The last week of February 2016 has seen the launch of the new Mi5 flagship killer from Xiaomi, at the Mobile World Conference (MWC) in Barcelona Spain. Boasting a new curved back design different from their previous flagship, the Mi4 as well as hardware spec sheet rivaling the best in the market at a very reasonable list price, these Chinese phone maker is hell bent on upping the game.
The phone comes in three flavors this time round: The 32GB and 64GB version featuring a metal and glass body as well as the 128GB Pro version boasting a high quality metal frame and ceramic back cover.
All versions are based on the latest Snapdragon 820 chipset from Qualcomm. However, CPU clock speeds vary across the versions: The 32GB Version has quad Kryo CPU with two clocked @ 1.8Ghz, Adreno 530 GPU clocked at 510Mhz and 3GB of RAM @1333Mhz while the 64GB Variant comes with quad Kryo CPU with two clocked @ 2.15 GHz, Adreno 530 GPU @ 624MHz and 3GB RAM @ 1866MHz. The true flagship killer is the 128GB version dubbed Mi5 Pro boasting quad Kryo CPU clocked @ 2.15 GHz, Adreno 530 GPU @ 624MHz and a whooping 4GB of RAM @ 1866MHz.
They all have a 1080p 5.15" IPS LCD display @428 pixels per inch. A 16Mp Camera with 4 axis Optical Image Stabilization from Sony features at the back while the front gets a 4Mp UltraPixel Camera as well as a fingerprint scanner.
If the Mi4, which I have used for a couple of months is anything to go by, then the Mi5 must be extremely good. The amount of phone you get for the money is simply outstanding. Few phones come close in terms of what you get vs how much you pay, more so in the main-stream brands. Unfortunately, we still have an obsession with brand names and anything else is viewed with a lot of skepticism.
The don’t have dealerships outside of China, Hong Kong and India. I do have a few pieces of the Mi4 with me, imported from Hong Kong. Inbox if you are interested.
