In Depth Comparison Review : Xiaomi Mi3 vs Xiaomi Mi2S

Summary :

1) Introduction

2) Design

3) Display

4) Software

5) Benchmarks

6) Camera

7) Speakerphones & Battery Life

8) Conclusion

Part 01 : Introduction

Greetings, this is our Comparison Review between the Tegra 4 based Xiaomi Mi3 and Mi2S. If you haven't read our Xiaomi Mi3 Review yet, here is the link.
Otherwise, let's proceed to this comparison review. Xiaomi managed to get very popular this year through the Mi2 series offering top end devices at affordable prices.
For the upcoming year, Xiaomi is eager to repeat its success, so does the Mi3 represent the return of the King ?


Part 02 : Design



Let's start right away with the design because it is just there and staring at you. The Mi3 radically changes from the Mi2S, the Chinese firm upgraded the global design from the looks to the build construction. It is now thinner with a metal unibody.
Everything is not perfect though, the Mi3 is prone to fingerprints and it is a big 5 inch smartphone (144 x 73.6 x 8.1 mm (5.67 x 2.90 x 0.32 in)) whereas the Mi2S is a small 4.3 inch phone (126 x 62 x 10.2 mm (4.96 x 2.44 x 0.40 in)). On the other hand, the Mi3 is very light, it weighs as much as the Mi2S, only 145g (5.11 oz). What you can't see from the video or the specs sheet, it is the very well balanced weight of the Mi3. It is really well done and it seems that the Mi2S is even heavier than the Mi3.
Through the new design with rounded edges, the top notch build quality, the lightweight but also 8.1mm thickness, the Mi3 is easy to handle despite a bigger bezel.

Like the Mi2S, the Mi3 keeps the LED notification but it is on top now. Other detail that you can't notice from the video, the power and volume buttons are nicer to use. It is more comfortable, easier to feel and easier to press.
However, because of the size of the Mi3, you are going to need two hands while you could easily use only one with the Mi2S.
 

Part 03 : Display



Obvisouly, if you like bigger displays, you're gonna love the Mi3's one. While the Mi3 display has a better resolution with a better ppi density, it is hard to notice the difference with the naked eye. You are going to need high resolution photos or movies and really focus to notice the extra sharpness.
Both displays are provided by LG and use the IPS technology, so we have nice colors with wide angles vision.

The colors rendering is the main difference. The Mi3 chooses to use warmer colors than the Mi2S. It is obvious when you watch white colors, on the Mi3, it tends to be yellowish while it is bluish on the Mi2S.
Generally speaking, while people tend to prefer cooler colors for white tones, warmer colors are just so much nicer to watch and it is also kinder to the eyes.
For movies, blacks are deeper and just plain better. Overall, you have a better experience on images too, better saturation, better contrast and more natural colors. 
Lately Apple also made the same choice using warm colors, and it is paying off since the media are praising it. Speaking of Apple, our next review will be a comparison between the Xiaomi Mi3 and the iPhone 5S.

Brightness wise, the Mi3 is a bit brighter but not that much and the Mi2S can already be used with direct sunlight at the maximum brightness level.

Last but not least, the Mi3 has a better low resolution image processing software when browsing the web. Here is an example, we are on IGN website and on this image, I don't know if you can see it clearly but the difference is obvious, it is much more pleasant to watch this image with the Mi3. The upscaling process is just better than the Mi2S. We don't know if this is specific to the Tegra 4 chip but we are going to review this on the WCDMA Xiaomi Mi3 which is due next month.


Part 04 : Software

A quick word on the software, the Xiaomi Mi3 has Android 4.2.1 packed inside whereas the Mi2S is still running on Android 4.1.1. But both devices use MIUI V5 on top of Android. It is impossible to tell the difference between the two. I can't say what Android 4.2.1 brings to MIUI.
  
For the rest, everything remains the same aside from the hardware differences. So the qualities are still there, smooth, very customizable  and stable.


Part 05 : Benchmarks

This is the part that everyone is waiting for : the benchmarks.
On one side, we have the Mi2S with a S600 chip running at 1.7 GHz with 2 GB of RAM and a 720p display, on the other side, we have a Tegra 4 based Mi3 with 2GB of RAM as well and a 1080p display.

Let's begin with the normal version of Antutu where there is a lot of cheating. So this is the latest version of Antutu and we can see that the Mi2S almost scores 27 957 against the 35 767 points of the Mi3. This is a difference of 28%.



Now, let's look at Antutu X which is not detected by devices, so no cheating here. There are immediate drops, the Mi3 now scores as high as 28 406 and Mi2S got 23 620. Now the difference between the devices is only 20%.
While there is no doubt that Xiaomi has progressed hardware wise, this progression also happened with the tweakings benchmarks department.



For our next benchmark, we have Epic Citadel. We will use the "Ultra High Quality"  mode  running on devices' native resolutions which are different, 720p and 1080p. The Mi2S manages to get a higher score of 47.4 fps versus 36.8 fps on the Mi3. Bear in mind that the Mi3 has 44% more pixels than the Mi2S. So when we talk about performance per pixel, the Mi3 is actually 20% more powerful on this bench.



Now, let's turn to Vellamo which is divided into two tests : HTML 5 tests web browsing performance and Metal tests more intensively the CPU.
HTML 5 wise, the Mi3 is at the 4th position behind the Sony Xperia Ultra, Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and HTC One. The Mi2S is at the 5th position behind the Galaxy S4. Scores are quite close : 2127 points for the Mi3 and and 1930 for the Mi2S which represent an increase of 10%.
Metal Benchmark is a bit more interesting because it is more complex. Mi2S and Mi3 positions are unchanged but the gap between them is bigger. The Mi3 scores 932 points and Mi2S 722 points which is now an increase score of 29%.



Let's run Quadrant a bit. It is a very old benchmark. The results are quite surprising : the Mi2S scores 8948 while the Mi3 manages to score twice higher with 18438. This is an abnormal measure. Either way, Quadrant does not favor at all new Qualcomm design chips or favors way too much nVidia platform.



I will be running 3DMark now, using only the "unlimited mode" because the others are maxed out by the Mi3. 3DMark is heavily GPU based. The Mi3 displays a huge increase of 56%.



When it comes to GPU, we prefer GFXBench which is the best and there is no cheating with this benchmark, so results are clean.
We'll be running T-Rex HD and Egypt HD. Both times, the Mi2S is beaten even in on-screen mode despite the lower resolution. It scores 18 fps on-screen, 13 fps off-screen and 38 fps on-screen, 33 fps of-screen respectively against 21 fps and 48 fps respectively for the Mi3.



This is recap graphic that I made. There is a huge increase in the GPU department, up to 60% when the benchmark is very demanding which is a good news because screen resolutions are on the rise and GPU power is much needed. 
CPU wise, the increase is smaller, from 10 to 30% but we are expecting overall bigger numbers with the WCDMA S800 based Mi3.

Part 06 : Camera

In the Camera department, the Mi3 is better in at least 4 areas :
- it is taking photos faster
- better colors rendering in auto and HDR mode
- way better photos in low light conditions
- better light with the double LED flash
Here are the photos from our original shootout.

All the photos have been taken with the Auto Mode. Here is some side to side Mi3 and Mi2S photos.

Outdoors Photos : the Mi3 captures better natural colors and works better with outside light. There are also more details. Mi2S over saturates colors.

Mi3 photos : second one with HDR.

Mi2S photos : second one with HDR

Mi3 photos : second one with HDR. We can see with this scene a better colors balance than the Mi2S photos.

Mi2S photos : second one with HDR.

This is a special feature from Picasaweb. It is kind of a gif made out from photos taken at the same scene.

Mi3.

Mi2S.

Indoors photos : Here, there isn't even a match. Mi3 Camera captures way better low light images than the Mi2S.

Mi3 : No Flash, HDR, Flash.

Mi2S : No Flash, HDR, Flash

Pitch Black conditions : the Mi3 flash is more powerful and burn less the colors than the Mi2S one.

Mi3 first, Mi2S second.

Last photos are made with Panorama mode but the Mi3 captures bigger scene though shorter scenes from Mi2S are clearer. 

Full Xiaomi Mi3 shootout : Mi3 Album
Full Xiaomi Mi2S shootout : Mi2S Album

Part 07 : Speakerphones and Battery Life

Speakerphones wise, there is not a lot of improvement if none. We cannot tell if it is better, it feels the same .
Battery Life wise, it is hard to judge since I'm only using 2G. However, If feels like the Mi3 can hold longer during heavy loads like games thanks to the 3050 mAh. But more on this subject when we'll get the WCDMA Mi3.

Part 08 : Conclusion

To conclude, which one should you choose ? The main factor is definitively the size. If 5 inch is not too big for you, then the Mi3 is the phone to go to.

The Mi3 is a true new smartphone not just a simple evolution. The main innovation is the design : it is beautiful and it is very well build with a metal unibody. The new camera is such an improvement from the Mi2S one when it comes to low light conditions. The Mi3 offers a greater user experience in every aspects : better display, more powerful, better design.

But the Mi2S is still a very capable handset and it is in fact the best Mini Smartphone available. The S600 chip is far from being done and is very capable to face 2014 with no problem. Since 4.3 inch has become the new Mini size, the Mi2S is much better than the likes of Galaxy S4 Mini or HTC One Mini.
We already published an article about WCDMA Mi3 pre-orders, but just to remind you, we will open our pre-orders on December, 1st.

Thank you for watching our Comparison Review, if you like our work, leave us a comment, subscribe to our Youtube Channel, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Google + and our Blog. Of course, don't forget to visit our website. Our next review will see the Mi3 going toe to toe against the iPhone 5S. Take care or yourself and each other.  Bye, bye.