The day came when the pre-order for the UMIDIGI Z2 smartphone was opened and the device was officially launched at Gearbest with a discount of $50, which means a price tag of $249.99. UMIDIGI Z2 (and also Z2 Pro, which will open the period of preliminary sales in a month) is considered an important milestone for the company since it is the best device of the manufacturer in almost all aspects. It has a spectacular design with fantastically beautiful color solutions Twilight and Twilight Black, rational innovations and cool “chips”, which should attract the attention of consumers to the novelty.
Previous models of the company were mostly closer to the middle class than to the high-end. To be the best device to date, Z2 must now compete with the flagships of other manufacturers. So, if you compare the specifications of the novelty with the latest Xiaomi Mi 8 smartphone , you can easily conclude that they are pretty close, and the biggest advantage of Xiaomi is its more popular brand. Especially if you take into account the price.
Design and Display
In terms of design, both devices look beautiful. Both have a cutout on the display and a glass sandwich cabinet that provides wireless charging. The advantage of Z2 over the Mi 8 is a spectacular shiny aluminum frame, which, compared to the matte on the Mi 8, looks more premium.
Moreover, the colors we mentioned above look amazing, and the “Twilight” version is inspired by the northern lights. As for the front panel, both devices can boast of thin frames and large displays, but the Mi 8 has the advantage of an AMOLED display against the LCD IPS screen, which is endowed with Z2.
Camera
In terms of optics, both smartphones have good characteristics on paper. Z2 received a dual main camera, composed of a 16MP and 8MP sensors from Samsung with an f / 2.0 aperture. The Mi 8 has a dual camera of 12MP sensors with the aperture of f / 1.8 and f / 2.4 respectively.
We will have to wait and see the real samples of the images for both of them to determine if the quality has improved or not because until now both companies had rather mediocre results of photography. On the other hand, the Z2 camera has a distinct advantage, because it is dual (16MP / 8MP), while the Mi 8 has a single sensor with a resolution of 20MP.
Hardware/Software
Finally, the Mi 8 is a clear winner in performance, because it is built on the basis of Snapdragon 845 against Helio P23 from Z2. There is no doubt that the SD845 is a monster, the second fastest processor after the Apple A11 Bionic.
But if you combine the hardware with the software, the difference starts to decrease, because UMIDIGI chose the pure Android 8.1 Oreo for Z2, and Xiaomi preferred the MIUI 9.5 based on Oreo for Mi 8.
Battery
Undoubtedly, pure Android is always easier and more flexible than any “home” platform. In addition, the Linux Lineage OS group said it will provide branded ROMs for the Z2, which is also a big plus. A lot of pluses and battery capacity of both devices, but the Z2 capacity is more (3850 mAh), and it charges faster than the Mi 8 – 80 minutes against 100.
And how much is all this magnificence? It is here that UMIDIGI Z2 finally defeats the competitor since during the preliminary sale it costs$ 300 less than Mi 8 in the version 6GB / 64GB. And you can already pre-order it on Gearbest.
UMIDIGI Z2 Pro Giveaway Winners Announced
As you could read in the previous news, the company held a free event, offering 10 pairs of Z2 Pro + Q1 Wireless Charger. UMIDIGI made a draw and 10 winners are the following. All winners will be contacted within 3 days.