Xiaomi Mi Note Pro review: checking the right boxes

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An ongoing trend that we’re seeing lately is manufacturers releasing better spec’d versions of their current flagship, usually taking the “Pro” or “Plus” moniker. Xiaomi is somehow different, as the up and coming Chinese company announced its Mi Note and Mi Note Pro at the same, although the Note Pro arrived to market a few months later.

With Xiaomi basically taking the Mi Note and putting it on steroids, does the Mi Note Pro bring enough to the table to compete with the current crop of Android flagships? We find out, in this in-depth review of the Xiaomi Mi Note Pro!

Design

The Mi Note Pro can be considered the bigger brother of its namesake, but that is true mostly in terms of the specifications, with things remaining largely identical when it comes to the physical appearance and build quality. The Mi Note Pro features the same metal and glass construction, with a 2.5D glass up front and its gentle curves along the edges, as well as the 3D glass on the back, that brings with it a more pronounced curve along the left and right sides. All of this is held together by a metal frame with chamfered edges. The most noticeable difference in terms of design has to do with the metal frame, which has been treated with a gold finish, compared to the silver finish of the Mi Note. The ring around the camera and the Mi logo are also coming with the matching gold color. The design isn’t overly flashy, and overall, the Mi Note Pro is a beautiful, elegant looking device, that also feels great in the hand.

That said, like most phones with a glass panel on the back, the device does tend to feel slippery, and is very prone to smudges. The chamfered edges along the metal frame do help with grip though. One handed usability is also surprisingly good, despite what the display size of 5.7-inches might suggest. Of course, there’s no denying that this is a large smartphone by any standard, and some hand gymnastics will be required to reach every corner of the display, but the thin bezels along the sides of the display and the thin profile of the device allow for a better handling experience than you may think.

Taking a look around the device, the power button and volume rocker are located on the right side within easy reach. The buttons are also made of metal, and are easy to press with a good tactile feedback, adding to the high-end nature of the device. The headphone jack is up top, the microUSB port and single speaker unit is placed at the bottom, and the SIM card slot is found on the left side. Up front are the capacitive keys below the display, with a multi-colored LED notification light next to the front-facing camera, earpiece, and other typical sensors, at the top.

Display

As mentioned, the Xiaomi Mi Note Pro comes with a 5.7-inch display, which is a good size for media-consumption and playing games. The resolution has been bumped to Quad HD as well, with a pixel density of 515 ppi, making for a screen that is extremely sharp. The display also offers rich and vibrant colors, high contrast, and some very deep blacks beyond what you’d generally expect from an IPS LCD display, along with really good viewing angles. While the default, out of the box settings are already good, Xiaomi has included some color calibration settings to tweak the display more to your liking, but in all likelihood, you won’t find the need to make many changes.

There is a reading mode available that helps reduce the strain on your eyes if you are planning to look at the screen for long periods of time. The screen also does a great job at reducing glare, making the display very easy to see in broad daylight. This can be attributed to what Xiaomi calls a “Sunlight Display,” which actually makes adjustments at the hardware level to each individual pixel, for better real time contrast and outdoor visibility, as opposed to the otherwise standard practice of just ramping up the brightness of the display.

Performance and hardware

Under the hood, the Xiaomi Mi Note Pro is packing the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, clocked at 2 GHz, and backed by the Adreno 430 GPU and 4 GB of RAM. The Snapdragon 810 has received a bit of flak since its launch when it comes to overheating, but regardless, is still one of the most powerful chipsets currently available. The Mi Note Pro is also one of a handful of devices to boast 4 GB of RAM, which is of the LPDDR4 variety, said to be almost twice as fast and more power efficient when compared to the older DDR3.

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High-end flagships are getting so fast nowadays that it is really hard to notice much of a difference from one to another in terms of performance,  and the Mi Note Pro can also more than hold its own against the best of the competition. In day to day usage, the device was extremely fluid and responsive, despite this particular review unit still running software in its beta iteration. Everything from navigating around the various elements of the UI, opening, closing, and switching between applications, and playing games is a pleasant experience. Of course, multi-tasking is an absolute breeze as well, as you would expect with the 4 GB DDR4 RAM that the device is packing.

It has to be mentioned though that when playing games, or while watching a lot of videos, the Mi Note Pro did start to get a little warm, and you can definitely feel the heat dissipating through the metal frame. It doesn’t get to the point where the device becomes uncomfortable to hold or downright unusable, and is not necessarily a huge concern, but rather something to be aware of.

The Mi Note Pro comes with 64 GB of on-board storage, which is the only configuration available, and should be more than enough for most users. That said, expandable storage via microSD card is not an option, if you were hoping for it to be available. The device also comes with a standard suite of connectivity options, including 4G LTE support, but is unfortunately not compatible with the LTE networks in the US. While internet access was restricted to HSPA+ on the T-Mobile network, that still proved to be fast enough.

Speaker quality from the bottom mounted speaker is also quite good, as it gets plenty loud for a single driver without sounding distorted. As with any other bottom firing speaker though, it can be very easy to muffle when holding the device in landscape orientation, and the sideways firing audio does create a lopsided listening experience.

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Another aspect that stays identical between this device and the Mi Note is the capacity of the battery, with both devices coming with 3,000 mAh units. The bump in screen resolution from 1080p to Quad HD, as well as the general bump in specifications, without an increase in the battery capacity to compensate means that the battery life of the Mi Note Pro leaves a lot to be desired. A full day of use is possible with light to moderate use, which includes staying away from activities like gaming or watching a lot of videos, but for the most part, you may find yourself reaching for the charger around halfway through your day. On the bright side, the Mi Note Pro does comes with Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 support, which promises a charge up to 70% in just an hour.

Camera

The Mi Note Pro also comes with the same 13 MP rear camera with OIS as the standard Mi Note, and Xiaomi is quite proud of the fact they were able to keep the camera unit flush with the body, despite the phone being just 7 mm thick.

The camera application is quite simplistic, with a simple swipe down or to the left revealing a slew of filters that you can play around with. A swipe in the opposite direction is where you’ll find the list of standard shooting modes, that include a manual mode and panorama, along with a few others like Beautify and Refocus, that lets you refocus your shot after the fact. You can tap on the viewfinder to change the point of focus, just like with any other smartphone, but being able to adjust the exposure at the same time through the on-screen exposure dial is definitely one of the most intuitive aspects of Xiaomi’s camera UI. The camera software also allows you to make adjustments to the exposure settings, contrast, saturation, and sharpness, for more granular control over the image quality.

Speaking of image quality, it’s just as good as it was on the Mi Note, which isn’t really surprising, given that it is the same sensor and camera software. The shutter speed is nice and quick, allowing you to easily take a shot, and the images in general are vibrant, rich in color, with a good amount of contrast and dynamic range in both indoor and outdoor situations. The camera is also capable of taking some rather impressive macro shots, with a very clear subject of focus in the foreground, and a nice and clean bokeh effect in the background. Auto HDR is also available on this camera to help take out the guess work on when to use HDR, and the HDR processing itself does a great job of bringing out some extra details in the shadows, while adding a nice boost in saturation, without appearing unnatural.

Where this camera struggles the most is in low light and night time photography. The increase in digital noise is to be expected, but there’s just a lot of noise reduction going on in the post processing, that results in softer details, and highlights that tend to get blown out. The camera also tends to hunt for focus more often than I’d like, and many of the images will have some noticeable artifacting. Overall though, this is really not a bad camera to have in your pocket. 4K video recording is also possible with the Mi Note Pro, and the OIS does the great job of keeping the footage stable when you’re walking or moving around. The continuous autofocus is very quick when moving between close and far away subjects, and manual control over focusing is also available by just tapping on the viewfinder.

With the front camera Xiaomi chose to not go with a higher megapixel count, and instead took HTC’s approach by going with a lower resolution 4 megapixel sensor with a larger pixel size of 2 microns. This allows for more light to enter the camera and better quality images, so if selfies are your thing, than the front camera is not going to disappoint.

Software

On the software front, the Mi Note Pro runs the MIUI OS based on Android 5.0 Lollipop, but you’ll be hard pressed to find any material design elements in this user interface. The UI is actually quite similar to what you’d see from most Chinese OEMs, with colorful square icons, and the noticeable lack of an app drawer, which can take some getting used to and leaves users dependent on folders to stay organized.

There is actually not much in the way of pre-installed bloatware though, and while MIUI is a distinct departure from Google’s vision of Android, it does add more to the experience than it takes away. It will understandably be a very different experience for first time users, but Xiaomi’s take on Android isn’t overbearing in any way. More than that, the UI brings with it a handful of useful features, such as HiFi audio, that allows for better quality audio when listening via headphones, and a one-handed mode that lets you shrink the screen from anywhere between 3.5-inches to 4.5-inches, just by swiping outwards on the home button in either direction.

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MIUI also offers one of the most robust theme engines available on any Android skin. There are hundreds of different themes to choose from, so you’re bound to find at least a few that suit your tastes. These themes alter pretty much every part of the OS, from the System UI, lockscreen, icons, wallpapers, and even the default applications like the Dialer and the messaging app.

Specifications

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Pricing and final thoughts

The Xiaomi Mi Note Pro is currently available in China for the equivalent of around $480, but that is the only market the device has launched in so far, and you will likely end up paying a hefty premium to import the device. It will also be wise to first check for LTE compatibility with your home networks, if you do decide to pick it up. Until the Mi Note Pro is officially available in other markets, opting for the other flagship devices may be the more viable option.

So there you have it for this in-depth look at the Xiaomi Mi Note Pro! Xiaomi claims that the Mi Note Pro is the best smartphone in the world, and while that statement is certainly subjective, the device does manage to impress in key aspects, with regards to build quality, performance, the camera, software, and the overall user experience. The Xiaomi Mi Note Pro is definitely a worthy competitor to the current crop of Android flagships, and it is actually quite a shame that, at least for now, more people won’t be able to get their hands on it.

Runtastic’s new Leg Workout Trainer app review

Like many people, I don’t really consider myself in “shape”. I don’t have the 6 pack abs, bouncing pectorals, or buns of steel. I do however; have a need to improve my health. So when the opportunity came up to review Runtastic’s new Leg Workout Trainer app, I jumped at the opportunity.

The app’s user interface follows the Android design language. I found that the app was very intuitive and easy to use.

There are 3 ways to use the app.

The first is a dedicated training plan. The plan spans approximately 3 months and has 15 pre-planned training sessions that start off pretty easy, but increase in difficulty over time.Even though I said they start of easy, to someone who is out of shape like myself, they will still prove challenging.3D avatar “Angie” demonstrates the workout, while a male voice guides you through it.If you download Runtastic’s Music app, you can create playlists to play in the background as you workout. This adds a nice element of customization.This is the ideal mode for beginners.

The second way to use the apps is though the my workouts section. This section allows you to select from either the 5 pre-programmed workouts, or you can create your own.When you create your own workout, you must select from the exercise videos in the library, how many sets, repetitions, and how long of a rest before the next video.Like the training plan, you can listen to music through Runtastic’s music app, but it must be changed through the training plans interface.People that work out on a more regular basis will appreciate this mode.

The third way to use the app is by watching the individual workouts. The videos seamlessly loop non-stop.They can be filtered by the muscle groups that will be worked out or your favorited videos.

What they got right:
In a word, simplicity. This app is dead simple to use. If your familiar with Android’s UI, then you won’t have any problems navigating the application.

What could be improved:
I find myself having to stretch to find improvements for this app. If there was anything that could be improved, it would be customization within the app. I’m not referring to the workouts. As you read earlier, there is a high degree of  workout customization available within the app. I’m referring to being able to change the avatar or the voice that guides you though the workout. I would also love to see this app on Amazon’s Fire TV.

Overall this app has a broad appeal. Whether your a beginner or en experienced athlete, this app has something for you.

The post Runtastic’s new Leg Workout Trainer app review appeared first on AndroidGuys.

iClever 6-port Travel Wall Charger review

With all the advances that we as human beings have seen in regards to technology over the years, one thing has disbelievingly not seen much change. The act of still having to charge our devices. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could buy a product, say a tablet, and it would have a battery life expiration date of, lets say three years, before we either had to get a new device or switch out the old battery. Now, I know, I speak words of a madman, but who knows, maybe in a decade or two we may reach that point. In the meantime though, we still need to keep our devices charged and iClever has a great 6-port travel wall charger that aims to assist. Does it succeed, let’s find out (Insert ominous music)

The iClever 6-port travel wall charger comes in a rectangular shape with the exception of the rounded top. It is coated in black, matte finish that will keep pesky fingerprints at bay and making holding the device a pleasure. There is very little print on the iClever 6-port travel wall charger as the only words you will find on it are the iClever logo, voltage information on the left side, and technical specifications on the bottom.

There are six USB ports that make up most of the input slots of the iClever 6-port travel wall charger on the left side, all with their specific voltage output written on the bottom in white. As a matter of fact, all the printed words and small design aesthetics of the iClever 6-port travel wall charger are in white, which go great with the black finish of the charger. Moving on to the other side of the iClever 6-port travel wall charger, you get only one port, where the cord that connects the device to the power outlet will go. Overall, the iClever 6-port travel wall charger is a very slim device with a great modern look that does not detract from its purpose, to charge your devices.

So how well does the iClever 6-port travel wall charger work? Quite well, if I do say so myself. The iClever 6-port travel wall charger comes with SmartID which iClever states will automatically determine the appropriate amp speed of your device and charge it at maximum speed. While we can’t determine if that is the case or not, we can say for certain that the iClever 6-port travel wall charger charged the devices that were hooked up to it quite quickly. I plugged the charger to the outlet next to my desk and hooked up my Droid Turbo, Acer Tablet, Pebble Steel and my Moto 360 to it and they all charged normally. I can’t really say they charged any faster than if I had used a different charger, but they definitely did not charge any slower.

The iClever 6-port travel wall charger is a great little charger that can make a great gift to the tech aficionado or anyone else that regularly travels and needs to charge multiple devices. Heck, even if they don’t travel, with the slim profile and sleek appearance, you can just as easily place it on a desk and it would fit right in.

The post iClever 6-port Travel Wall Charger review appeared first on AndroidGuys.

Lara Croft: Relic Run – an intense runner game review

Lara Croft, this very name will remind anybody of Angelina Jolie as the adventurous treasure hunter. And that’s what this game is about. If you like to spend hours on endless running games and still come back for more then Lara Croft: Relic Run is the game to have on your device.

Since the introduction of Temple Run, countless running games have been released. Each offering something different, but all the more a same running style sequence where you collects coins and duck or jump to keep running. Also, the usual power ups. It gets boring after a while and we stop playing them. Lara Croft: Relic Run is all that and much more. It will keep you coming back for more. It’s got weapons, ATV’s and motorcycles and of course our dear Lara.

It’s a whole new twist to behind-the-back running games. Every time, I played the game it showed me something new. The variety of obstacles is absolutely crazy! This game is incredibly well made and you’ll find yourself parkouring over obstacles , wall-running over pits, and riding a motorcycle or even an ATV! You may even ride a T-Rex at some point in the game (No, I’m not kidding). There are also some boss fights and light combat. The game has you find and collect relics. Each relic requires some components to complete, all of which have to be found in one single run. If Lara dies, you have to start over again.

Lara Croft: Relic Run totally beats the crap out of some popular runner games like Spider-Man Unlimited and Despicable Me: Minion Rush. Those games are great, agreed. But none of them have the character firing weapons at prehistoric lizard people or even battling a damn T-Rex! I have got to give credit to SQUARE ENIX Ltd for developing such an awesome game.

With all that being said, the game currently has two maps, with more to come soon. Its also got a wide range of items in the store such as diamonds, weapons, armour and health packs. Almost everything can be purchased with coins and upgrades are fairly easy to get. There is also something called ‘Resurrection Ankh’ which keeps Lara from dying and can be purchased with diamonds. Also, there are no other characters, but different outfits can be bought from the store so you can customize Lara.

Onto the issues, the game is a tad hard to play. Twisty paths, with the game constantly shoving new obstacles in your face will make you lose concentration and die very quickly. It requires instant reflexes. Also, I experienced a slight lag sometimes with the game not registering my swipes when I did them quickly.

Lara Croft: Relic Run has surely given new meaning to its genre of games. A challenging runner game which shows a lot of promise. Enhancing the gameplay and variety to another level, giving new legs to the endless running spectacle.

What we like:

• Nice graphics
• Immersive gameplay
• Variety in playability

What needs improvement:

• Game optimization
• Difficulty level

Did you check out Lara Croft: Relic Run? Tell us what you thought in the comments!

Screenshots

The post Lara Croft: Relic Run – an intense runner game review appeared first on AndroidGuys.

PowerSkin Pop’n 3 review

I

put the new PowerSkin Pop’n 3 through its paces, recently. Pop’n 3 is a new (to me) take on portable smartphone chargers. It boasts “state-of-the-art, patented dual suction adhering technology to stick right onto the back of smartphones for an easy to hold, seamlessly integrated charging experience.”

Simply put, the Pop’n 3 sticks to the back of your phone via a center sticky pad and 24 mini suction cups. The coolest, most practical feature isn’t even that, but the attached power connector (Micro-USB in this case, but they also have an iOS Lightning version). Since the power cable is attached to the unit, you’ll never lose the cable. It’s also only long enough to reach from the bottom of the Pop’n 3 to your phone and fits into a slot at the bottom, eliminating the hassle of the power getting tangled in anything.

In “real life” usage, the suction did a competent job of holding on and charging while I made calls and performed other tasks on the phone. After a few attachments and removals, however, there suction begins to weaken. The manual suggests moistening the center sticky pad to rejuvenate the unit’s hold, which did work, but each time the hold felt a little weaker than before.

A big, big “con” to this unit, and one they should have either addressed or at least mentioned, is the suction is completely useless if you have a protective phone case on your Android. In my case it was an Otter Box, and the Pop’n gave 0% hold to the case. Taking off your phone case is the first step to having a busted phone or shattered screen so this isn’t worth the risk – when the case was on my phone, I just charged the phone without attaching the Pop’n.

Charging the unit itself is done via a provided Micro-USB cable. It would have been nice if the inbound charging cable was also attached and retractable, since these tend to get borrowed/swiped around these parts. Charging speed was pretty average, but another great feature is that you can have the Pop’n’s outgoing charger connected to your phone, and its incoming charger attached to a power source, and the charge will pass through (and charge your phone first, then itself). This is perfect if you can remember to leave them both hooked up together and charge them both up overnight.

At its current price, $39.99 on PowerSkin’s site or $49.99 on Amazon, the Pop’n 3, drawbacks and all, is still a great deal compared to other, more well-known, portable chargers such as the Mophie series. If your case is compatible with the suction system or you don’t mind going without a phone case to use this unit, it’s certainly worth adding to your day-to-day mobile artillery.

– Chris S.

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Soen Audio Transit XS – One of the best portable speakers you can buy

If you are a follower of Androidguys, you know we review a lot of bluetooth speakers.  It is one of the most popular accessories for mobile devices that you can buy, and therein lies the problem. There are hundreds of speakers to choose from and the freedom to choose can be time intensive if you want to spend your money wisely.

I’ve used at least 10 different bluetooth speakers over the past couple of years, and I can say, if portability is your most important factor when buying a speaker, then this speaker is the one to buy. In general, many speakers are relatively small, but are simply too big to carry around on a regular basis.  If it can’t fit in your pocket, then it just isn’t that portable unless you want to throw the speaker in a backpack or purse wherever you go.  That’s where the Soen Audio Transit XS Ultra Slim speaker fits in.  When you think of “ultra slim” you tend to think of devices like the Macbook Air, Samsung Galaxy S6, or the Samsung Tab S.  Those devices are really thin.  If you think the Soen Audio Transit XS is going to be that thin, then think again.  Its thickness measures at 1 inch, which is not thin for a phone or a tablet, but it is really thin for a bluetooth speaker.  It isn’t quite the slimmest bluetooth speaker on the market, but it is thin enough to throw into a back pocket, and that is definitely portable if it can fit into pocket at a meager weight of only .6lb.  Compare that to the Bose Soundlink Mini at a hefty 1.5 pounds, and you’ll realize the Bose speaker needs to go on a diet.

Drivers(speakers) require space to drive sound and that is why it is hard to shrink bluetooth speakers.  For as small as the Soen Audio Transit speaker is, it doesn’t sacrifice on loudness or sound quality.  It isn’t as loud and it doesn’t have the detail of some of the larger speakers, but that is to be expected as this is a small device.  Surprisingly, the bass response is actually quite nice, and that is due to the patented Momentum Port on the side of the speaker that allows for that chamber to let the bass flow.  Soen takes pride in their revolutionary acoustic technologies and I see no fault in that as the speaker truly does deliver rich sound.

Given the small size, the Transit doesn’t have a ton of room for a large battery but it does support up to 8 hours of playback.  In my tests(not at all scientific) I averaged about 6-7 hours of use, but that is probably due to the fact that I play my music loud.  The battery life is respectable, but nothing to write home about.  Four mini LED lights show the battery level on the side of the speaker which is nice so you know when to recharge.  As with most portable speakers, Soen sticks with the micro-usb standard for charging so you won’t need to lug a proprietary charger around with you.

Another simple feature, yet highly important, is the easy-mount connector.  The Transit comes with a standard mount that attaches to 1/4″ camera mounts, which means you can use any standard mount that is used for photography.  There are tons of mounts that would allow you to strap this speaker to a bike, motorcycle, or even a tree for when you are outdoors.

Being that the Transit is designed for true portability, they coated the speaker with a protective rubber armor.  The feel of the rubber is very nice and provides plenty of grip.  The Transit comes in five colors, red, black, white, blue and purple, and can be had for $129.95.    I have no doubts this speaker will stand up to being dragged around with me due to the superior and thoughtful build quality.

Overall, for a speaker of this size, the Soen Transit XS is an incredible device if you are looking in the portable speaker category.  By portable, I mean it can be thrown into a pocket.  I have not heard a better performing speaker of this size, most in this size range sound tinny and distorted at higher volumes.  The Transit XS has full sound, including incredible bass response.  On top of great sound quality you get a well thought out build with the rubber coating and ability to mount this speaker to standard mounts.  The Transit comes in five colors, red, black, white, blue and purple, and can be had for $129.95.    I have no doubts that this speaker will stand up to being dragged around with me, due to the superior and thoughtful build quality.

I used the speaker for 6 weeks before writing this review.

You can purchase the Soen Transit-XS on Amazon.com or directly through Soen Audio.

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