 This is the Mi Note from Xiaomi. Don't worry if you haven't heard of these guys before, you're going to. This Chinese company has grown from nothing to one of the largest smartphone manufacturers in the world in under five years. Xiaomi has a bit of Google, a bit of Apple, a bit of Amazon, but that combination is completely unique. They're going to be launching in the US later this year, not with smartphones, but with some smaller accessories like headphones and fitness bands. In the meantime, Xiaomi is on a US media tour with its 2015 flagship phone, the Mi Note. I've been using it for a few days. Maybe not using it per se, because it doesn't support US LTE bands, so I haven't been using it as a phone, but I have been using it as a tiny tablet. Not to say that a phone with a 5.7 inch display is tiny, but you know what I mean. Speaking of the display, the Mi Note's 1080p screen is absolutely gorgeous. Don't be fooled into thinking this is an anonymous mid-range phone designed to sell in bargain bins. It's not. The screen is laminated just like you'd expect from a flagship phone from Apple or Samsung, meaning there's no gap between the glass and the pixels. You can hold the phone at an angle and it looks like the display is quite literally on the surface. It's vibrant enough so that it almost has an OLED quality to it, even though it's an LCD. Oh, and here's something the iPhone doesn't have, a glove mode, so you can use the capacitive touchscreen without taking your mittens off. It's great. But it's not just about the screen. The Mi Note is exquisitely constructed. It's weird to be using a phone from a brand that didn't exist five years ago and have it feel basically as solid as the best smartphones on the market. I might argue that the volume rocker is a tad fidgety, but otherwise it's smooth glass married perfectly to chamfered metal edges. Yeah, I said it, chamfered. That old buzzword launched by the iPhone 5 a couple years ago. And yes, it's true, Xiaomi gets accused for mimicking Apple on a fairly regular basis, but I wouldn't call the Mi Note an iPhone knockoff. It might borrow a cue or two from the iPhone 5, but the curved portions of the back make it look and feel notably different. If anything, it's a dash of iPhone 5, a dash of Galaxy Note 4, and some Xiaomi originality all mixed together. In the end, you get a big phone that legitimately looks and feels like a flagship device. If the Galaxy S6 being announced in a few days looked anything like this, honestly, Samsung would be doing all right for itself. If I have a problem with the Mi Note's design, though, it's that it's a little too sterile. The Mi Note combines so many tasteful, understated design elements that there's just very, very little room for character. It kind of screams generic flagship smartphone. And that's fine, I guess, but if you're looking for something quirky, you're not going to find it here. And Xiaomi might have trouble finding its calling card if it keeps this up. Unless you're Apple, I'm not sure you can hang an entire brand on something that looks this simple. Basically, I'm saying that I don't think I'd be able to pick a Xiaomi phone out of a lineup. Now take basically all of my sentiments about the hardware and carry them over to the software. It's beautiful, understated, and simple, maybe to a fault. This is heavily skinned Android that's changed in all the right ways for a change of pace. The Mi Note uses Xiaomi's well-known MIUI environment, which looks almost nothing like stock Android. Everything's changed from the fonts to the icons to the status bar to the launcher. It somehow feels simpler than the typical Android phone. Maybe it's the color scheme, which leans heavily on whites and grays, or maybe it's the fact that there's no app menu. App icons just appear on the home screen like they would on iOS. Seriously, this phone feels like a contender. It's really good, and I can imagine Xiaomi making even better stuff over the next few years. But I still think they're smart and staring clear of the US market. Look at Sony and Nokia, which started with way more name recognition, made awesome phones, and still have failed to capture big market share here. Could that change over time? Sure. The big players in the US phone market today are completely different than they were a decade ago. Who knows? Maybe by 2020, I'll be riding around in my Apple car and talking on a Mi Note 6.
 This is the Mi Note from Xiaomi.
 Don't worry if you haven't heard of these guys before, you're going to.
 This Chinese company has grown from nothing to one of the largest smartphone manufacturers
 in the world in under five years.
 Xiaomi has a bit of Google, a bit of Apple, a bit of Amazon, but that combination is completely
 unique.
 They're going to be launching in the US later this year, not with smartphones, but with
 some smaller accessories like headphones and fitness bands.
 In the meantime, Xiaomi is on a US media tour with its 2015 flagship phone, the Mi Note.
 I've been using it for a few days.
 Maybe not using it per se, because it doesn't support US LTE bands, so I haven't been using
 it as a phone, but I have been using it as a tiny tablet.
 Not to say that a phone with a 5.7 inch display is tiny, but you know what I mean.
 Speaking of the display, the Mi Note's 1080p screen is absolutely gorgeous.
 Don't be fooled into thinking this is an anonymous mid-range phone designed to sell
 in bargain bins.
 It's not.
 The screen is laminated just like you'd expect from a flagship phone from Apple or Samsung,
 meaning there's no gap between the glass and the pixels.
 You can hold the phone at an angle and it looks like the display is quite literally
 on the surface.
 It's vibrant enough so that it almost has an OLED quality to it, even though it's an
 LCD.
 Oh, and here's something the iPhone doesn't have, a glove mode, so you can use the capacitive
 touchscreen without taking your mittens off.
 It's great.
 But it's not just about the screen.
 The Mi Note is exquisitely constructed.
 It's weird to be using a phone from a brand that didn't exist five years ago and have
 it feel basically as solid as the best smartphones on the market.
 I might argue that the volume rocker is a tad fidgety, but otherwise it's smooth glass
 married perfectly to chamfered metal edges.
 Yeah, I said it, chamfered.
 That old buzzword launched by the iPhone 5 a couple years ago.
 And yes, it's true, Xiaomi gets accused for mimicking Apple on a fairly regular basis,
 but I wouldn't call the Mi Note an iPhone knockoff.
 It might borrow a cue or two from the iPhone 5, but the curved portions of the back make
 it look and feel notably different.
 If anything, it's a dash of iPhone 5, a dash of Galaxy Note 4, and some Xiaomi originality
 all mixed together.
 In the end, you get a big phone that legitimately looks and feels like a flagship device.
 If the Galaxy S6 being announced in a few days looked anything like this, honestly,
 Samsung would be doing all right for itself.
 If I have a problem with the Mi Note's design, though, it's that it's a little too sterile.
 The Mi Note combines so many tasteful, understated design elements that there's just very, very
 little room for character.
 It kind of screams generic flagship smartphone.
 And that's fine, I guess, but if you're looking for something quirky, you're not
 going to find it here.
 And Xiaomi might have trouble finding its calling card if it keeps this up.
 Unless you're Apple, I'm not sure you can hang an entire brand on something that looks
 this simple.
 Basically, I'm saying that I don't think I'd be able to pick a Xiaomi phone out of
 a lineup.
 Now take basically all of my sentiments about the hardware and carry them over to the software.
 It's beautiful, understated, and simple, maybe to a fault.
 This is heavily skinned Android that's changed in all the right ways for a change of pace.
 The Mi Note uses Xiaomi's well-known MIUI environment, which looks almost nothing like
 stock Android.
 Everything's changed from the fonts to the icons to the status bar to the launcher.
 It somehow feels simpler than the typical Android phone.
 Maybe it's the color scheme, which leans heavily on whites and grays, or maybe it's
 the fact that there's no app menu.
 App icons just appear on the home screen like they would on iOS.
 Seriously, this phone feels like a contender.
 It's really good, and I can imagine Xiaomi making even better stuff over the next few
 years.
 But I still think they're smart and staring clear of the US market.
 Look at Sony and Nokia, which started with way more name recognition, made awesome phones,
 and still have failed to capture big market share here.
 Could that change over time?
 Sure.
 The big players in the US phone market today are completely different than they were a
 decade ago.
 Who knows?
 Maybe by 2020, I'll be riding around in my Apple car and talking on a Mi Note 6.