Xiaomi launched their latest flagship, the Mi5, in India last week. Its now on sale today for the first time. We did go hands on with the device (actually 2 times) and here's a look at some of its most notable features that may convince you as to why the Xiaomi Mi5 is one of the best smartphone available under - INR 25,000.
So, here's everything you need to know before you press that "Buy" button:
Design and Build
Xiaomi has always been accused of launching smartphones with design inspired from Apple, the company is even called the “Apple of China” by the western media. But the company changed that perception with the launch of Mi Note/Pro which carried a unique design, which has now been carried forward with the Mi5.
With a glass body and metal frame, the Xiaomi Mi 5 looks spectacular in perforn and is very light at just 129 grams even with a massive 3000 mAh battery. For more on the build of the device, you can read our detailed hands-on impressions.
One-handed Use
The phone has a 5.15” display which makes it ideal for single handed use. Moreover, the back-panel is curved which makes it even better to hold in hand. Xiaomi has also added the volume buttons and power button on the slightly tapering frame, which makes them easier to reach.
Display Brightness/Outdoor Visibility
The screen used on the Mi5 has a 1080p resolution which may seem less after hearing about all the Quad-HD displays on various Samsung and LG flagships. But at 5.15-inches the display on the Mi5 is as sharp as you would expect it to be. They have used 16 LED powered backlight which goes crazy bright when you need it, the company claims that the brightness can go over 600 nits which is great when you are outside. Moreover, the display has a rich contrast and what seems like quite a wide color gamut, which makes its very vibrant.
Performance
The Mi5 is powered by the new and the most powerful processor yet from Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 820. This is by far one of the better SoC's from Qualcomm in recent years. There's to talk of any heating issues plus it is far more efficient in handling battery hungry tasks as well as gaming.
Xiaomi Mi5 India Hands-on(Video)
Camera
Xiaomi has packed a 16MP rear camera on the Mi5 which uses Sony's IMX298 sensor and comes with 4-axix stabilizer, phase-detection autofocus. For us regular folks, it means, less blurry shots during day and better images with faster autofocusing in low-light.
Even for selfie lovers, there's a 4MP Ultrapixel camera on the front, the same that was found on earlier HTC flagships (as the primary camera).
Pricing, Availability and Colors
First thing we need to take off the table is that the Xiaomi Mi5 is overpriced. Yes, it costs a bit more in India than in China, but that's what generally happens when a phone needs to be imported to a different country. Moreover, there are other considerations here like customs, taxes, packaging which all add to the cost. It will probably get a price cut later in the year, but for now at Rs. 25000, its still one of the best phone out there.
Coming to availability, the Xiaomi Mi5 is only available in 32GB base model in India. The storage here is non-expandable and we don't think the 64GB or Pro variant with Ceramic back are coming to India anytime soon. Moreover, only the white color of the Xiaomi Mi 5 is available in India at present.
Still need convincing?
These were some points in favor of the Xiaomi Mi5, like USB Type-C, Quick Charge 3.0, NFC, Fingerprint unlocking, MIUI customization and much more.
Overall, the Mi5 is shaping up to be the "Real Flagship Killer" but there are many things to test out including how the camera actually works in low light, the battery life and performance in day-to-day use. If you can hold out a couple of weeks for our review, I would say you should wait, but if you are in a hurry the points above should be enough to sway your mind.
