to be another winner for Xiaomi. 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.
The company was keen to emphasise just how fast the Mi5 is, which is 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. 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.
Not to be outdone on the camera, the Mi5 has a 16 megapixel sensor that
includes optical image stabilisation. 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.