Yesterday the big news was that someone had leaked purported slides from the Xiaomi Mi5 launch, Xiaomi staff have taken to Weibo to discuss them revealing that they aren’t the real thing.
Slides yesterday claimed to show the final full specifications for the Xiaomi Mi5, and what a beauty it was starting to look like! The slides told of an MI5 with 5.2-inch display, Snapdragon 820 chipset, options for either 3/4GB RAM, 26 mega-pixel main camera and an F1.6 aperture. It all sounded too good to be true, and unfortunately that’s the case.
Xiaomi staff have taken to Weibo to confirm the slides were fake, however did confirm that some of the specifications were in fact guessed correctly.
Gizchina News of the week
From the specs we guess the screen size, processor, RAM options, and inclusion of OIS, laser focus and NFC are correct. The 26 mega-pixel F1.6 rear camera is the odd one out.
Interesting, although Xiaomi spoke out against the slides that were leaked, there was no mention of the packaging label that was photographed earlier in the day. Perhaps that earlier leak was real then?
Balco better call the bank, his cheque was already in the mail
And it still is. I questioned the camera specs myself yesterday but I have no doubt most of the other specs are spot on.
If they do indeed pretty much crack the Mi 5 for 2016 and considering they are debuting at MWC – they have something to prove, I can’t wait for the Mi 6 in 2017 – it will be out of this world.
There really hasn’t been a true Xiaomi flagship since the Mi4. The Mi4i and Mi4c were holdover phones and the Mi Note/Pro were more of an experiment than anything else. So the Mi5 is the first real Xiaomi flagship since 2014, that is why they are launching at MWC.
6 days to go. I believe !
I’m heartbroken. It’s going to be a 16.1 MP shooter, won’t it? I was hoping 2016 would be the year for a true 42 MP (single shot) phone camera, and now this.
None of Sony, Samsung or Omnivision make that kind of sensor.
23MP is the highest.
@disqus_0lJZ8Bi7SK:disqus You’re right. I guess I can safely assume that we’re at least 2 years away (and I’m being optimistic here) from any manufacturer venturing into the 40+ MP territory on phones – innovative Chinese Interpolation aside.
Nokia Lumia 1020 had a 41 MP camera, so nothing should be ruled out !
That was a Toshiba sensor, they sold their sensor business to Sony last year.
Honestly I’m not even sure the market is leading into that direction.
We saw the 41MP camera of the Nokia Lumia and the pictures were full of noise. Huge picture but that’s all. That camera had a top notch Carl Zeiss lenses but with a small f/2.2 aperture.
This year best cameras perform way better than that 41MP.
MP are overrated, we should look at camera module, lenses and aperture.
People get too caught up in high MP number and think that will make photos look better. What made the 1020 standout wasn’t the 41mp sensor, it was the Carl Zeiss lens, Xenon Flash, OIS (at the time very few phones had it) and most importantly the size of the sensor. In actual execution though it took way too much work to capture good photos, it was terribly slow and unless you had the setting just right the pictures looked average at best.
Right, I forgot about OIS.
Professional DSLRs have a sensor of 18MP or less and people want a 40+ MP on their phones.
I don’t get it
Professional DSLR’s can exceed 50mp but those are used by advertising firms for creating billboards and advertisements hanging from skyscrapers. And those can cost more than some cars do. For instance the Pentax 645Z costs around $7000 and that is just for the body of the camera. When you add in lenses, a good tri, cases and all the other necessary accessories you can easily spend around $12000.
Normal consumer DSLR’s average between 16-24. Too many people see a high MP number and think that means its going to take great photos.
Lol, i wasnt even counting those monsters.
I meant the DSLR up to $1500.
And they want that kind of resolution on a $300 phone.
I only know about that particular Pentax because my neighbor is a professional photographer and I went with him to buy that one at BH. He dropped about $11,000 total.
Why would you be “heartbroken” if it’s a 16mp instead of 26mp? Do you really think 10 extra mp’s is the difference between good and great photos?
It’s actually time to remind him about iPhone 6 and it’s “only” 8Mpx. Fantastic results do not depend on the resolution of the sensor, or of the picture.
26 could only be gotten through the interpolation and that doubtfuly would improve the quality. 42Mpx – yeah, in 5 years, or more, or some crazy interpolation that has no right to produce good results. Unless, he was ironic and we didn’t get it.
It’s actually a good think they started focusing on optimistaion and quality of pictures people!
And Samsung S7 is rumoured to be a 12 MP so what? It’s about the quality of the final photo
You don`t really need more than 13MP, what would make the camera great is bigger pixel size and larger aperature, better auto focus detection for moving objects, appart from that anything above 13MP is great, but not really needed.
Balco better call the bank, his cheque was already in the mail
And it still is. I questioned the camera specs myself yesterday but I have no doubt most of the other specs are spot on.
If they do indeed pretty much crack the Mi 5 for 2016 and considering they are debuting at MWC – they have something to prove, I can’t wait for the Mi 6 in 2017 – it will be out of this world.
There really hasn’t been a true Xiaomi flagship since the Mi4. The Mi4i and Mi4c were holdover phones and the Mi Note/Pro were more of an experiment than anything else. So the Mi5 is the first real Xiaomi flagship since 2014, that is why they are launching at MWC.
6 days to go. I believe !
Maybe Xiaomi did this whole thing to take the heat off the ‘real’ Packaging leak..?
Wouldn’t be the first time one of these companies created their own “false leaks” which contained cryptic information of many of the real specs.
Yeah, but if, with a leak like this one, they rise expectations to high and then the actual tihng doesn’t provide, it kinda leaves a feeling of disappointment, which isn’t desirable marketing effect. Therefore, they need to be careful here.
Actual product releasing is the most powerful marketing tool available. Once their is a phone for all to see, the actual leaks will be forgotten by most consumers.
When you say “company who makes false leaks” you mean Elephone ?? ^^
Actually wasn;t even referring to them. Some of the biggest names in this industry have been accused of doing this.
Samsung seem to leak more than a class of girls with synced periods whenever a new phone is about to release
Samsung, LG, HTC, Sony, Apple they all “leak” information to the press. Sometimes it’s real, sometimes its hype that never comes true.
back to the future , imx234 – IMX298 , imx240 ? nahhh just too good for xiaomi brand
Their cheaper MI4C already has a IMX258.
Xiaomi always put the best Sony sensor available on their MI series.
On top of that they put also the camera module with the largest aperture.
Only the Vivo Xshot matched the specs of the camera of MI4 (IMX214 + f/1.8)
No Samsung, LG or Huawei were able to compete with them.
Try again
True, but fact remains: Samsung and LG are still capable of providing better camera experience.
Let’s hope it changes now. Xiaomi shines amongst the Chinese producers, but in direct competition with Korean producers they’re still behind (in camera department).
Better according to who?
Of course it’s my opinion, just as your post reflects your opinion only.
First of all: samples are widely available in the net, anyone having a pair of healthy eyes can compare it. I never said it doesn’t produce good results, so why you mention it?
Samsung and iPhone (it’s not Korean, it’s not Android, so I didn’t mention it, you added it with your comparison) do already have newer models on the market than S5 and 5s, so it’s Xiaomi who actually has to chase them, not the other way around. Samsung 6 is outperforming everything I saw – it does it already, it’s already on the market for quite a while. LG G4 is fantastic in the camera department, too. For Xiaomi, we can talk about flagships in relation to Mi4 and Mi Note. Second one copes better, but in my opinion still stays behind Samsung Note 4. Xiaomi 4 is so old, that it would be unfair to compare it to Galaxy G6, yet you brought it here and, it still remains Xiaomi’s flagship for a week.
I am a big fan of Xiaomi and have high expectations re:Mi5, but I rather expect them to get close to Galaxy G6, than to outperform it, but for half the money to pay.
I know how big fan of Xiaomi you are, but no need to get emotional here, I’m not trying to deminish their role in developing world’s smartphone cameras market.
Not getting emotional at all, you made a statement that Samsung and LG have much better cameras but you offered nothing to back it up. Xiaomi didn’t release a flagship last year so there is nothing to compare to the S6, we can only compare past Samsung models that were released at the same time as the Mi4. We can compare the Mi5 with the S7 when they are released.
I see that the opposite way – they skept releasing flagships last year, therefore I compare it to those stil being their flagships. In Mi case, it’s still Mi4 and Mi Note, for a whole week. That’s why I compare it to S6 and Galaxy Note 4.
When Mi5 is released we willl be comparing it to S6 still, as S7 is not to be released for a few months.
So you compare a phone released in 2014 (Mi4) and one released in 2015 (S6) and then come to the conclusion that the newer one is capable of a better camera? Ignoring the fact the newer one has newer technology that wasnt available in 2014?
Yep, it’s my right since they don’t have a newer flagship. Unless, there is one I don’t know about.
It was their decision to skip one year – I’m not judging if right, or wrong, but it put them in this situation. Whether my comparison makes sense to you is a completly irrelevant thing. They have a chance to get back in the competition now and I wanna see them provide.
I remember you reminding this fact (tha for Xiaomi Mi4 is still a flagship) to others, so yes, this argument comes back to you.
Wait, which phones are you comparing?
Let’s take one and half year ago when we had so many phones with the same specs (SD801 + IMX214)
Nor the Galaxy S5 or LG G3 could take pictures as good as MI4 or Vivo XShot.
The S6 might take good pictures but both Vivo and Xiaomi skept the release of new phone last year.
I’ll suggest you to wait until S7, MI5, G5 and a new Vivo will show up (which happens to be almost simultaneously) and then we’ll see.
You forget the Gionee E7, it has maybe till this day the best camera I`ve ever seen on a smartphone(have not tested Mate 8)
That’s another one.
Chinese phones can easily compete with the big ones.
One example over anything.
Huawei made the last Nexus phone which has been considered the best Nexus to date (it’s not me saying that, i I’ve never owned a Nexus)
Everybody was amazed by the build quality.
And we are speaking of Huawei that doesn’t even get the attention (here on Gizchina) that other brands like Xiaomi, Meizu, Vivo, LeTV get.
Huawei sells like crazy in the West where the market is not subsidized.
It sells well because devices are really good, only problem with “us” western audience is the iOS-like EMUI(no app drawer), which I personally really like(but am not an iOS lover).
Especially I have to mention the Honor series as it offers(along with Xiaomi’s Redmi series)absolutely best “bang for a buck” deal.
Yeah, I also hear that the Mi4c will get a 50$ price cut once the Mi5 is out, so it will become the best bargain phone to get along with the Redmi 3 and Redmi Note 3 Pro.
They are already a bargain.
Look, I’m not saying that they are the best phones of their category, but when we speak of price/value then It’s hard to find any other brand that can compete with them.
I’ve been following Chinese phones for a while now and I’ve seen many brands that they had to lower they prices to compete with Xiaomi.
Most of us here said the camera specs seemed fake for two reasons: there is no 26mp sensor that anyone is aware of and f/1.6.
…plus: hugo’s pics were at 16mpxs in the original resolution…
I’m heartbroken. It’s going to be a 16.1 MP shooter, won’t it? I was hoping 2016 would be the year for a true 42 MP (single shot) phone camera, and now this.
None of Sony, Samsung or Omnivision make that kind of sensor.
23MP is the highest.
@disqus_0lJZ8Bi7SK:disqus You’re right. I guess I can safely assume that we’re at least 2 years away (and I’m being optimistic here) from any manufacturer venturing into the 40+ MP territory on phones – innovative Chinese Interpolation aside.
Nokia Lumia 1020 had a 41 MP camera, so nothing should be ruled out !
Honestly I’m not even sure the market is leading into that direction.
We saw the 41MP camera of the Nokia Lumia and the pictures were full of noise. Huge picture but that’s all. That camera had a top notch Carl Zeiss lenses but with a small f/2.2 aperture.
This year best cameras perform way better than that 41MP.
MP are overrated, we should look at camera module, lenses and aperture.
That was a Toshiba sensor, they sold their sensor business to Sony last year.
People get too caught up in high MP number and think that will make photos look better. What made the 1020 standout wasn’t the 41mp sensor, it was the Carl Zeiss lens, Xenon Flash, OIS (at the time very few phones had it) and most importantly the size of the sensor. In actual execution though it took way too much work to capture good photos, it was terribly slow and unless you had the setting just right the pictures looked average at best.
Edit: That wasn’t meant for you Max, it was meant for the guy you responded to.
Why would you be “heartbroken” if it’s a 16mp instead of 26mp? Do you really think 10 extra mp’s is the difference between good and great photos?
Right, I forgot about OIS.
Professional DSLRs have a sensor of 18MP or less and people want a 40+ MP on their phones.
I don’t get it
Professional DSLR’s can exceed 50mp but those are used by advertising firms (among others) for creating billboards and advertisements hanging from skyscrapers. And those can cost more than some cars do. For instance the Pentax 645Z costs around $7000 and that is just for the body of the camera. When you add in lenses, a good tri, cases and all the other necessary accessories you can easily spend around $12000.
Normal consumer DSLR’s average between 16-24. Too many people see a high MP number and think that means its going to take great photos. What is needed in this industry is better lenses and optimization. And perhaps even more importantly people need to learn how to take good photos (Android Authority did an excellent beginners guide).
And Samsung S7 is rumoured to be a 12 MP so what? It’s about the quality of the final photo
Lol, i wasnt even counting those monsters.
I meant the DSLR up to $1500.
And they want that kind of resolution on a $300 phone.
I only know about that particular Pentax because my neighbor is a professional photographer and I went with him to buy that one at BH. He dropped about $11,000 total.
It’s actually time to remind him about iPhone 6 and it’s “only” 8Mpx. Fantastic results do not depend on the resolution of the sensor, or of the picture.
26 could only be gotten through the interpolation and that doubtfuly would improve the quality. 42Mpx – yeah, in 5 years, or more, or some crazy interpolation that has no right to produce good results. Unless, he was ironic and we didn’t get it.
It’s actually a good think they started focusing on optimistaion and quality of pictures people!
You don`t really need more than 13MP, what would make the camera great is bigger pixel size and larger aperature, better auto focus detection for moving objects, appart from that anything above 13MP is great, but not really needed.
Maybe Xiaomi did this whole thing to take the heat off the ‘real’ Packaging leak..?
Wouldn’t be the first time one of these companies created their own “false leaks” which contained cryptic information of many of the real specs.
Yeah, but if, with a leak like this one, they rise expectations to high and then the actual tihng doesn’t provide, it kinda leaves a feeling of disappointment, which isn’t desirable marketing effect. Therefore, they need to be careful here.
When you say “company who makes false leaks” you mean Elephone ?? ^^
Actual product releasing is the most powerful marketing tool available. Once their is a phone for all to see, the actual leaks will be forgotten by most consumers.
Actually wasn;t even referring to them. Some of the biggest names in this industry have been accused of doing this.
Samsung seem to leak more than a class of girls with synced periods whenever a new phone is about to release
Samsung, LG, HTC, Sony, Apple they all “leak” information to the press. Sometimes it’s real, sometimes its hype that never comes true.
back to the future , imx234 lg g4 sensor or IMX298 mate 8 sensor / imx240 ? nahhh just too good for xiaomi brand.. maybe possible old 120fps @ 720p ugly video slow motion. $199 ok ?
Their cheaper MI4C already has a IMX258.
Xiaomi always put the best Sony sensor available on their MI series.
On top of that they put also the camera module with the largest aperture.
Only the Vivo Xshot matched the specs of the camera of MI4 (IMX214 + f/1.8)
No Samsung, LG or Huawei were able to compete with them.
Try again
True, but fact remains: Samsung and LG are still capable of providing better camera experience.
Let’s hope it changes now. Xiaomi shines amongst the Chinese producers, but in direct competition with Korean producers they’re still behind (in camera department).
Better according to who? Do you have actual tests that were done comparing a Xiaomi and Samsung/LG phone of the same caliber? Or is this just your opinion?
I have actually seen shootouts done between the current Mi flagship and the current Samsung flagship and the results were both produced good cameras. For instance here is one done by someone on the MIUI forum:
http://en.miui.com/thread-29862-1-1.html
Of course it’s my opinion, just as your post reflects your opinion only.
First of all: samples are widely available in the net, anyone having a pair of healthy eyes can compare it. I never said it doesn’t produce good results, so why you mention it?
Samsung and iPhone (it’s not Korean, it’s not Android, so I didn’t mention it, you added it with your comparison) do already have newer models on the market than S5 and 5s, so it’s Xiaomi who actually has to chase them, not the other way around. Samsung 6 is outperforming everything I saw – it does it already, it’s already on the market for quite a while. LG G4 is fantastic in the camera department, too. For Xiaomi, we can talk about flagships in relation to Mi4 and Mi Note. Second one copes better, but in my opinion still stays behind Samsung Note 4. Xiaomi 4 is so old, that it would be unfair to compare it to Galaxy G6, yet you brought it here and, it still remains Xiaomi’s flagship for a week.
I am a big fan of Xiaomi and have high expectations re:Mi5, but I rather expect them to get close to Galaxy G6, than to outperform it, but for half the money to pay.
I know how big fan of Xiaomi you are, but no need to get emotional here, I’m not trying to deminish their role in developing world’s smartphone cameras market.
Wait, which phones are you comparing?
Let’s take one and half year ago when we had so many phones with the same specs (SD801 + IMX214)
Nor the Galaxy S5 or LG G3 could take pictures as good as MI4 or Vivo XShot.
The S6 might take good pictures but both Vivo and Xiaomi skept the release of new phone last year.
I’ll suggest you to wait until S7, MI5, G5 and a new Vivo will show up (which happens to be almost simultaneously) and then we’ll see.
Not getting emotional at all, you made a statement that Samsung and LG have much better cameras but you offered nothing to back it up. Xiaomi didn’t release a flagship last year so there is nothing to compare to the S6, we can only compare past Samsung models that were released at the same time as the Mi4. We can compare the Mi5 with the S7 when they are released.
Yeah, I also hear that the Mi4c will get a 50$ price cut once the Mi5 is out, so it will become the best bargain phone to get along with the Redmi 3 and Redmi Note 3 Pro.
You forget the Gionee E7, it has maybe till this day the best camera I`ve ever seen on a smartphone(have not tested Mate 8)
They are already a bargain.
Look, I’m not saying that they are the best phones of their category, but when we speak of price/value then It’s hard to find any other brand that can compete with them.
I’ve been following Chinese phones for a while now and I’ve seen many brands that they had to lower they prices to compete with Xiaomi.
That’s another one.
Chinese phones can easily compete with the big ones.
One example over anything.
Huawei made the last Nexus phone which has been considered the best Nexus to date (it’s not me saying that, i I’ve never owned a Nexus)
Everybody was amazed by the build quality.
And we are speaking of Huawei that doesn’t even get the attention (here on Gizchina) that other brands like Xiaomi, Meizu, Vivo, LeTV get.
Huawei sells like crazy in the West where the market is not subsidized.
It sells well because devices are really good, only problem with “us” western audience is the iOS-like EMUI(no app drawer), which I personally really like(but am not an iOS lover).
Especially I have to mention the Honor series as it offers(along with Xiaomi’s Redmi series)absolutely best “bang for a buck” deal.
I see that the opposite way – they skept releasing flagships last year, therefore I compare it to those stil being their flagships. In Mi case, it’s still Mi4 and Mi Note, for a whole week. That’s why I compare it to S6 and Galaxy Note 4.
When Mi5 is released we willl be comparing it to S6 still, as S7 is not to be released for a few months.
So you compare a phone released in 2014 (Mi4) and one released in 2015 (S6) and then come to the conclusion that the newer one is capable of a better camera? Ignoring the fact the newer one has newer technology that wasnt available in 2014?
Yep, it’s my right since they don’t have a newer flagship. Unless, there is one I don’t know about.
It was their decision to skip one year – I’m not judging if right, or wrong, but it put them in this situation. Whether my comparison makes sense to you is a completly irrelevant thing. They have a chance to get back in the competition now and I wanna see them provide.
I remember you reminding this fact (tha for Xiaomi Mi4 is still a flagship) to others, so yes, this argument comes back to you.
Most of us here said the camera specs seemed fake for two reasons: there is no 26mp sensor that anyone is aware of and f/1.6.
…plus: hugo’s pics were at 16mpxs in the original resolution…