while performing like a Redmi series doesnt sit well with me to tell you honestly. If you cant avail of the data package this phone is offering, you are better off buying the Redmi 6 as it will be more suitable of that price category.
4GB + 64GB = 1099 RMB
6GB + 64GB = 1299 RMB
6GB + 128GB = 1599 RMB
Mi Play
