Skroutz.eu

For almost 8 years, I have been buying midrange Xiaomi either for myself or as a gift, and I think this is the first time I haven't been equally satisfied and I will think twice next time.

First of all, among the things that are indeed value for money, the performance is solid (games, apps, etc.), the camera is at the level you expect for such money without comparing it to high-end obviously, and the sound/speakers/microphone.

A major downside is the battery life, which hardly lasts a day with moderate use, which is somewhat saved by the very fast charging with the original charger it comes with. You can put it at 5%, and in 20 minutes it can be at 70.

However, the biggest downside for me is its software, the hyperOS, which is like MIUI2 with its known quirks.
- It can kill apps like Viber, Messenger, WhatsApp, etc., rendering them useless, until you sit down and add them one by one in the settings to not kill them and pin them (with extra battery drain).
- There are random bugs with some apps, and if you look into it, you'll see other users saying "it's a known bug of MIUI/hyperOS." For example, Instagram will almost always go completely dark after a while.
- There have been times when the camera wouldn't open with any app and wouldn't fix with a restart. If it happens again, I'll see if it was a temperature issue.

These are things that annoy not only advanced users but also average users; if they don't have someone knowledgeable to fix them, it will drive them crazy. Some other negatives, like difficulty seeing when the sun is down, or ads in the original apps until you temporarily close them, were also present in the X3 Pro from which I upgraded (until it started shutting down on its own after three years), but I could overlook them due to the overall package. Next time, I will prefer something else.