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Glass-clad Xiaomi Mi Note sparkles (pictures)

The 5.7-inch phablet from the Chinese smartphone maker impresses with its quality build.

Aloysius Low
Aloysius Low is a Senior Editor at CNET covering mobile and Asia. Based in Singapore, he loves playing Dota 2 when he can spare the time and is also the owner-minion of two adorable cats.
Aloysius Low
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Xiaomi's 5.7-inch phablet is clad in glass and steel, and has a premium feel that easily matches other high-end handsets.

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The full-HD display is bright and vibrant.

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The Xiaomi Mi Note is a premium phone that's half the price of current flagships.

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The phone curves inwards at the sides, giving it an even slimmer look.

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Machined speaker grills add to the premium feel.

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Unlike the iPhone 6 Plus, the Mi Note has no protruding carriage for its camera.

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Another view of the rear.

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The Mi Note rear is made of glass, and isn't removable. The white version doesn't really show the fingerprint smudges, but the black model will.

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The curved glass at the back is similar to the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge, though in this case, there's no display, of course.

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Compared with the Xiaomi Mi 4 on the right, the Mi Note is a lot slimmer.

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There's also a noticeable difference in size.

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The Apple iPhone 6 Plus is only 0.15mm thicker than the Mi Note, but this is really noticeable on the front, where the camera props the phone up a little.

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The Mi Note uses a longer SIM tray that accomodates both Micro and Nano formats.

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