Xiaomi Mi 6 UK release date: How to buy the Mi 6 in the UK

Last month Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi announced the Xiaomi Mi 6 smartphone. Hot on the heels of last year’s Mi 5 and the beautiful, bezelless Mi Mix, the Mi 6 certainly has a lot to live up to.

Thankfully, it’s looking like the Xiaomi Mi 6 will be no slouch. In fact, it’s potentially as powerful as the utterly fantastic Samsung Galaxy S8 at nearly two thirds of its price. Below, we tell you everything you need to know about the Xiaomi Mi 6.

Xiaomi Mi6: Everything you need to know

What is the Xiaomi Mi 6?

Xiaomi’s Mi 6 is the latest flagship in the company’s smartphone range. Designed to be not just the most powerful phone in Xiaomi’s arsenal, the Mi 6 is also a deadly combination of power, style and price. To put it bluntly, this is the phone Xiaomi wants to make you think you need to own.

In terms of design and form factor, the Mi 6 is similar to its predecessor, the Xiaomi Mi 5. It has a curved glass back with a metal frame, and this time around its rear glass panel curves at all four edges instead of just the two long ones. An under-glass fingerprint sensor and dual rear cameras that sit completely flush with the body, instead of jutting out like on an iPhone or Samsung Galaxy S8, complete its seamless style.

Xiaomi Mi 6 specifications

Not wanting to be beaten by the competition, Xiaomi has crammed the brand-new Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 into the Mi 6 – a chip only found in the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Sony’s upcoming Xperia XZ Premium. Alongside the 835 is a beefy 6GB of RAM, a 3,350mAh battery and the same 5.15in 1,920 x 1,080 pixel display found in the Mi 5. Xiaomi has also included a 12-megapixel dual-camera array on its rear, allowing for greater focal length compared to that of the single-camera Mi 5.

How much is the Xiaomi Mi 6?

You may think that for a flagship phone that’s stuffed to the brim with high-end components, the Xiaomi Mi 6 would be breaking the bank. However, Xiaomi’s main market is China, where everything is priced incredibly cheaply. 

In China, the Mi 6 starts at 2,499 yuan (£284) for a 64GB model and the larger 128GB model clocks in at 2,899 yuan (£329) – an absolute steal for a phone of this specification. If you feel like dropping just that little bit more on your Mi 6, you can opt for a 128GB model with a ceramic back for 2,999 yuan (£340).

When is the Xiaomi Mi 6 UK release date?

This, unfortunately, is a tricky one to answer. After having tried, and somewhat failed, to crack the US and European market with the Xiaomi Mi 5, it’s unlikely we’ll see a Xiaomi device land on our shores for some time. That could change if Xiaomi is feeling generous and fancies taking another risk with its flagship phone. However, considering its unveiling was focused on appealing to China, we wouldn’t count on picking up a Xiaomi Mi 6 in the UK any time soon. You could, however, import one if you really want to see what the Xiaomi craze is all about.

How to buy Xiaomi Mi 6 in the UK

As mentioned above, the best way to get hold of the Xiaomi Mi 6 in the UK is to import one. Unfortunately, because of the costs associated with shipping a product around the world, alongside exchange rate conversions, getting hold of a Mi 6 won’t be as wonderfully cheap as you may have first thought.

Two importers worth looking at are GearBest and Geekbuying. GearBest will begin shipping the Xiaomi Mi 6 from 17 June 2017.