Xiaomi Mi 5 Targets The Establishment With Flagship Specs And Bargain Pricing
Chinese handset maker Xiaomi unveiled a new smartphone at Mobile World Congress 2016 in Barcelona, Spain, called the Mi 5 and it underscores why the company is the third largest phone maker in the world (and No. 1 in China) behind only Samsung and Apple. The Mi 5 is a flagship device with a low-end price tag.
It's also a premium looking handset, resembling Samsung's new Galaxy S7. The Mi 5 sports a 5.15-inch Full HD display—same resolution as Apple's iPhone 6s Plus handset—powered by a burly Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 System-on-Chip (SoC) and 4GB of RAM. That's not a bad foundation to build on top of.
More than ever, smartphones are used in place of point-n-shoot cameras, and the Mi 5 looks up to the challenge. It has a 4-megapixel camera on the front for selfies and video chat, and a 16-megapixel camera around back with a Sony IMX298 sensor that sits flat against the body of the phone. The rear camera can record 4K resolution video and is equipped with 4-axis optical image stabilization, up from 3-axis or 2-axis on many other smartphones (the aforementioned iPhone 6s Plus uses a 3-axis OIS).
Other notable features include up to 128GB of internal storage, 4G LTE connectivity, NFC support, Quick Charge 3.0 technology, a capacious 3,000 mAh battery, Gorilla Glass (presumably the latest version), and Android 6.0 Marshmallow. All this comes wrapped in a lightweight "3D glass / ceramic body" that weighs just 129 grams.
There will be two version of the Mi 5—a toned down model that will sell for RMB 1999 (around $305 in U.S. currency) and the Mi 5 Pro with all the bells and whistles, including 128GB of internal storage, for RMB 2699 (around $413).
Unfortunately, it doesn't look like the Mi 5 or Mi 5 Pro are headed to U.S. shores. Instead, they will debut in China on March 1 before releasing to India and other markets sometime thereafter.
It's also a premium looking handset, resembling Samsung's new Galaxy S7. The Mi 5 sports a 5.15-inch Full HD display—same resolution as Apple's iPhone 6s Plus handset—powered by a burly Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 System-on-Chip (SoC) and 4GB of RAM. That's not a bad foundation to build on top of.
More than ever, smartphones are used in place of point-n-shoot cameras, and the Mi 5 looks up to the challenge. It has a 4-megapixel camera on the front for selfies and video chat, and a 16-megapixel camera around back with a Sony IMX298 sensor that sits flat against the body of the phone. The rear camera can record 4K resolution video and is equipped with 4-axis optical image stabilization, up from 3-axis or 2-axis on many other smartphones (the aforementioned iPhone 6s Plus uses a 3-axis OIS).
Other notable features include up to 128GB of internal storage, 4G LTE connectivity, NFC support, Quick Charge 3.0 technology, a capacious 3,000 mAh battery, Gorilla Glass (presumably the latest version), and Android 6.0 Marshmallow. All this comes wrapped in a lightweight "3D glass / ceramic body" that weighs just 129 grams.
There will be two version of the Mi 5—a toned down model that will sell for RMB 1999 (around $305 in U.S. currency) and the Mi 5 Pro with all the bells and whistles, including 128GB of internal storage, for RMB 2699 (around $413).
Unfortunately, it doesn't look like the Mi 5 or Mi 5 Pro are headed to U.S. shores. Instead, they will debut in China on March 1 before releasing to India and other markets sometime thereafter.
