The wait is over! Xiaomi Mi 5 officially launched at MWC (Mobile World Congress). This was the first time when Xiaomi prefered an international platform to launch their device. Xiaomi took 18 months to launch the successor of its last flagship device Mi 4, So everyone had too much expectation about Mi 5 and Xiaomi tried very hard to achieve that expectation by launching three variants of Xiaomi Mi 5. It’s in three variants with two different names Xiaomi Mi 5 and Xiaomi Mi Pro.
Two versions have the same name ‘Xiaomi Mi 5’ which comes with 32 GB & 64 GB internal storage with 3GB DDR4 RAM & rear glass panels, whereas Xiaomi Mi 5 Pro is packed with 4GB RAM, 128 GB internal storage & ceramic back panel.
Key Features of Xiaomi Mi 5:
- 5.15-inch FHD IPS LED display with 428ppi & ultra-bright 16-LED backlighting
- Snapdragon 820 processor, Adreno 530
- 3 GB RAM with 32 & 64 GB internal storage
- 4 GB RAM with 128GB internal storage
- Front fingerprint sensor
- 16 MegaPixel camera with f/2.0 aperture, 4-axis OIS, Sony IMX298 sensor, PDAF and DTI technology and dual LED flash
- 4MP camera with 2 micrometres (µm) sized sensor
- Full feature NFC
- 600Mbps 4G+ download speeds, VoLTE
- Dual 4G SIM with dual standby
- 3000mAh battery, Quick Charge 3.0
- MIUI based on Android M 6.0
There is one more twist between these variants, which is clock speed the 32 GB variant has a clock speed of 1.8 GHz and the 64 GB variant and Mi 5 Pro has a clock speed of 2.15 GHz.
Let’s make it more understandable, the entry level Mi 5 has 3GB RAM, 32 GB internal storage and 1.8 GHz CPU speed and rear glass panels.
The mid-level Mi 5 has 3GB RAM, 64 GB internal storage, a clock speed of 2.15 GHz and rear glass panels.
Xiaomi Mi Pro the top version has 4 GB RAM, 128 GB internal storage and ceramic rear panels.
At MWC the VP of Xiaomi global Hugo Barra announced the release date and price of Mi 5 and Mi Pro for Chinese customers but he also mentioned that the device will be released in India very soon. The device will be available for Chinese Mi fans from 1st March and the price will be RMB 1999 for 32 GB version, RMB 2299 for 64 GB version and RMB 2699 for Mi 5 Pro.
There isn’t any confirmation about Xiaomi Mi 5 release date in India and price of Mi 5 in India but as the company’s VP said, the phone will be released in Indian & other markets very soon.
Again there is not any confirmed official price for the Indian market but most probably the price will be almost similar to the prices of Mi 5/Pro in China. So after converting Chinese price in Indian currency as per the current exchange rate, it will be around ₹ 21000, ₹ 24000 & ₹ 28000 for 32GB, 64GB & 128GB version respectively.
Personally, I felt very disappointed because I thought Xiaomi will release something we can call the best device in the current market but it will be unfair to call Mi 5/Pro the best upcoming device for Indian market especially when the price tag is also too high.
There are few features which are either missing or not as per our my our expectation…
Laser Autofocus: It should have laser autofocus because they are projecting Mi 5 as the best camera phone.
Screen Size: I was expecting a 5.5 inches screen size which is trending these days. Since they have launched three variants, they had a chance to release at least one variant with the larger screen.
Display: I really like & appreciate the display quality provided by Xioami. So Full HD display is totally fine considering battery efficiency but many Xiaomi’s fans were expecting Quad HD display.
Battery: Its hard to say anything about battery backup but it’s not what we expected there are tons of devices which have better battery capacity in the similar/lower price tag.
Quick Charge: As Company’s VP mentioned during the launch that it will take 1 hour to charge 70-80 %, seriously !! They are calling this quick charge there is a company who is implementing technology which can charge 100% in 15 minutes and I have used devices like Nexus 5X which takes less than an hour to charge 100%. There are also many devices with more battery capacity which are taking around 1 hour 20-30 minutes to charge 70%-80%.
Fingerprint Scanner: Hype was Xiaomi has used smallest and fastest fingerprint scanner but during launch event company’s VP didn’t mention any detail about fingerprint, I was wondering why ?! then I have sent message to many news/media agencies who were there at event and they replied “it is not that good”, GSMArena also mentioned about fingerprint sensor read here.
Price Tag: Xiaomi used to be the manufacturer who always surprised everyone with their lower price tag. This the price is surprisingly high!
I can understand it might be costing too much for such specifications but Xiaomi has the reputation of producing the best device at the least price. Remember !! Indian customer will always care about the price and customers will compare the specifications with other devices in the market, in that case, your 32GB variant is going to suffer for sure.
Will It Be Worth Buying?
If you are a hardcore Xiaomi fan who looking for an upgrade and don’t care about pricing then you can buy this phone. But my suggestion for other users is you should wait and research properly before buying. Know the reviews from different buyers or better to be let your friends buy first 🙂 then check all features properly before investing such a huge amount. Don’t just buy because you have Mi 4 and this is the successor of Mi 4, think thoroughly and compare the specification features & price with other similar devices before buying the device.
