Xiaomi Mi 2 review: The 2012 breakout that proved the Xiaomi value formula.
The 2012 phone that proved the Xiaomi formula.
The Mi 2 delivered flagship silicon at a budget price and became an early Xiaomi hit. A foundational device for the brand — now a vintage entry.
01Display
42/10042/100 is one of the weaker display results among flagship phones of 2012 — 24 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.
02Camera
30/10030/100 is one of the weaker camera results among flagship phones of 2012 — 28 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.
03Performance
18/10018/100 is one of the weaker performance results among flagship phones of 2012 — 35 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.
04Battery
34/10034/100 is one of the weaker battery results among flagship phones of 2012 — 26 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.
05Build
44/10044/100 is one of the weaker build results among flagship phones of 2012 — 17 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.
06Value
58/100At 58/100 this is one of the strongest value showings among flagship phones of 2012 — 10 points above the cohort average.
- Flagship Snapdragon S4 Pro at a budget price.
- Proved Xiaomi’s "flagship spec, low price" model.
- Removable battery.
- Strong sales success in China.
- Small 4.3-inch screen and 2,000 mAh battery.
- Plastic build; no LTE.
- Software ended at Android 5.
- Discontinued — a vintage device.
How this review is built: every section score, spec row and comparison on this page comes from SpecEagle's tracked catalogue — scores weight measured specs against the 82-phone cohort of flagship devices released around the same time. We don't publish invented lab anecdotes. Spot an error? .