Xiaomi’s Mi MIX 2 Smartphone Arrives

Xiaomi’s latest flagship Mi MIX 2 has arrived in the Iranian market less than 24 hours after it was launched internationally.

It initially went on sale in late September in China but the company delayed its global launch until Oct. 24.

According to ILNA, depending on its memory capacity, Mi MIX 2 is offered for 24 to 31 million rials ($600 to $775). The device comes with two internal memory capacity options 64GB and 256GB and is priced $560 to $650 in the international market. The smartphone is Xiaomi’s first premium handset on sale in Iran.

Xiaomi Inc. is a privately owned Chinese electronics and software company based in Beijing. Its handsets are vastly popular with Iran’s midrange smartphone buyers. It is not certain whether the company’s new gadget will be successful in the domestic market because several other international brands like Apple and Samsung are doing very well and offer better value for money.

 Specifications and Features

Xiaomi Mi MIX 2, the bezel-less display smartphone is based on Android 7.0 Nougat and sports a 5.99-inch full-HD+ (1080x2160 pixels) LCD display and is powered by a Snapdragon 835 octa-core processor backed with Adreno 540 as the graphics chip coupled with 6GB RAM.

The handset is equipped with a 12-megapixel Sony IMX386 rear camera sensor with 1.25-micron pixels, and 4-axis optical image stabilization, as well as a facial recognition feature. On the front, it bears a 5-megapixel front camera, also with the facial recognition function that can be used to unlock the smartphone.

Furthermore, Mi MIX 2 supports 4G, VoLTE, dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11c, Bluetooth, and USB Type-C.

 MCI’s Xiaomi Cellphone Bundles

The Mi MIX 2 now on sale in the local market is a smuggled item. However, Mobile Telecommunication Company of Iran (MCI), the largest local mobile operator, is set to import the smartphone legally in collaboration with the Chinese company.

MCI currently offers four cellphone bundles — each includes a Xiaomi handset and two free SIM cards. The models offered with a carrier by MCI are Redmi Note2, Redmi 2, Mi4i, and Mi4 and are priced from 4.8 to 6.8 million rials ($120 to $170), some 40% higher than their price in the local market.

Customers should pay MCI 10% of the total value of the handsets as down payment and the reset in 12 installments. MCI is the only mobile operator in Iran, which offers cellphone packages.

According to the company, in addition to Mi MIX 2, MCI is set to offer Mi A1 and Mi6 in the coming weeks for which prices have not yet been announced.

Unlike most operators in the world, the smart devices offered by MCI in packages are significantly priced higher than the local market price. Previous cellphone bundles offered by MCI have not been popular.

 Hectic Smartphone Market

Mi MIX 2 is the latest flagship in the saturated Iranian smartphone market, following sales of Samsung Galaxy Note 8, and Apple’s latest flagship, the 8 series.

The official representative of Samsung Electronics in Iran launched online presales of the Galaxy Note8 on Sept. 16. The device is offered as part of a presale bundle — including a 4G MCI SIM card with a free 20GB Internet package — and costs 35.9 million rials ($930). The handset was delivered to buyers within two weeks.

Less than a week later Apple’s new cell phones -- iPhone 8 and 8 Plus -- arrived in Tehran on Sep. 23.

Depending on memory capacity, iPhone8 is sold for 50 to 59 million rials ($1,280 to $1,500) and the 8 Plus can be bought for 65 to 69 million rials ($1,660 to $1,770). The devices come with two internal memory capacity options 64GB and 256GB and are selling for $699 to $949 in the international market.

Though Apple and Samsung handsets are priced relatively higher than Xiaomi’s latest mobile phone, they have a better chance of impressing Iranian buyers and selling in large numbers since both names are vastly popular.