Xiaomi’s Civi series was initially somewhat unusual and, one might safely assume, somewhat experimental. It has always had a youth-oriented focus, both in design and in accentuated technical characteristics. However, the new Civi 2 stands out even in its lineup – Xiaomi clearly positions it as a smartphone for girls, publishing renders of the smartphone only in female hands and equipping it with the “most powerful front camera” in the history of Xiaomi (it is also interesting because its cutout strongly resembles “tablet” in the iPhone 14 Pro). In this review, we find out what Xiaomi Civi 2 is.
Specifications
- Display: 6.55 inches, AMOLED, 2400×1080 pixels, 120Hz.
- Processor: Snapdragon 7 Gen 1.
- RAM: 8 or 12 GB.
- Storage: 128 or 256 GB, no memory card support.
- Primary camera: 50 MP (f/1.8) + 20 MP (f/2.2, 115° ultra-wide angle) + 2 MP (f/2.4, macro)
- Front camera: 32 MP (f/2.0) + 32 MP (f/2.2, 100° ultra-wide angle)
- Battery: 4500 mAh, 67 W.
- Preinstalled operating system: Android 12, MIUI 13.
- Dimensions: 159.2 × 72.7 × 7.2 mm.
- Weight: 171.8 grams.
Design
Let’s start with the look. The smartphone is still light and thin body, although heavier than the previous generation, but you are unlikely to feel the difference between them. Of the four colors, I would choose white because blue looks a bit cheap, black is normal, and pink is similar to last year’s colors.
The back cover not only looks wavy, it actually is – bumpy to the touch. It is said that the inspiration for Xiaomi to do this came from Hello Kitty – be that as it may, the case is quite pleasant to the touch. The design of the camera module seems to have already been seen somewhere, but it is quite nice. Compared to the first generation, the biggest step back in the design of the Civi 2 is the frame, instead of metal, it is plastic, which makes the smartphone look and feel cheaper than the Civi 1.
Front cameras
Since this phone is marketed for women, it’s important to see how well it takes selfies. Civi 2 not only retained the 32MP front-facing camera with autofocus as in the first generation, but also got an additional 32MP front-facing sensor with an ultra wide-angle lens but no autofocus. They are also complemented by two dual-tone LED flashes.
If you just need to take a selfie alone, the front-facing main camera works just as well as the previous model, and autofocus makes every detail of your face show up perfectly in the photo. Civi 2 still has two beauty effects, one of which preserves some of the texture of the skin, and the other makes it very smooth and white. The ultra-wide-angle camera has not changed much, except for a wide angle of view, so we will not repeat ourselves. The flash can be both cold and warm this time, so you can choose the lighting for evening selfies depending on your mood.
The ultra-wide-angle module is designed to make shooting vlogs on the front camera as easy as possible, and the teleprompter function in Civi 2 will help out in most cases.
Unfortunately, the front camera still doesn’t support 4K recording, nor does it allow you to switch lenses while recording. The background blurring algorithm in bokeh mode is not particularly good, and the problem with determining the boundaries of objects is especially obvious. Outdoors, with enough light, the face is always properly exposed, which is great. But the size of the front camera sensor is too small, with a lack of light, the image will be very noisy. Therefore, try to choose a bright place when recording video using the front camera.
Rear cameras
The main camera has been heavily upgraded, with the IMX 766 and the new 20MP ultra-wide-angle camera it already outperforms many phones in its price range. The main camera is already familiar from other smartphones, it shoots in much the same way as the flagship Xiaomi 12, taking great photos most of the time. But it is worth noting that it does not have optical stabilization – your hand must be steady when shooting at night, otherwise you will get a blurry frame.
The ultra-wide-angle camera received not only more pixels, but also a new algorithm – it makes photos very contrasty. I really like how the atmosphere is conveyed, especially in the night scenes. Pictures don’t look very bright like other phones. This makes night scenes feel like they were actually shot at night. Undoubtedly, the Civi 2’s ultra-wide-angle camera is better than most other budget phones.
Performance
So, if you only care about design and cameras, as you can see, the smartphone is worth buying. But if you care about other details as well, then this might not be the best choice. Let’s talk about performance first. Snapdragon 7 Gen 1, built on Samsung’s 4nm process, shows poor performance.
As with the previous generation, don’t expect much from its gaming capabilities, stability in PUBG is its limit. We only ran the Genshin Impact test on the grass in Mondstadt, and even with the average graphics, the processor could not hold its own. At the same time, the temperature was not too high, but the frame rate left much to be desired. Simply put, for the same price, you can buy a phone with much better performance.
Display
The screen is also average, it has a standard frequency of 120 Hz by modern standards and Full HD + resolution. Its most notable feature is the notorious cutout for the front cameras – it strongly resembles the “tablet” in the iPhone 14 Pro.
However, I am sure that this is just a coincidence, and not a deliberate copying of new items from Apple. It should be borne in mind that the process from development to production is very long, and Xiaomi did not develop special animations and interaction mechanisms with a screen cutout, as the American competitor did. The flash on both sides also prevented the camera cutout from being placed on the side, so it’s most likely just a coincidence.
autonomy
It has a 4500 mAh battery, just like the Civi 1, and the battery life, as shown in the picture below, is average.
The charging power has been increased to 67W, which means that 32% of the energy will be replenished in 10 minutes, 83% in half an hour, and it will take 42 minutes to fully charge. This performance is still very satisfactory.
Review
Based on the review, it’s safe to say that positioning for women is a clever marketing gimmick that justifies the focus on design and, of course, cameras (especially on front modules). Otherwise, this is a typical smartphone, in which performance was sacrificed in favor of the above advantages.
This model is recommended only for those who want to get one of the best cameras in the price segment, but are not going to play games.
This is a translation of the Gizmochina review.
Source: Trash Box
I am Joyce Corbett and I have been working in the news industry for over 10 years. My current role is as an author at World Stock Market, where I focus primarily on the tech section. My specialty is creating engaging content that helps to explain and demystify complex financial topics.
