Xiaomi has today announced their much anticipated handset, the Mi5, at an International conference in Beijing.
The company did not have a booth at MWC, instead choosing to launch their device via video stream. Still, the fact that they even chose to announce the device during a European press conference seems to indicate that the company is preparing to expand beyond their native Asian and Brazilian markets.
Onto the device and Xiaomi had a clear theme throughout the presentation; speed. The company was keen to emphasise just how fast the Mi5 is, which is in part down to the Snapdragon 820 and 4GB LPDDR4 RAM. Interestingly, the larger 64GB version has a faster clock speed of 2.15GHz versus 1.8GHz for the 32GB variant. Internal memory has had a significant upgrade and Xiaomi has chosen to use the new UFS 2.0 modules for much faster performance. The company claims increases up to 80% over the older eMMC 5.0 standard. It’s also bursting with other connectivity options, offering Bluetooth, NFC, Netcom 3.0 and 4G+ up to 600Mbps. Perhaps the only area where the company hasn’t matched leaders is in the battery, where the Mi5 has a large but not awe-inspiring 3,000 mAh cell.
The design is definitely a strong departure from the Mi4, with angular edges replaced with smooth curves. Much like the Samsung Galaxy S7, it has a 3D glass back helps which helps to make it feel flush in your hand, while a fingerprint reader is now found on the front and replaces the middle capacitive button. At 69.20 x 144.55 x 7.25mm, it’s only a little thicker than the Mi Note… And at 129g in weight it’s perhaps one of the lightest devices in its category. Xiaomi also a different variant, the Xiaomi Mi5 Pro, which includes a premium ceramic back rather than glass.
Not to be outdone on the camera, the Mi5 has some very impressive optics with a 16 megapixel OIS sensor, which is the new Sony IMX 298. This has proven to be a very good sensor and can also be found in the Huawei Mate 8, though it probably won’t include those awful focusing issues. Phase detection autofocus is included and the lens is Sapphire glass to avoid scratches. Naturally, it also records in 4K for good measure.
The front camera is another area where the company has really excelled, with a 4 megapixel UltraPixel sensor that has 2 micron pixels for better image quality. It also has a wide f/2.0 aperture lens, which is pretty unusual for a front facing shooter.
The Xiaomi Mi5 will be available for a modest $352 which converts to roughly £253, a very cheap price for such a powerful handset. The bigger The bigger Mi5 Pro will cost roughly $413, which equates to around £297. Release dates for both are yet to be confirmed.
For more on Xiaomi, visit What Mobile’s dedicated Xiaomi page.
