With an all new design, the most powerful chipset on the planet, 4 axis OIS on the camera and a new fingerprint scanner the Xiaomi Mi5 should be the best thing since sliced bread, but is it?
After seeing the Xiaomi Mi5 at the media preview in Barcelona I was super excited to get my hands on the phone for a full review. I had the option to either get the phone sent for free (but return it afterwards) or to purchase the phone and keep it. I was fairly certain that I would love the Mi5 so I bought the phone and have been using it as my own personal phone since it arrived. Do I regret it?
Xiaomi Mi5 Review – Design
There are a few things that I believe we can all agree on with the design of the Xiaomi Mi5. 1) the home button is ugly and 2) the black version of the phone is far better looking than the white model.
So let’s start with these two details. Firstly the home button is where the fingerprint scanner is located and it is simply terrible to look at. I don’t like the shape, the action doesn’t feel all that premium, and I actually don’t see the reason why it has to be a physical button (i would have preferred something like the scanner on the OP2).
The reason why the black version of the Xiaomi Mi5 is preferable is because it partially obscures the design of the home button and it also hides the black border around the display.
So we’re not off to a great start, and while I’m complaining let’s complain about the build quality. To the right of the Mi5 (as with all Xiaomi devices) there is a volume control and a power button. Both metal buttons are loose. The volume rocker is loose to the touch, while the power button looks as though it might eventually fall off at some point. Yes, I get the Xiaomi Mi5 is a 1999 Yuan phone, but I’ve handed Doogee phones with better physical controls than this!
Ok the complaints are over for now so now lets take a look at the rest of the phone.
In the hand the Xiaomi Mi5 is a superbly compact smartphone, in fact this is one of the major pluses for this phone. The narrow body, thin design and lightweight make it a very comfortable phone to hold.
It’s a bit of an odd width due to the 5.15-inch display (larger so that Xiaomi can fit more LED lights under it), but it is great to hold especially with that curved rear panel.
The glossy white finish of the Mi5 isn’t up to the same high quality as the Mi Note, and it also isn’t quite as slick so I haven’t had to worry about the Xiaomi Mi5 sliding off a table quite as much as I did with the Mi Note.
The curved rear also has a new curved metal chassis which is a really nice feature and again helps with the comfort and also gives the phone a really slim look from the sides.
A tour around the phone will show you the 8 mega-pixel front camera on the forehead of the phone. There is a hidden LED RGB light for notifications up there too.
On the chin there are two backlit hardware button on either side of that physical home button, neither has an icon but you can set them up how you like from inside MIUI. The home button itself protrudes slightly from the face.
Back to the top and on to the metal frame there is a IR remote, and 3.5mm headphone jack.
The left side of the phone has a dual SIM tray, the base has a single speaker, USB Type C and microphone and on the right there are the volume and power buttons (don’t worry if you can’t find the buttons just shake the Mi5 and follow the rattle).
From the back side of the Mi5 you could be looking at the rear of the Xiaomi Mi Note only a smaller version. The top left is where that 16 mega-pixel camera is with dual LED flash and the final detail is the Mi logo in silver.
What we can take away from the design is that Xiaomi have managed to cram a hell of a lot of goodies in the compact body, and in areas they really have made some nice touches, such as the curved CNC metal frame, but at the same time they seem to have forgotten how to make physical buttons.
Xiaomi Mi5 Revew – Hardware
Whatever you might feel about the design and build quality of the Xiaomi Mi5 it is hard to not be impressed with what the Beijing phone maker has managed to fit inside.
First off all let’s tick off the features then I’ll go in to a little more detail of each.
The Xiaomi Mi5 we have is the standard version so it gets 32GB internal memory, 3GB RAM and a 1.8Ghz Snapdragon 820 chipset. So its 1GB less in the RAM dept and slightly slower in the CPU department compared to the top of the range Xiaomi Mi5, but you will likely never notice the difference in speed between the two, they are both obscenely fast!
Each version of the Xiaomi Mi5 has the same 5.15 inch display with additional LED strips behind to help make the screen brighter plus the screen has Xiaomi’s own Sunlight Display technology which is meant to make the screen easier to see in sunny conditions. In the past I’ve tried it on the Mi4i and on the Mi5 I’m still unimpressed with it. Even with the extra LED’s the screen still isn’t all that easy to see when viewed in bright sunny conditions.
Inside and away from the sun the screen is nice, and at night it can be set to blind you.
Below the display we have the fingerprint scanner, and already you know I am not impressed with the design of it, but I’m also not impressed with the implementation either.
On earlier smartphones with fingerprint scanners the phone required you to first wake the device up before it can scan your fingerprint. We’ve seen this technology fade out and be replaced with one touch tech (like on the Redmi Note 3, Vivo X6 Plus, OP2 and even Elephone M series), but the Mi5 still uses an old implementation. I don’t know if this is a hardware limitation but you first need to press the physical home button in order to let your fingerprint be scanned and unlock the phone. It’s a fast process, but it seems to me the only reason to have the physical button is to wake the phone as it serves no other purpose at all. Surely a capacitive button like the version on the OnePlus 2 would have been better?
At the very bottom of the phone is the single speaker which has pretty decent audio. It’s nice and load with good quality.
The USB Type C can be used with Qualcomm’s 3.0 quick charge, but a fast charger doesn’t come in the box. Still a full charge with the included plug only takes around 2 hours.
The battery inside the phone is a 3000mAh model and with normal usage (i.e not gaming) you can get plenty of life out of it. Personally I am getting over a day and a half with mostly GPS, mail, photos etc. That said the screen on time the phone is reporting is really low at just 2 hours and 38 minutes.
Gizchina News of the week
At the very top of the phone there is the IR remote and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The Mi5 will know when you plug in a set of earphones and let you set up the buttons how you want them and you can choose the audio features depending on the earphones you use. As this is a Xiaomi phone the presets are all for Xiaomi earphones, but you can play around with them to get your preferred sound. Audio quality is really nice thanks to the Snapdragon 820 chipset, but not up to the very high standards of the Vivo X6 Plus and Lenovo Vibe X3.
Connectivity is really very impressive. I can connect to my own WIFI network from inside the local coffee shop. On other phones I can see my network inside the coffee shop but not connect to it. Also, data connectivity is strong too. Our local Carrefour has no signal once you step inside, but the Mi5 was managing to stay connected most of the time.
Xiaomi Mi5 Review – Performance
Performance, well what can I say about this except the Xiaomi Mi5 is a blazing performer. Forget the benchmarks just for a second and actually use the phone and you will have no doubt in your mind that this is one of the fastest phones on the market today.
Its not just about the Snapdragon 820 chipset and RAM though, but the speed of that super fast internal memory. You really do notice the difference in read and write speeds and this helps when taking and saving photos.
Xiaomi Mi5 Review – Camera
Ok on to that camera. On paper the Xiaomi Mi5 has a seriously impressive camera with a 16 mega-pixel sensor, F2.0 aperture and 4 axis OIS. That they managed to get all of that in to the Xiaomi Mi5 is impressive to say the least.
It was really the 4 axis OIS that sold this phone to me. You can turn the camera on and wiggle the phone about while looking at the lens you can actually see it compensating, it really is impressive.
You can even wiggle the phone about and snap photos and them come out perfect. Remember of course that OIS is only to get rid of small bumps, nudges and shakes, don’t go running down and mountain and expect silky smooth images.
Speaking of the images well they aren’t quite as good as you might hope, but they are exceptionally good considering how fast the phone acts. Even with the phone locked I am able to get the phone in my hand unlock it, get the camera open then snap an action shot in just a few seconds, and the OIS means it will be shake free to boot. There is no other phone on the market that is able to do this.
If you are the kind of person who often misses a great photo opportunity because your phone is too slow then you are going to really appreciate the speed of the Mi5.
About that OIS though. Although it works well in photos, it seems to be disabled in video. The sample below was taken with me standing still with a little wind buffering the phone, its not as super smooth as I hoped it would be, take a look.
In good light the Xiaomi Mi5 really performs well, but I am shocked but how noisy images get when light is at a premium.
Xiaomi don’t market the Mi5 as a camera phone though, and I would say that camera performance is on par with other flagship phones from global players. Remember also that the speed of the Mi5 means photos are possible with the this phone which simply aren’t with other phones. However if image quality is what you are after then there are other choices.
Xiaomi Mi5 Photo samples
How fast is the Xiaomi Mi5 camera
Xiaomi Mi5 Review – Specifications
| Model: | Mi 5 |
| Sim Card: | Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by) |
| Color: | Black | White | Gold |
| Capacity | RAM: 3GB | 4GB
ROM: 32GB | 64GB | 128GB UFS2.0 |
| Multi-Languages |
Chinese,English |
| Chipset | CPU: Qualcomm® Snapdragon 820
Dual-core 1.8 GHz Kryo & dual-core 1.6 GHz Kryo CPU frequency: 1.8GHz GPU: Adreno 530 510MHz |
| System | MIUI 7 |
| Screen | Display Size: 5.15 Inch 16 LED light display
Resolution: 1920 x 1080pixels, 428PPI Screen Color: 16000K Colors Multitouch: Yes Other:95% NTSC ,600nit |
| Camera | Rear Camera: 16MP
Front Camera: 5MP |
| Network and Wireless Connectivity | 4G: FDD-LTE B1/B3/B7
TDD B38/B39/B40/B41: 2555-2655MHz 3G: WCDMA B1/B2/B5/B8, TD-SCDMA B34/B39 2G: GSM B2/B3/B5/B8 CDMA 2000:band BC0 / BC1 CDMA 1X:BC0 / BC1 GPS: GPS , AGPS ,GLONASS Bluetooth: v4.2 , HID WiFi: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n ,Wi-Fi hotspot, 2.4GHz WiFi, WiFi Direct ,WiFi Display Full feature NFC |
| Battery capacity and life | Non-removable 3000mAh(typ) / 2910mAh(min) lithium-ion battery.
Support Quick Charge 3.0 |
| Sensor | Fingerprint Scanner,Electronic compass, Accelerometer, Light sensor,Gyroscope, Infrared, Hall sensor, Proximity sensor,Inflared Technology |
| Size | 144.55 x 69.2 x7.25mm
Net weight:129g |
| Package | 1 x Xiaomi Mi5
1 x Travel Charger 1 x Usb Type-C Data Cable 1 x Battery |
Xiaomi Mi5 Review – Gallery
Xiaomi Mi5 Review – Unboxing and hands on
Xiaomi Mi5 Review – Conclusion
When Xiaomi started to tease the Xiaomi Mi5 they put a heavy emphasis on speed, and that’s what they have managed. They have created a phone with a super fast CPU, fast memory, fast charging (even without a fast charger) and super fast camera, but while it might be fast it isn’t fantastic.
The Mi5 is a great example of what Xiaomi can and cannot do. The Mi Note proved that Xiaomi can make a premium phone at a price, but the Mi5 proves that they cannot make a premium flagship with all the top features (fans have come to demand from them) at their traditional 1999 Yuan price tag.
In all honesty I wish the Mi5 had downgraded the processor, the odd size display (which surely cuts in to their budget), and 4 axis OIS in favour of better build quality, a less advanced OIS and concentrated on user experience.
The Mi5’s design could have been turned in to one heck of a functional phone if it wasn’t so loaded with top of the range hardware. All the flagship components could have waited for the Mi Note 2 and with it’s expected higher price we could have our Xiaomi cake and eat it.
So do I regret buying the Xiaomi Mi5? Well no not really. I still have the fastest phone on the market (in actual day to day use), the camera is perfect for action photos, and the size makes it easy to handle.
I cant help to feel that the overall review was impacted by the faulty buttons.
But Im shocked you have to wake up the screen to use the fingerprint scanner.
nope that’s not true, you dont have to wake up the screen to use fingerprin scanner .
i saw the video review on youtube . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5Q2iaSB0_A
People is confusing having to press the button to unlock the phone with having to wake up the phone before using the fingerprint scanner.
Still a shitty way to do it, there should be no button at all.
Sadly I don’t understand a single word the guy is saying. How do you know from watching the video that the guy isn’t pressing the home button?
you can choose psyhically to press the home button or to tab it I heard
Then there goes the credibility of that comment, “”I heard” . And Andi has the actual thing on his hand.
exactly, agree with both notes, I have the same impression
Nice review, but there seemed to be nothing at all about how MIUI functions on this phone. From my experience of xiaomi phones I expect it is buggy, would have also liked to have heard about how it performs for gaming and weather heat is in an issue. I do agree that that home button is hideous. And I hate to say it but there is no manufacturer out there that can compete with apples implementation of OIS, not even samsung. Xiaomi where making all sorts of comparisons with iphone 6s plus at the launch yet when it comes down to it that video is nowhere near as smooth as the video you get form a 6s plus. Despite my dislike of MIUI V7 i was kind of thinking about the mi5 but after this review im not so convinced any more, seems like a lot of money to spend for what seems like good but not exceptional build and camera.
Usually MIUI works as advertised right out of the box for me. But I agree on OIS, like I said above I usually try to turn it off on any phone that has it because often times the implementation just isn’t that good. Apple does a very good job of it though.
camera 8 = shame !
I am more interested in battery review. Maybe the mi4s will have better batery. After this review I somehow think of getting just redmi note 3 as it seems like a perfectly good phone withouth cashing out too much money and it have great battery.
I think the design is nice. And the good camera. Although I somehow agree with the review that it is very fast phone with high end tech I also wish if iy could have slower specs and for example better design and battery life.
At the end any more comments on the battery ?
Design – 7/10,
Just kidding !!!
I have to say that I am not impressed by this phone after all the hypes and expectations.
If white phones are ugly, why Xiaomi insist in making those ones first?
Battery 8/10 with 2:30hours of screen time? the fanboys is talking, if this was a let’s say Blackview phone it would be a 5/10 or lower with that shitty screen time, not even their cheapest and oldest phones were that bad.
It seems to be that if we slapped a better camera at the Redmi Note 3 Pro we would get a overall better phone than the Mi5 cheapo edition, for nearly half of the price.
https://www.gizchina.com/2015/12/02/blackview-bv2000-review/
You mean like this Blackview that got a 7/10?
I’m testing the Mi 5 Prime and I’ve just reached an amount of 6/7 hours of display, with Wi-Fi and 4G, 1 hour and half of gaming (Asphalt 8, Real Racing 3 and Modern Combat 5), 1 hour of streaming video, 1 hour of Spotify, almost 2 hour of Full HD film reproduction and so on.
Also in my sample the physical buttons aren’t loose.
Lastly, in my box there is the fast charger (12/9/5V and 2.5/2/1.5A) and for a complete charge it takes around 1,15 hour.
This looks much more as the review should have gone.
Pretty accurate review.
You basically confirmed all of our suspects.
That button is indeed ugly, and I belong to the category that would have traded the OIS with a better camera module with a larger aperture (f/1.7 to name one)
They improved with the design but they are still not there.
I’ll be waiting for the Note2, (not the Pro, too expensive).
Mi4 had an f1.8 aperture, so i was surprised that they downgraded it. The fingerprint looks rediculas, the shape is pathetic, Meizu pro 5’s fingerprint looks better.
I usually turn off OIS in any phone that has it, I am a control freak (shocking) when it comes to the camera.
Screen time….
I cant help to feel that the overall review was impacted by the faulty buttons.
But Im shocked you have to wake up the screen to use the fingerprint scanner.
nope that’s not true, you dont have to wake up the screen to use fingerprin scanner .
i saw the video review on youtube .
People is confusing having to press the button to unlock the phone with having to wake up the phone before using the fingerprint scanner.
Still a shitty way to do it, there should be no button at all.
Sadly I don’t understand a single word the guy is saying. How do you know from watching the video that the guy isn’t pressing the home button?
you can choose psyhically to press the home button or to tab it I heard
exactly, agree with both notes, I have the same impression
Then there goes the credibility of that comment, “”I heard” . And Andi has the actual thing on his hand.
Here’s the gist; basically if you can only spend a maximum of 1999 RMB on a phone, then buy this phone. However, if your budget allows you spend more, then get something else. I’m in the latter but I admit since the Redmi Note 3 Xiaomi has been making much nicer phones.
Nice review, but there seemed to be nothing at all about how MIUI functions on this phone. From my experience of xiaomi phones I expect it is buggy, would have also liked to have heard about how it performs for gaming and weather heat is in an issue. I do agree that that home button is hideous. And I hate to say it but there is no manufacturer out there that can compete with apples implementation of OIS, not even samsung. Xiaomi where making all sorts of comparisons with iphone 6s plus at the launch yet when it comes down to it that video is nowhere near as smooth as the video you get from a 6s plus. Despite my dislike of MIUI V7 i was kind of thinking about the mi5 but after this review im not so convinced any more, seems like a lot of money to spend for what seems like good but not exceptional build and camera.
Usually MIUI works as advertised right out of the box for me. But I agree on OIS, like I said above I usually try to turn it off on any phone that has it because often times the implementation just isn’t that good. Apple does a very good job of it though.
camera 8 = shame !
I am more interested in battery review. Maybe the mi4s will have better batery. After this review I somehow think of getting just redmi note 3 as it seems like a perfectly good phone withouth cashing out too much money and it have great battery.
I think the design is nice. And the good camera. Although I somehow agree with the review that it is very fast phone with high end tech I also wish if iy could have slower specs and for example better design and battery life.
At the end any more comments on the battery ?
Design – 7/10,
It’s a joke !!!
I have to say that I am not impressed by this phone after all the hypes and expectations.
I dont understand how the fingerprint implementation is any different than Galaxy S6/7 or iPhone. Its same on those phones.
Yes, they could have had it like OnePlus 2 as the button also doubles up as capacitive button. But do remember that it can act as home button both ways. Just touch to go to home or press to go to home. The people who prefer the tactile feedback to go to home have something to press, those who prefer capacitive can just tap on it.
Also there is a downside of having just touch capacitive button on the front like OnePlus 2. I have oneplus 2 and i accidentally wake up the display while putting it in the pocket or pulling out many times as grip to pull it out or put it in lands the thumb on the fingerprint scanner. Its not a big deal, but that is why most front fingerprint scanner phones have press to wake implementation.
The button issue is surprising because the Redmi Note 3 SD650 edition which I am testing for last month and half has very firm buttons. Odd that they would have lower quality buttons on flagship. Is this production unit?
Hey MysteryMan, I am still hesitating to buy a new phone right now (still have a lenovo k3 note) and I was waiting for the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro to be my saviour.
Can you tell me just real quick how it performs? I essentially don’t really care about camera, all I want is a good display, a shitload of speed (at least mt6752 level), an above average battery life (which the normal note 3 has, I just dont know how battery efficient the 650 is) and a well optimized software (which vibeui from lenovo isn’t and miui normally isn’t too).
I suppose there will be some custom roms for it, too, right?
So, should I get it or rather wait for another phone? 😀
Thanks for your help on this issue.
To be honest, there is no better phone than the Snapdragon 650 powered Redmi Note 3 unless you go right up at the flagship level. If you have access to it, it is the best device you can buy without going to phones like S7 / S6 / Z5 etc.
The good thing about the MIUI is pace at which the development happens. You can shift to their official weekly builds and you will be amazed how quickly reported bugs and issues are fixed. In a month’s time, this phone has been transformed. Its smooth, most bugs I encountered initially and reported to them are gone. It has good screen, its well built, and battery life is killer. Forget normal Note 3. Get this. Those two big A72 cores really make a huge difference in how phone feels. MIUI7 flies on this chip.
See the screenshot for battery life I am regularly getting. That is mental. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/68e9eb43bc61dd1a4cc3bd189665491ecc0810de52524604461c7dffb3308900.png
Hey, i jave a ques.
Does Note 3 SD650 support 64gb Micro SD? Some sources say it only supports upto 32gb expandable.
It does , you have to format it differently . Search YouTube for videos . I think C4ETech has one ..
Thanks for your impressions, where did you buy it from?
OK, that does sound pretty good. So the 650 is the promised midrange beast without overheating? I’ll actually have to wait until I can get it from a Europe warehouse for a reasonable price and shipping (take the hint shop.gizchina, 37€ for shipping… O.o).
Am I the only one having bugs with this phone?
Have you tried this? It is very good for getting rid of bugs!
Have I tried what? Lol
Was it supposed to be a picture in that comment?
Let me guess, some big spray?
It didn’t show up? Yea it was a can of Raid lol
what version you are running. I am on 6.3.10 weekly and it has given me zero issues. All the bugs that I had reported have been fixed. Switch to official weekly builds if you want quick bug fixes.
Mine is the stable 7.1.18.0 (LHOCNCL).
I don’t know if it’s the global or the Chinese one.
It’s the one that came with the phone. The box was sealed so I’m guessing it’s the Chinese version.
How did you switch to the developer one? You need to unlock the bootloader first, am i correct?
I tried to unlock it through en.miui.com/unlock but I get stuck when I have to receive a confirmation code through a text message and I get “failed”
Yup, thats chinese ROM you are running.
You can try flashing the global ROM via updater app. The Note 3 does not come with conventional MI Recovery. At least not the global version. So you have to update through updater app by selecting menu and selecting “choose update package”.
Give it a try by manually downloading the global Qualcomm ROM and putting it on the phone and doing this.
Unfortunately it looks like they have still not released the developer / weekly for public. My device was provided directly by xiaomi and it has been weekly since I got it and they are working through the bugs as we report it (the explorer and beta team).
But try and see if you can download the V7.1.7.0.LHOMICL (MIUI7) global rom manually via updater.
Didn’t work,I get this error:
“Couldn’t verify the update package”
I am pretty sure you guys have the 3 GB ram version because while it feels snappy while opening apps , the RAM management on my 2 GB unit is horrible .Apple music stops playing if i open the browser and it rarely keeps any app open when i come back to it ;EVEN when running only 3-4 apps.Also the camera sucks for the most part 🙁 as well as the audio output .The screen is good and bright though .But the Ram situation is horrible with launcher redraws and please wait screen when opening settings & what not. Among other phones i own OPO, G3, LE 1s and honor 4x only honor 4x has 2 GB ram , but it does much better .The built quality is not up to mark too with the top and bottom plastic units not aligned with the metal mid section and i can feel ridges while moving through the sections .I bought letv 1s and mi note 3 together and honestly i think i am keeping only the letv .I was very excited about the snapdragon 650 and well that’s all this phone is about actually.Do not buy the 2 GB version ,Period.
yes, I have 3GB version. Also the Apple music stopping is a bug and not ram management issue. It was there even on 3GB version initially and is fixed in 6.3.10 weekly build. So the fix should make it to the next stable version release as well.
Camera, I agree, it sucked bad in night scene. And even in day pics, there were sharpening artifacts. Since then it has improved tremendously with the new weekly builds. But the over sharpening still happens and to correct that, you need to reduce the sharpening in the camera settings (scroll down, there is an option for it) to its lowest settings.
Audio output is not great. I will give you that. This is one of the reason, it is not my primary phone. We, the beta testers have given this feedback to xiaomi, lets see what they do in the next update.
This is the only weak point I can find in the phone after latest weekly update.
I had got/loaned a few xiaomi devices for reviews like mi4 , redmi note 1 , redmi 1s among others and Ram situation was not this bad . They need to sort it out , it is impossible to do any multitasking on this phone .Any banking or such transactions is impossible because the browser refreshes . I had a iPad air with similar problem , it would refresh browser tabs always , i sold it at throwaway price in a week’s time.
If white phones are ugly, why Xiaomi insist in making those ones first?
Battery 8/10 with 2:30hours of screen time? the fanboys is talking, if this was a let’s say Blackview phone it would be a 5/10 or lower with that shitty screen time, not even their cheapest and oldest phones were that bad.
It seems to be that if we slapped a better camera at the Redmi Note 3 Pro we would get a overall better phone than the Mi5 cheapo edition, for nearly half of the price.
http://www.gizchina.com/2015/12/02/blackview-bv2000-review/
You mean like this Blackview that got a 7/10?
I’m testing the Mi 5 Prime and I’ve just reached an amount of 6/7 hours of display, with Wi-Fi and 4G, 1 hour and half of gaming (Asphalt 8, Real Racing 3 and Modern Combat 5), 1 hour of streaming video, 1 hour of Spotify, almost 2 hour of Full HD film reproduction and so on.
Also in my sample the physical buttons aren’t loose.
Lastly, in my box there is the fast charger (12/9/5V and 2.5/2/1.5A) and for a complete charge it takes around 1,15 hour.
This looks much more as the review should have gone.
I said before, They are not using the OIS as they should. Quite sure the OIS works for only 1080p video and disables at 4k. So that is practically EIS.
In lowlight the camera is increasing ISO too much, over 2k, and the shutter speed is 1/15 sec and above 1/10 sec at all times. While Iphones and other devices with OIS goes till 1/2 sec and keeps iso low hence, the noise low, thanks to OIS. Im not sure about how the software is handeling this 4axis OIS, but its bad. I would say the lowlight performance of the camera is not even as good as previous gen flagships like S6 and G4.
Would love to see someone use the camera in Manual mode just to see what its capable of. Also how good the dual tone led is.
I would probably still pick this up, Still the best value for money flagship. Mi 5 Pro edition ofcourse. Until Oneplus 3 comes which will be a while.
I think, the software was not final and they rushed the launch of MI5.
Because even note 3 pro keeps ISO down and takes shutter speed to 1/10 sec, and thats without OIS. MI5 with OIS should have lower iso and slower shutter speed in lowlight. Must be a early firmware issue.
Even I have had Note 3 (SD650 version) and using it for last 7-8 weeks.. And it improved dramatically over time. Initially it too had many bugs and issues with the camera.
Partly Xiaomi’s aggressive sharpening is to blame for excessive noise when you crop the low light photos. Those are sharpening artifacts in sample images here.
If you turn the sharpening down, things get much better.
Note 3 behaved the same way with pre production beta firmware which my test unit shipped with. Used to push ISO too high and tired to keep shutter speed high even in low light. It improved dramatically in the following updates though.
Yep, thats what im thinking is the problem with MI5 too.
The button issue might be a defective piece that Andi got, i think. Redmi Note 3 has a good Build quality, won’t expect any less from the MI5.
Battery also should be comparable to other flagships like S6 and G5 if not better.
If software updates make the camera better (Which i think it would), it would definately be a great device at an amazing price.
Which ROM are you using?
7.1.18.0 ?
Pretty accurate review.
You basically confirmed all of our suspects.
That button is indeed ugly, and I belong to the category that would have traded the OIS with a better camera module with a larger aperture (f/1.7 to name one)
They improved with the design but they are still not there.
I’ll be waiting for the Note2, (not the Pro, too expensive).
Mi4 had an f1.8 aperture, so i was surprised that they downgraded it. The fingerprint looks rediculas, the shape is pathetic, Meizu pro 5’s fingerprint looks better.
I usually turn off OIS in any phone that has it, I am a control freak (shocking) when it comes to the camera.
Screen time….
Here’s the gist; basically if you can only spend a maximum of 1999 RMB on a phone, then buy this phone. However, if your budget allows you spend more, then get something else. I’m in the latter but I admit since the Redmi Note 3 Xiaomi has been making much nicer phones.
The phone is good, but I really just don’t like how galaxy-ish the design is :/ XiaoSung GalaxMi5
The Mí Note had this design first.
Mi Note didn’t have a physical home button unlike Mi5. The physical home button on the exact same place as Samsung’s galaxy is what really sucks about this design. They should have implemented the fingerprint scanner elsewhere and avoiding the uncanny resemblance of a galaxy phone as it looks like now. :/
Where else should the fingerprint be located? At the right side?left? It’s either at the back below the camera or at the home button. 🙂
They should have stick with the back below the camera, i find it much easier to use there. The right side implementation is Sony’s kinda good also. Maybe I’m just accustomed to their capacitive touch buttons. I’m just not a fan of physical buttons on front :/ But it definitely is a good phone base on reviews I’ve seen and at a good price point too.
Or should you say, “I don’t like how xiaomi-ish like the galaxy design is.” Mi Note (which shares similar design with mi5) was announced before the galaxy s6 edge.
I dont understand how the fingerprint implementation is any different than Galaxy S6/7 or iPhone. Its same on those phones.
Yes, they could have had it like OnePlus 2 as the button also doubles up as capacitive button. But do remember that it can act as home button both ways. Just touch to go to home or press to go to home. The people who prefer the tactile feedback to go to home have something to press, those who prefer capacitive can just tap on it.
Also there is a downside of having just touch capacitive button on the front like OnePlus 2. I have oneplus 2 and i accidentally wake up the display while putting it in the pocket or pulling out many times as grip to pull it out or put it in lands the thumb on the fingerprint scanner. Its not a big deal, but that is why most front fingerprint scanner phones have press to wake implementation.
The button issue is surprising because the Redmi Note 3 SD650 edition which I am testing for last month and half has very firm buttons. Odd that they would have lower quality buttons on flagship. Is this production unit?
Hey MysteryMan, I am still hesitating to buy a new phone right now (still have a lenovo k3 note) and I was waiting for the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro to be my saviour.
Can you tell me just real quick how it performs? I essentially don’t really care about camera, all I want is a good display, a shitload of speed (at least mt6752 level), an above average battery life (which the normal note 3 has, I just dont know how battery efficient the 650 is) and a well optimized software (which vibeui from lenovo isn’t and miui normally isn’t too).
I suppose there will be some custom roms for it, too, right?
So, should I get it or rather wait for another phone? 😀
Thanks for your help on this issue.
To be honest, there is no better phone than the Snapdragon 650 powered Redmi Note 3 unless you go right up at the flagship level. If you have access to it, it is the best device you can buy without going to phones like S7 / S6 / Z5 etc.
The good thing about the MIUI is pace at which the development happens. You can shift to their official weekly builds and you will be amazed how quickly reported bugs and issues are fixed. In a month’s time, this phone has been transformed. Its smooth, most bugs I encountered initially and reported to them are gone. It has good screen, its well built, and battery life is killer. Forget normal Note 3. Get this. Those two big A72 cores really make a huge difference in how phone feels. MIUI7 flies on this chip.
See the screenshot for battery life I am regularly getting. That is mental.
Hey, i jave a ques.
Does Note 3 SD650 support 64gb Micro SD? Some sources say it only supports upto 32gb expandable.
Thanks for your impressions, where did you buy it from?
OK, that does sound pretty good. So the 650 is the promised midrange beast without overheating? I’ll actually have to wait until I can get it from a Europe warehouse for a reasonable price and shipping (take the hint shop.gizchina, 37€ for shipping… O.o).
Am I the only one having bugs with this phone?
Have you tried this? It is very good for getting rid of bugs!
Have I tried what? Lol
Was it supposed to be a picture in that comment?
Let me guess, some big spray?
It didn’t show up? Yea it was a can of Raid lol
what version you are running. I am on 6.3.10 weekly and it has given me zero issues. All the bugs that I had reported have been fixed. Switch to official weekly builds if you want quick bug fixes.
Mine is the stable 7.1.18.0 (LHOCNCL).
I don’t know if it’s the global or the Chinese one.
It’s the one that came with the phone. The box was sealed so I’m guessing it’s the Chinese version.
How did you switch to the developer one? You need to unlock the bootloader first, am i correct?
I tried to unlock it through en.miui.com/unlock but I get stuck when I have to receive a confirmation code through a text message and I get “failed”
Yup, thats chinese ROM you are running.
You can try flashing the global ROM via updater app. The Note 3 does not come with conventional MI Recovery. At least not the global version. So you have to update through updater app by selecting menu and selecting “choose update package”.
Give it a try by manually downloading the global Qualcomm ROM and putting it on the phone and doing this.
Unfortunately it looks like they have still not released the developer / weekly for public. My device was provided directly by xiaomi and it has been weekly since I got it and they are working through the bugs as we report it (the explorer and beta team).
But try and see if you can download the V7.1.7.0.LHOMICL (MIUI7) global rom manually via updater.
Didn’t work,I get this error:
“Couldn’t verify the update package”
I am pretty sure you guys have the 3 GB ram version because while it feels snappy while opening apps , the RAM management on my 2 GB unit is horrible .Apple music stops playing if i open the browser and it rarely keeps any app open when i come back to it ;EVEN when running only 3-4 apps.Also the camera sucks for the most part 🙁 as well as the audio output .The screen is good and bright though .But the Ram situation is horrible with launcher redraws and please wait screen when opening settings & what not. Among other phones i own OPO, G3, LE 1s and honor 4x only honor 4x has 2 GB ram , but it does much better .The built quality is not up to mark too with the top and bottom plastic units not aligned with the metal mid section and i can feel ridges while moving through the sections .I bought letv 1s and mi note 3 together and honestly i think i am keeping only the letv .I was very excited about the snapdragon 650 and well that’s all this phone is about actually.Do not buy the 2 GB version ,Period.
It does , you have to format it differently . Search YouTube for videos . I think C4ETech has one ..
yes, I have 3GB version. Also the Apple music stopping is a bug and not ram management issue. It was there even on 3GB version initially and is fixed in 6.3.10 weekly build. So the fix should make it to the next stable version release as well.
Camera, I agree, it sucked bad in night scene. And even in day pics, there were sharpening artifacts. Since then it has improved tremendously with the new weekly builds. But the over sharpening still happens and to correct that, you need to reduce the sharpening in the camera settings (scroll down, there is an option for it) to its lowest settings.
Audio output is not great. I will give you that. This is one of the reason, it is not my primary phone. We, the beta testers have given this feedback to xiaomi, lets see what they do in the next update.
This is the only weak point I can find in the phone after latest weekly update.
I had got/loaned a few xiaomi devices for reviews like mi4 , redmi note 1 , redmi 1s among others and Ram situation was not this bad . They need to sort it out , it is impossible to do any multitasking on this phone .Any banking or such transactions is impossible because the browser refreshes . I had a iPad air with similar problem , it would refresh browser tabs always , i sold it at throwaway price in a week’s time.
Great review, Andi. I was disappointed by the Xiaomi’s quality control with the Mi5. On yours unit all the buttons are rattling but my has only a power button rattling. Also, don’t really understand the fast charging. On my unit it actually works, I charged the phone in 1:15 h with the supplied charger. As for OIS, disabling it in video recording mode is stupid. I was disappointed by the video quality too (including sound recording quality)
Both your reviews highlighted some issues with buttons, and both have left me positively underwhelmed by battery life. As someone who had been holding off pulling the trigger on one of several other phones because I thought the Mi5 would be the return to form after a fallow year… I’m a little bummed out.
Sound recording quality is very important to me. Samsung does it Well compares to others
“However if image quality is what you are after then there are other choices.” – what would be those other choices?
The GPU and LTE are crippled too on this Lite version- ofc on the GPU side you just get rid of throttling so that’s ok.
The NAND is not actually fast, there are 2x faster solutions out there.
And don’t get fooled into thinking that this price is all that great in Xiaomi terms, the cost (parts+manu) should be somewhere between 180 and 220$, they could have done a bit better if they wanted to.
The usual realjjj mythical pricing models without any explanation of how he came up with those numbers. I am not a fan of this new phone but $180 is laughable the BOM is probably more than that.
According to IHS the Galaxy S7 has an estimated BOM of $255, and Samsung uses a number of their own parts in the Galaxy. And that price didn’t include advertising, RD, software development etc. The actual cost is probably closer to $280.
I said before, They are not using the OIS as they should. Quite sure the OIS works for only 1080p video and disables at 4k. So that is practically EIS.
In lowlight the camera is increasing ISO too much, over 2k, and the shutter speed is 1/15 sec and above 1/10 sec at all times. While Iphones and other devices with OIS goes till 1/2 sec and keeps iso low hence, the noise low, thanks to OIS. Im not sure about how the software is handeling this 4axis OIS, but its bad. I would say the lowlight performance of the camera is not even as good as previous gen flagships like S6 and G4.
Would love to see someone use the camera in Manual mode just to see what its capable of. Also how good the dual tone led is.
I would probably still pick this up, Still the best value for money flagship. Mi 5 Pro edition ofcourse. Until Oneplus 3 comes which will be a while.
I think, the software was not final and they rushed the launch of MI5.
Because even note 3 pro keeps ISO down and takes shutter speed to 1/10 sec, and thats without OIS. MI5 with OIS should have lower iso and slower shutter speed in lowlight. Must be a early firmware issue.
Even I have had Note 3 (SD650 version) and using it for last 7-8 weeks.. And it improved dramatically over time. Initially it too had many bugs and issues with the camera.
Partly Xiaomi’s aggressive sharpening is to blame for excessive noise when you crop the low light photos. Those are sharpening artifacts in sample images here.
If you turn the sharpening down, things get much better.
Note 3 behaved the same way with pre production beta firmware which my test unit shipped with. Used to push ISO too high and tired to keep shutter speed high even in low light. It improved dramatically in the following updates though.
Yep, thats what im thinking is the problem with MI5 too.
The button issue might be a defective piece that Andi got, i think. Redmi Note 3 has a good Build quality, won’t expect any less from the MI5.
Battery also should be comparable to other flagships like S6 and G5 if not better.
If software updates make the camera better (Which i think it would), it would definately be a great device at an amazing price.
Which ROM are you using?
7.1.18.0 ?
A great phone for sure, but leaves me with the impression that it just isn’t worth the hype – exactly as it was with OP2.
Design flaws are something I can live with. Poor performing camera in low light definately isn’t. Poor quality control is even worse thing to experience in a premium phone.
As per buggy soft – well it seems Xiaomi held themselves back with releasing new phone for quite a time, now some here say they were struggling to get it ready on time … It’s just bad.
Samsung isn’t my choice of a smartphone for sure, but now I keep thinking about getting myself a Galaxy S6 and ditched the idea of getting Mi5 for good.
Looks like the honeymoon period with Xiaomi phones is over. Still a decent phone but even with the price it isn’t anything special.
Tbh I think mi5 is great even though it might have a few flaws. And Xiaomi is still king with the redmi lineup
i agree the black look sober and helps to hide the pathetic design home button
The phone is good, but I really just don’t like how galaxy-ish the design is :/ XiaoSung GalaxMi5
The Mí Note had this design first.
Mi Note didn’t have a physical home button unlike Mi5. The physical home button on the exact same place as Samsung’s galaxy is what really sucks about this design. They should have implemented the fingerprint scanner elsewhere and avoiding the uncanny resemblance of a galaxy phone as it looks like now. :/
Or should you say, “I don’t like how xiaomi-ish like the galaxy design is.” Mi Note (which shares similar design with mi5) was announced before the galaxy s6 edge.
Where else should the fingerprint be located? At the right side?left? It’s either at the back below the camera or at the home button. 🙂
They should have stick with the back below the camera, i find it much easier to use there. The right side implementation is Sony’s kinda good also. Maybe I’m just accustomed to their capacitive touch buttons. I’m just not a fan of physical buttons on front :/ But it definitely is a good phone base on reviews I’ve seen and at a good price point too.
No one is complaining about the black bezzels…
Any ways I would have liked the other design that was floating on the web to THE design that made it through production.
Great review, Andi. I was disappointed by the Xiaomi’s quality control with the Mi5. On yours unit all the buttons are rattling but my has only a power button rattling. Also, don’t really understand the fast charging. On my unit it actually works, I charged the phone in 1:15 h with the supplied charger. As for OIS, disabling it in video recording mode is stupid. I was disappointed by the video quality too (including sound recording quality)
Both your reviews highlighted some issues with buttons, and both have left me positively underwhelmed by battery life. As someone who had been holding off pulling the trigger on one of several other phones because I thought the Mi5 would be the return to form after a fallow year… I’m a little bummed out.
Sound recording quality is very important to me. Samsung does it Well compares to others
ANDI many thanks for the review. You confirmed the feelings I had about that phone plus the margin made by some resellers are pushing me away from that phone definitely. Thanks to you I saved my money.
The MI4S even it doesn’t have the same hardware and camera would have been a better phone with a SOC different that SD808. MI4S has a lot better design, 3200+ mah battery and is a cheaper than the basic version of MI5. Seriously, MI4S with SD650 at a price tag of 270$ would have been a best seller worldwide. Using a SD808 in 2016 is a huge mistake IMO. The bad desing of the MI5 is also a mistake. If competitors come to the market with better alternatives I think the golden period of Xiaomi will be behind us.
270$ by resellers…
On most resellers I see it for anywhere from $380-450, that is a normal profit margin for a phone like this. Keep in mind Xiaomi isn’t like UMi or Elephone, they don’t have deals in place with resellers, so most resellers are paying full or close to full retail price for their supply of Mi5’s.
Yeah I agree, after the review I am not going to get the MI5.
I am curious about the Redmi 3S, if they upgrade SOC or put a better camera inside I will get it. MI4S is great but around 300€+ with shipping which is above my budget. Hope a price cut for the MI4C prime or will get the Note 3 Pro.
What would be tour opinión con TVE same device but an X20 SoC and 4gbRam ??????
which one would you buy now, the mi5 or the old good mi note pr?
“However if image quality is what you are after then there are other choices.” – what would be those other choices?
The GPU and LTE are crippled too on this Lite version- ofc on the GPU side you just get rid of throttling so that’s ok.
The NAND is not actually fast, there are 2x faster solutions out there.
And don’t get fooled into thinking that this price is all that great in Xiaomi terms, the cost (parts+manu) should be somewhere between 180 and 220$, they could have done a bit better if they wanted to.
The usual realjjj mythical pricing models without any explanation of how he came up with those numbers. I am not a fan of this new phone but $180 is laughable the BOM is probably more than that.
According to IHS the similarly equipped Galaxy S7 has an estimated BOM of $255, and Samsung uses a number of their own parts in the Galaxy. And that price didn’t include advertising, RD, software development etc. The actual cost is probably closer to $280. The BOM for the Mi5 is probably between $220-230. So you are suggesting Xiaomi should make no money on the Mi5? You would be horrible at running a business…
A great phone for sure, but leaves me with the impression that it just isn’t worth the hype – exactly as it was with OP2.
Design flaws are something I can live with. Poor performing camera in low light definately isn’t. Poor quality control is even worse thing to experience in a premium phone.
As per buggy soft – well it seems Xiaomi held themselves back with releasing new phone for quite a time, now some here say they were struggling to get it ready on time … It’s just bad.
Samsung isn’t my choice of a smartphone for sure, but now I keep thinking about getting myself a Galaxy S6 and ditched the idea of getting Mi5 for good.
Looks like the honeymoon period with Xiaomi phones is over. Still a decent phone but even with the price it isn’t anything special.
Tbh I think mi5 is great even though it might have a few flaws. And Xiaomi is still king with the redmi lineup
i agree the black look sober and helps to hide the pathetic design home button
As one of the biggest Xiaomi fanboys here I am very perplexed by this phone. The design is terrible IMO, even for Xiaomi who hasn’t a good design since the Mi3. The black borders make it look like a cheap Elephone. The camera looks great on paper but those photos aren’t any better than my current MX5. On the other hand it is a Xiaomi, and I know it will be supported for a long time. It’s also incredibly fast and one of the few phones to come with an IR blaster, which is one of the features I miss most about my Mi4.
As for the home button. I love physical buttons and that isn’t the worst design I have seen but it isn’t my favorite either.
Yeah, I just am not quite sure where it’s positioned itself. It’s got fancy camera tech, but they don’t seem to actually yield particularly amazing results. It’s got fancy manufacturing techniques and materials, but I feel it doesn’t look as nice as its inspiration, the Mi Note, does. It doesn’t seem to be a beast when it comes to battery life. So I’m not sure what its unique selling is supposed to be.
Mx5 feels big in hand? I mean feels like dimensions of s6/s7/s5 from samsung? I wanna buy mx5 16gb…and is 340$ in my country and i think is best buy. Software is good? What do you don t like at your mx5? Sorry for my english!
The MX5 is a very good phone, if I had to find some negatives it would be the following:
1. Limited LTE bands
2. Brightness in sunlight is very bad
3. Back can be very slippery if you dont use a case (i don’t).
4. Flyme Language – a lot of the stock apps are mostly in Chinese like the excellent “Themes” app, which provides some very good wallpapers.
Those are really the only changes I would make if I could, everything else with the phone is excellent.
Is this the hardest Andi has ever been on a Xiaomi phone?
Good stuff Andi keep them rolling! At this point I am thinking I should just get a Letv Leone x600 and wait for all the mistakes to be committed and pounce at the best.
Andi you mentioned Carrefour, is that in France? I think they are in only two countries, either Belgium or France, could be wrong. Just curious 🙂 .
I’m sure they are in more countries, they were in Portugal a fear years ago, and still exist in Spain.
Thanks man, I only blinked and they are taking over the world. Amazing!
I travel around the world for work I have seen Carrefour’s in Argentina, Brazil, Dubai, Qatar, China, Kuwait and a few others,
Wow they have really expanded! Well I guess the Rich get Richer!
Malaysia has them, but they’re slowly dying.
Thailand used to have them but they have all since been converted to Big C’s.
We have them in Romania also.
Spain 😀
No one is complaining about the black bezzels…
Any ways I would have liked the other design that was floating on the web to THE design that made it through production.
ANDI many thanks for the review. You confirmed the feelings I had about that phone plus the margin made by some resellers are pushing me away from that phone definitely. Thanks to you I saved my money.
The MI4S even it doesn’t have the same hardware and camera would have been a better phone with a SOC different that SD808. MI4S has a lot better design, 3200+ mah battery and is a cheaper than the basic version of MI5. Seriously, MI4S with SD650 at a price tag of 270$ would have been a best seller worldwide. Using a SD808 in 2016 is a huge mistake IMO. The bad desing of the MI5 is also a mistake. If competitors come to the market with better alternatives I think the golden period of Xiaomi will be behind us.
270$ by resellers…
On most resellers I see it for anywhere from $380-450, that is a normal profit margin for a phone like this. Keep in mind Xiaomi isn’t like UMi or Elephone, they don’t have deals in place with resellers, so most resellers are paying full or close to full retail price for their supply of Mi5’s.
What would be tour opinión con TVE same device but an X20 SoC and 4gbRam ??????
Yeah I agree, after the review I am not going to get the MI5.
I am curious about the Redmi 3S, if they upgrade SOC or put a better camera inside I will get it. MI4S is great but around 300€+ with shipping which is above my budget. Hope a price cut for the MI4C prime or will get the Note 3 Pro.
Im still going to buy this phone when they fix the power button in later batches
which one would you buy now, the mi5 or the old good mi note pr?
Does it have nfc?
YES it does
Mi5 is most beautiful Xiaomi flagship ever IMO.
Once a brand decided to placing fingerprint scanner on the front side, their options are limited. I have tried HTC A9 and disliked its solution instantly, it looks like a button, but it’s capacitive. About the shape if they put a circular one, the phone likely accused as an iPhone copycat. Rectangular one doesn’t look good either as we seen at MX4 Pro. Wider oblongs as we seen at latest Meizu and some of Samsung handsets seems good IMO, but if Xiaomi pick that shape it would be a target to copycat accusations again.
Majority here thinks fingerprint scanner on the front is best choice (I’m not included that crowd though), but they are bashing it anyway.
Black bezels dislike reached an irrational level. It only is a bad choice, when it implemented for trying to hide giant bezels like HTC does for example IMO. Otherwise it’s just another design element.
Glass, ceramic and glossy plastic is prone to fingerprint smudges and black is worst choice if you dislike that oily smudges being more visible. Moreover ceramic is worse than glass as well I know because lack of anti fingerprint coating. So Pro model is worse in that case.
Honestly, 16 LED backlit sounds like a marketing BS to me from day one.
Hearing rattling buttons from two independent source is undeniable. Though Mi5 has great value, it isn’t that cheap either. Nobody would like paying $400+ for a phone which came with rattling buttons, I guess. I certainly wouldn’t.
As well I understand it can’t utilize such an advanced (on the paper) OIS neither on video nor still shots. So what’s the point of have one?
That unlock issue can be annoying for users. Maybe they are trying to avoid a patent there.
Weirdly enough, even though almost 2 years have passed I don’t see much of a difference to Mi4 (which BTW is sold for stupildy low prices right now).
In other words if you’re on Mi4 it’s probably not worth the upgrade and if you’re in the market trying to find a fitting phone Mi4 is probably a better choice, because even though it’s slightly worse ,it can be found for almost 1/3rd of the price.
Like the rest I’m slightly dissapointed from Xiaomi. Upgrading the SoC and slightly updating the camera ought not to be enough for a number bump…
The main differences would be a better CPU/GPU, fingerprint and upgraded camera. Overall it’s not that much of an improvement if you already own the Mi4, and the Mi4 looks a lot better IMO.
Yeah, I forgot the fingerprint … point is you can find Mi4 (from resellers) around $150. Granted it’s the 16GB version, but -still- it’s a hella of a deal.
By comparion the 64GB version of Mi5 is thrice the price… I honestly don’t think the price reflects the difference of the two… BTW Mi4’s camera is very fine and the CPU/GPU is more than enough if you’re not gaming…
Can you tell me where can i get a Mi4 for $150?
I’m not sure if Gizchina allows the posting of links, anyway here’s an aggregate site that searches multiple chinese shops. I hope that’s OK to post here (if this post’s removed oh well …)
http://www.kimovil.com/en/where-to-buy-xiaomi-mi4
Thank you:)
I say it`s more than worth upgrading, especially the Mi 5 Prime version.
I guess it’s all up to each person. For me there isn’t a whole lot here that wow’s me enough to want to get it.
A general user will not know the difference, or hardly, but for tech enthusiasts it will be a dream.
Seems like a bad dream for me and I am a Xiaomi fan.
As one of the biggest Xiaomi fanboys here I am very perplexed by this phone. The design is terrible IMO, even for Xiaomi who hasn’t a good design since the Mi3. The black borders make it look like a cheap Elephone. The camera looks great on paper but those photos aren’t any better than my current MX5. On the other hand it is a Xiaomi, and I know it will be supported for a long time. It’s also incredibly fast and one of the few phones to come with an IR blaster, which is one of the features I miss most about my Mi4.
As for the home button. I love physical buttons and that isn’t the worst design I have seen but it isn’t my favorite either. I am actually in the market for a new phone and this review helped push the Mi5 off that list completely. Maybe a new Mi Note could make it up for me. But right now Gionee S8 is looking better and better.
Yeah, I just am not quite sure where it’s positioned itself. It’s got fancy camera tech, but they don’t seem to actually yield particularly amazing results. It’s got fancy manufacturing techniques and materials, but I feel it doesn’t look as nice as its inspiration, the Mi Note, does. It doesn’t seem to be a beast when it comes to battery life. So I’m not sure what its unique selling is supposed to be.
Mx5 feels big in hand? I mean feels like dimensions of s6/s7/s5 from samsung? I wanna buy mx5 16gb…and is 340$ in my country and i think is best buy. Software is good? What do you don t like at your mx5? Sorry for my english!
The MX5 is a very good phone, if I had to find some negatives it would be the following:
1. Limited LTE bands
2. Brightness in sunlight is very bad
3. Back can be very slippery if you dont use a case (i don’t).
4. Flyme Language – a lot of the stock apps are mostly in Chinese like the excellent “Themes” app, which provides some very good wallpapers.
Those are really the only changes I would make if I could, everything else with the phone is excellent.
Well it’s the cheaper SD820 phone til now at least..
Cheap for a reason
Is this the hardest Andi has ever been on a Xiaomi phone?
Good stuff Andi keep them rolling! At this point I am thinking I should just get a Letv Leone x600 and wait for all the mistakes to be committed and pounce at the best.
Andi you mentioned Carrefour, is that in France? I think they are in only two countries, either Belgium or France, could be wrong. Just curious 🙂 .
I’m sure they are in more countries, they were in Portugal a fear years ago, and still exist in Spain.
I travel around the world for work I have seen Carrefour’s in Argentina, Brazil, Dubai, Qatar, China, Kuwait and a few others,
We have them in Romania also.
Wow they have really expanded! Well I guess the Rich get Richer!
Thanks man, I only blinked and they are taking over the world. Amazing!
Malaysia has them, but they’re slowly dying.
Thailand used to have them but they have all since been converted to Big C’s.
Spain 😀
i guess lenovo vibe x3 is a better bargain according to your reviews
I do prefer the X3
Wtf Xiaomi, Mi5 Pro is still not available?
Will come later, for now only 32 and 64 gb variants are on sale
Im still going to buy this phone when they fix the power button in later batches
Does it have nfc?
YES it does
Mi5 is most beautiful Xiaomi flagship ever IMO.
Once a brand decided to placing fingerprint scanner on the front side, their options are limited. I have tried HTC A9 and disliked its solution instantly, it looks like a button, but it’s capacitive. About the shape if they put a circular one, the phone likely accused as an iPhone copycat. Rectangular one doesn’t look good either as we seen at MX4 Pro. Wider oblongs as we seen at latest Meizu and some of Samsung handsets seems good IMO, but if Xiaomi pick that shape it would be a target to copycat accusations again.
Majority here thinks fingerprint scanner on the front is best choice (I’m not included that crowd though), but they are bashing it anyway.
Black bezels dislike reached an irrational level. It only is a bad choice, when it implemented for trying to hide giant bezels like HTC does for example IMO. Otherwise it’s just another design element.
Glass, ceramic and glossy plastic is prone to fingerprint smudges and black is worst choice if you dislike that oily smudges being more visible. Moreover ceramic is worse than glass as well I know because lack of anti fingerprint coating. So Pro model is worse in that case.
Honestly, 16 LED backlit sounds like a marketing BS to me from day one.
Hearing rattling buttons from two independent source is undeniable. Though Mi5 has great value, it isn’t that cheap either. Nobody would like paying $400+ for a phone which came with rattling buttons, I guess. I certainly wouldn’t.
As well I understand it can’t utilize such an advanced (on the paper) OIS neither on video nor still shots. So what’s the point of have one?
That unlock issue can be annoying for users. Maybe they are trying to avoid a patent there.
Weirdly enough, even though almost 2 years have passed I don’t see much of a difference to Mi4 (which BTW is sold for stupildy low prices right now).
In other words if you’re on Mi4 it’s probably not worth the upgrade and if you’re in the market trying to find a fitting phone Mi4 is probably a better choice, because even though it’s slightly worse ,it can be found for almost 1/3rd of the price.
Like the rest I’m slightly dissapointed from Xiaomi. Upgrading the SoC and slightly updating the camera ought not to be enough for a number bump…
The main differences would be a better CPU/GPU, fingerprint and upgraded camera. Overall it’s not that much of an improvement if you already own the Mi4, and the Mi4 looks a lot better IMO.
Yeah, I forgot the fingerprint … point is you can find Mi4 (from resellers) around $150. Granted it’s the 16GB version, but -still- it’s a hella of a deal.
By comparion the 64GB version of Mi5 is thrice the price… I honestly don’t think the price reflects the difference of the two… BTW Mi4’s camera is very fine and the CPU/GPU is more than enough if you’re not gaming…
Can you tell me where can i get a Mi4 for $150?
I’m not sure if Gizchina allows the posting of links, anyway here’s an aggregate site that searches multiple chinese shops. I hope that’s OK to post here (if this post’s removed oh well …)
http://www.kimovil.com/en/where-to-buy-xiaomi-mi4
Thank you:)
I say it`s more than worth upgrading, especially the Mi 5 Prime version.
I guess it’s all up to each person. For me there isn’t a whole lot here that wow’s me enough to want to get it.
A general user will not know the difference, or hardly, but for tech enthusiasts it will be a dream.
Seems like a bad dream for me and I am a Xiaomi fan.
xiaomi is crap
Oh hello fellow android stock user. Why give constructive feedback if you can bash against Chinese brand just because their Chinese and dont come with your beloved stock android. I personally hate stock android and these cringy phones that have that, but do I go around and start spaming commentsections of androidpolice? No, I continue to live, lol
i am NOT android stock user at al ! i have vivo x5 pro and it is DEFO NOT stock android ..
I HATE shitty STOCK android .. with crappy looking icons and icons on status bar .. am puking when I see it
Oh so ur not that bad after all. i thought ur a stock android fanboy since bcs of your username
well if u looking at nickname then why u talking about stock as custom roms for s6 edge are persists same from touchwiz..
if I would have nexus nickname THEN I wouldn’t be surprised..
But regarding xiaomi they not doing well at all ..
I don’t know but plastic back ? and design is just shrinked note or note pro …
And I would welcome to see ”Xiaomi” writing on their phone instead of some never explained ”Mi”
Yes! Because XIAOMI looks so much better…. Mi is Chinese for Rice and togheter it means (Xiao: small) Small Rice. Just like the Redmi series called in China Hongmi (Hong: Red). I dont think I’d like having the full name on the phone as the reactions of people who dont know the brand would be: Ah look at that guy has some sort of Chinese shit, we are superior with our nexus 5X and fedoras etc…
Only pathetic and stupid USA ppl, saying chinese phones are shit.. Those ppl has no idea that their crap iphone dong is from china factories.. where is all done on the same CNC machines.. those ppl are uneducated..
I had Huawei phones LG phones back in day , my friend has Oukitel U10 which is very nice phone just for £110
I really liked Xiaomi Mi 4 nice design but when I realised there was no 4G support I just stopped have interest ..
The Mi5 supposed to be here ages ago.. And I think Vivo and LeTV were faster so they outperformed Xiaomi..
But now Vivo disappointed me so much as they trying to copy iphone 6 and galaxy edge .. which is very bad..
Now xplay5 U cost like £550 on aliex is just ridiculous ..
Of course if I was looking for the phone I would buy S7 edge instead for the same price..
But I like mine x5pro as it supports UHD photography no other smartphone supports UHD camera
I don’t know how you managed to buy this defective unit
I’m not worried as I’ve seen another review before this that shows it as a better device than you make it seem. The same 32GB model gets 4hrs 30mins of screen on time
And no rattling buttons complaint.
I’ll tell you how – he pressed BUY button on the sellers webpage.
You’re not worried, because one different review says it’s all fine – that is such consolation…
Linus from other seervice, who placed a comment here too, says he has a rattling power button. If other page says it was ok, then it’s instantly obvious to me, that Xiaomi has some quality control issues. Therefore, you can never be sure about what’s gonna be deliver to your home, because they obviously don’t find it an problem. Definately no reason to stay not worried.
I share the same experience as andi’s review with my unit.
Spoken wisely
Seems like they have some quality control issues
But the battery life js better than what Andi claims
I’ve comfirmed from like three people
Waiting for more reviews tho
Well it’s the cheaper SD820 phone til now at least..
Cheap for a reason
i guess lenovo vibe x3 is a better bargain according to your reviews
I do prefer the X3
Wtf Xiaomi, Mi5 Pro is still not available?
Will come later, for now only 32 and 64 gb variants are on sale
This comment was deleted.
Oh hello fellow android stock user. Why give constructive feedback if you can bash against Chinese brand just because their Chinese and dont come with your beloved stock android. I personally hate stock android and these cringy phones that have that, but do I go around and start spaming commentsections of androidpolice? No, I continue to live, lol
This comment was deleted.
Oh so ur not that bad after all. i thought ur a stock android fanboy since bcs of your username
This comment was deleted.
Yes! Because XIAOMI looks so much better…. Mi is Chinese for Rice and togheter it means (Xiao: small) Small Rice. Just like the Redmi series called in China Hongmi (Hong: Red). I dont think I’d like having the full name on the phone as the reactions of people who dont know the brand would be: Ah look at that guy has some sort of Chinese shit, we are superior with our nexus 5X and fedoras etc…
I don’t know how you managed to buy this defective unit
I’m not worried as I’ve seen another review before this that shows it as a better device than you make it seem. The same 32GB model gets 4hrs 30mins of screen on time
And no rattling buttons complaint.
I’ll tell you how – he pressed BUY button on the sellers webpage.
You’re not worried, because one different review says it’s all fine – that is such consolation…
Linus from other seervice, who placed a comment here too, says he has a rattling power button. If other page says it was ok, then it’s instantly obvious to me, that Xiaomi has some quality control issues. Therefore, you can never be sure about what’s gonna be deliver to your home, because they obviously don’t find it an problem. Definately no reason to stay not worried.
I share the same experience as andi’s review with my unit.
Spoken wisely
Seems like they have some quality control issues
But the battery life js better than what Andi claims
I’ve comfirmed from like three people
Waiting for more reviews tho
I`d take that phone once the hype has cooled down, so far resellers are marking up more than 25% of the price.
It would make a great phone in a month or two when all those X20 phones come out and the Huawei P9(will drive the price down a little bit).
I really hope Andy will get his hands on the xplay 5 elite , wanna see if that is a great phone to buy or not
Xplay 5 is on the way but not the Elite version
I`d take that phone once the hype has cooled down, so far resellers are marking up more than 25% of the price.
It would make a great phone in a month or two when all those X20 phones come out and the Huawei P9(will drive the price down a little bit).
I really hope Andy will get his hands on the xplay 5 elite , wanna see if that is a great phone to buy or not
Xplay 5 is on the way but not the Elite version
They should fire the designer … this is the ugliest xiaomi phone ever. the ugliness of the front side rivaling the ugliness of the rear side of Oneplus 2. Hideous black border and too small home button, and ugly speaker hole.
Perfect review Andi.
The camera and battery issues i think that will be solved in the following updates.
But let me please point out one of the main reasons which have made gizchina throughout these years so much influential for foreign consumers like me , and it could be summarized to the following wonderfull and unbiased opinions of yours like the following:
”In all honesty I wish the Mi5 had downgraded the processor, the odd
size display (which surely cuts in to their budget), and 4 axis OIS in
favour of better build quality, a less advanced OIS and concentrated on
user experience.
The Mi5’s design could have been turned in to one heck of a
functional phone if it wasn’t so loaded with top of the range hardware.
All the flagship components could have waited for the Mi Note 2 and with
it’s expected higher price we could have our Xiaomi cake and eat it.”
Thanks so much 😀
I also purchased this phone and received it about a week ago. I too have quite a loud rattling/loose power button. Kind of disappointing on a flagship device as we have a Redmi Note 3 in this household that doesn’t have that issue.
They should fire the designer … this is the ugliest xiaomi phone ever. the ugliness of the front side rivaling the ugliness of the rear side of Oneplus 2. Hideous black border and too small home button, and ugly speaker hole.
Perfect review Andi.
The camera and battery issues i think that will be solved in the following updates.
But let me please point out one of the main reasons which have made gizchina throughout these years so much influential for foreign consumers like me , and it could be summarized to the following wonderfull and unbiased opinions of yours like the following:
”In all honesty I wish the Mi5 had downgraded the processor, the odd
size display (which surely cuts in to their budget), and 4 axis OIS in
favour of better build quality, a less advanced OIS and concentrated on
user experience.
The Mi5’s design could have been turned in to one heck of a
functional phone if it wasn’t so loaded with top of the range hardware.
All the flagship components could have waited for the Mi Note 2 and with
it’s expected higher price we could have our Xiaomi cake and eat it.”
Thanks so much 😀
I also purchased this phone and received it about a week ago. I too have quite a loud rattling/loose power button. Kind of disappointing on a flagship device as we have a Redmi Note 3 in this household that doesn’t have that issue.
does it support fm radio?
does it support fm radio?
I would get that phone on the spot if it wasn’t overpriced by 100$ and more from resellers! We all know the official China prices, thank you, but I`m not paying over 100+$ for simple dropshipping.
I would get that phone on the spot if it wasn’t overpriced by 100$ and more from resellers! We all know the official China prices, thank you, but I`m not paying over 100+$ for simple dropshipping.
this phn doesn’t have fingerprint scanning feature during standby mode,every time u have to ON d screen to unlock it.
No, You only need to press the home button once and it turns on the screen and reads the fingerprint at the same time.
You dont need to turn on the screen for unlocking. there is a difference. Basically, You need to press the fingerprint rather than touching it and it unlocks instantly.
Keeping fingerprint off during standby gives a better battery life. Check Gsmarena battery life test of Mi5 and Galaxy S7.
this phn doesn’t have fingerprint scanning feature during standby mode,every time u have to ON d screen to unlock it.
No, You only need to press the home button once and it turns on the screen and reads the fingerprint at the same time.
You dont need to turn on the screen for unlocking. there is a difference. Basically, You need to press the fingerprint rather than touching it and it unlocks instantly.
Keeping fingerprint off during standby gives a better battery life. Check Gsmarena battery life test of Mi5 and Galaxy S7.
Thank you for your review, I really appreciate your writing style and candor. I’ve been hanging on to my note pro for a while, and I was looking forward to a replacement as the battery life is starting to go downhill after a year. I’ve pre-ordered the black mi5 pro version. I sure hope Xiaomi will have the good sense to react to your comments and make some changes!
Thank you for your review, I really appreciate your writing style and candor. I’ve been hanging on to my note pro for a while, and I was looking forward to a replacement as the battery life is starting to go downhill after a year. I’ve pre-ordered the black mi5 pro version. I sure hope Xiaomi will have the good sense to react to your comments and make some changes!
Nice review Andi. I recently bought xiaomi mi note Pro! Would you recomment a change For Xiaomi Mi5 Pro ? Worth the change???
Thanks!
Nice review Andi. I recently bought xiaomi mi note Pro! Would you recomment a change For Xiaomi Mi5 Pro ? Worth the change???
Thanks!
One more “flagship” device that will soon have ishues like this one: http://youtu.be/Ysuq0TVu61Q
Yelow screen,problem withbcharging, battery life od max 4h SoT or half day…and offncorse, no guaranty
One more “flagship” device that will soon have ishues like this one:
Yelow stain on screen,problem with charging, battery life of max 4h SoT or half day…and off corse, no guaranty
I don’t understand why use a non-removable battery.!! I will buy this phone with removable battery
I don’t understand why use a non-removable battery.!! I will buy this phone with removable battery
hi andi, very good review. i am looking for a new phone and i realy have doubts between the mi6, mi note pro and galaxy s6. which one do you recommend?
hi andi, very good review. i am looking for a new phone and i realy have doubts between the mi6, mi note pro and galaxy s6. which one do you recommend?
MIUI tweaks (find in play market)
strongly recommended for MIUI!!! tweak box liki GravityBox but for MIUI
MIUI tweaks (find in play market)
strongly recommended for MIUI!!! tweak box liki GravityBox but for MIUI
Does anyone know if the Xiaomi Mi5’s 5.15 display is wider than its 5 inch predecessors or just longer? I would prefer a bit of extra width. I tried the 5 inch Mi4C and found the display to be a bit small for my eyes.
Does anyone know if the Xiaomi Mi5’s 5.15 display is wider than its 5 inch predecessors or just longer? I would prefer a bit of extra width. I tried the 5 inch Mi4C and found the display to be a bit small for my eyes.
The XIAOMI Mi5 carries Android 6.0, it is a great OS. The Current news showed that Android N will be released in July or August, also interesting news. I found an great Android OS comparison video between Android N, M and L, the video is good, you can view it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ils50kVdz54
The XIAOMI Mi5 carries Android 6.0, it is a great OS. The Current news showed that Android N will be released in July or August, also interesting news. I found an great Android OS comparison video between Android N, M and L, the video is good, you can view it here:
Wake up XIAOMI !!
You begin as a company with great smarthphones on a great price.
Now you have just great smartphones but not great price, you are expensive NOW.
Also i want to know who was that “BIG HEAD” who locked bootloader … You miss so many fans with that idiot move.
Congrats.
Wake up XIAOMI !!
You begin as a company with great smarthphones on a great price.
Now you have just great smartphones but not great price, you are expensive NOW.
Also i want to know who was that “BIG HEAD” who locked bootloader … You miss so many fans with that idiot move.
Congrats.
Andi, you were not too much convincing about Mi5 flaws, so I’ll have to check it out myself by ordering one from gizchina shop 🙂 Is there some discount for a first-time buyer? 🙂 Thanks!