Xiaomi unveiled its newest flagship smartphone — the Mi 6 — today at an event in Beijing, having skipped Mobile World Congress, the telecom industry’s largest annual event where it announced the Mi5 last year.

There’s plenty at stake with this new device, given that Xiaomi suffered a sales slump last year with CEO Lei Jun admitting that the company has entered a transitional period after growing too fast.

So, what about the Mi 6?

Well, the first thing to note is that there are plenty of similarities to the iPhone 7, but price isn’t one of them. The entry model — featuring 64 GB of storage — comes in at 2499 RMB, that’s around $360, with a 128 GB option (2899 RMB, $420) and ceramic edition (2999 RMB, $435) completing the range. All three are far cheaper than iPhone equivalents, but, interestingly for Xiaomi, the range is more expensive that the company’s usual flagship prices.

The most obvious iPhone comparison is that there is no headphone jack on the Mi 6, just as Apple elected with last year’s iPhone 7. Whether the Chinese company is following the trend, or doing what makes sense for itself in this instance, that is already ammo for Xiaomi skeptics.

But that’s not all. In a further parallel, the 5.5-inch Mi 6 includes a 12-megapixel dual rear camera — à la the iPhone 7+ — which mixes a wide-angle lens and a telephoto lens. Like the iPhone, the Mi 6 includes a bokeh-style photography option, alongside 10x digital zoom, 2x lossless zoom, and optical image stabilization (OIS) technology. Also on board is an under-glass fingerprint sensor on the front. Xiaomi shipped a similar sensor in the Mi5s Plus last September and, if you believe leaks reported this week, Apple may have similar plans for its next iPhone.

A sample photo of the Mi 6 ‘portrait’ mode supplied by Xiaomi

With the Mi 6, Xiaomi has bumped up its RAM to 6GB, the most it has ever offered in a smartphone. The device is powered by a Snapdragon 835 10nm processor with a 64-bit, octa-core CPU with a whopping 3350 mAh battery that the company said will last a day thanks to “optimization” controls built into its MIUI operating system. Xiaomi announced its own-designed processor in February but it isn’t present here. The chip — called the Surge S1 — made its debut in the Mi5c two months ago but it will take some fine-tuning before it is part of a flagship.

Visually, the device is a departure from the Mi5 with curved edges that Xiaomi said are made possible through its use of “four-sided 3D glass,” while there is a new silver color option that includes a mirrored finish and that rather fetching ceramic model. Other notable features include dual speakers for stereo audio, improved 2.2 dual Wi-Fi technology, and new screen options that include a new night display and reduce blue ray output.

The phone goes on sale from Mi.com and Mi Home Stores in China on April 28. An international expansion to “selected” markets will come later, Xiaomi said, although it didn’t provide specific dates for that.

Is this new package enough to regain ground that Xiaomi lost in China?

Xiaomi appears to be seeking a hailo effect with a new flagship that is packed full of tech which, on paper at least, compares favorable to the iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy S8. The company has always sold higher volumes with its lower priced phones — its Redmi range is priced around $150 — so expect the Mi 6 to be a mark in the sand for what its technology and manufacturing chops are capable of.

The challenge facing the company is tough. In 2016, rivals Huawei, Vivo and Oppo were among the challengers that rose up with competitively priced phones and strong offline distribution reach to knock Xiaomi off the number one perch for smartphones sales in China. Lei Jun has promised to bounce back and expand Xiaomi’s offline commerce efforts, while he intends to continue its ‘smart device’ ecosystem push to increase customer engagement and generate increased revenue. Indeed, the Xiaomi CEO recently likened his firm to U.S. retailer Costco rather than Apple, the latter being a common comparison made in previous years.

Overseas, it remains unclear how Xiaomi’s internationalization effort is going, particularly following the departure of Hugo Barra, who led the project but has since move on to Facebook. Xiaomi revealed it cleared $1 billion in revenue in India, its second largest market behind China, last year while Lei Jun added today that it ranks second in the country, but nothing has been said of its performance in the other 20-odd countries where its phones are sold.

To start, well-known leaker Evan Blass understands that the Z2 Force won’t be a Verizon exclusive like its predecessor. It’ll reportedly be available on T-Mobile as well, while Android Authority hears that Sprint has its own version. That’s a big relief if you’re tired of sticking to Big Red just to get the most advanced Moto phone in the US.

As for the design? You’ll still see a 5.5-inch display and the Z series’ signature modular back, but the new Force is reportedly thinner at just under 0.24 inches (versus 0.28in for the original) while borrowing some styling cues from the Moto G5. You’d also get a dual camera system like so many other high-end phones, and a Snapdragon 835 chip should keep things speedy. About the only mysteries are the Z2 Force’s release date and price. We’d expect the Z2 Force to carry a premium like its ancestor did, but whether or not it’s a compelling handset depends on when you can buy it — those specs won’t be so compelling if you have to wait until late in the year.

It’s fairly safe to say that a good percentage of people now own a smartphone. The smartphone has fast become a primary device for many of these people, but it has its limits too. The Mirabook is looking to break the smartphone free of its small screen and showcase the power inside. With the Mirabook you can turn your smartphone into a useable laptop that’s much cheaper than buying a separate device. Why spend so much on a laptop when Mirabook can harness the hardware inside that already expensive smartphone?

Miraxess is a French Start-up developing Mobile Convergence since 2015. This crowdfunding campaign is a turning point and lots of things will change afterwards. You have the power to bring the next PC Mobile Revolution on the market.

In a world where mobile has triumphed, Miraxess launches The Mirabook, a true extension to give the smartphone all the capacities of a laptop. A large full HD Display, a keyboard, a touchpad, extra storage and a high capacity battery that instantly creates the ultimate laptop – of which you already own half.

As Consumers increasingly depend on their Smartphone to organize their personal and professional lives, it is becoming evident that the traditional computer has been replaced by the Smartphone as the main servant of our digital needs. The PC market and worldwide deliveries keep declining: -5.7% in the 3rd quarter of 2016 and -3.3% for EMEA[1]. This can be explained among others by the emerging markets where People choose Smartphones over PCs.

The Mirabook Extension fits into this natural movement that makes the Smartphone the universal engine of our activities. Miraxess reinvents the laptop and focuses on a small handheld computer, the Smartphone.

The project is now live on Indiegogo and is about 35% funded as of this article. The early bird pricing is $180USD which isn’t a bad price at all, if you’re expecting this technology to be useful to you. It will be interesting to see the first reviews that come back on this device and to see if it really can be what it says it can be.

Check out the Mirabook Indiegogo at the link below and Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or on Google+, Twitter, or Facebook.

  Source: Indiegogo