Hugo Barra has just wrapped up the Xiaomi Mi5 media preview here in Barcelona and I’ve been hands on (with the Mi5 not Hugo). Keep reading for my Xiaomi Mi5 hands on and first impressions.
I already knew what was going to be shown at today’s Media Preview as Xiaomi had already released the full details at the Xiaomi Mi5 launch in China earlier, but it was still good to see Hugo Barra’s enthusiasm for the device, and get hands on with it first hand.
To reiterate the Xiaomi Mi5 specifications, the phone features a 5.15-inch FHD display, Snapdragon 820 chipset, 3-4GB RAM (4GB RAM on the Xiaomi Mi5 Pro), up to 128GB internal memory, 16 mega-pixel rear camera, and 3000mAh battery.
The real beauty of the Mi5 is in the details, the phones uses the latest Sony 16 mega-pixel sensor with a 4 axis image stabilisation. The feature is super effective and you can even visually see the camera compensating for movement if you turn the Mi5 around and shake it.
The 7.25mm phone is slim and lightweight, like we have seen before, but despite the compact design Xiaomi have still managed to squeeze in NFC, 3000mAh battery and fast charge 3.0.
The 5.15-inch display has bezels that are very thin, but Xiaomi don’t call it a borderless design. The screen size is pretty odd, but the reasoning behind it is to add 16 LED’s behind it and increase brightness to 600nit.
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Below the small screen and slim bezels is Xiaomi’s first front physical home button with built-in fingerprint scanner. Capacitive buttons are on either side of the button for navigating through MIUI 7 (which is based on Android 6.0 in the Mi5).
Models on display were the 3GB RAM version, and they felt every bit as fast as a flagship phone should. Hugo Barra spoke about just how fast the Mi5 feels, but in all honesty there is very little notable speed increase on the Mi5 when compared to other flagship phones.
Xiaomi Mi5 vs the Xiaomi Mi Note
White Xiaomi Mi5 hands on photos
Black Xiaomi Mi5 hands on photos
The WiFi here at the hotel where the Xiaomi Mi5 launched is a little slow, but I am uploading a hands on video with the phone as you read this and will post a link later.
The retail price of the 128GB version is $412. SPE Mall has it listed now for about $500. Keep in mind resellers have to make a profit they aren’t charities that can give away phones for free. An under $100 markup is pretty good for a phone like that.
I must be honest, I do fancy one of these…
Could be my first Xiaomi phone and a switch to MiUi then too…
Its very nice in the hand very compact and light
You’re coming over to the darkside?
Funny enough as a Xiaomi fanboy I’m not sure if I like it. Leaning more towards the Gionee S8.
Depends if you like Huawei. I like their designs and I like Kirin SoCs but I hate their UI.
Yea and thats one thing I can never get behind with Huawei. I hate their software.
Can we an unlocked Bootloader and kernel source release for the Xiaomi Mi 5 in the near future ?
i dont know..its just personal for me but i’m maybe to poor to pay such a price tag for not top of the line specs 🙁
What do you do on your phone that you need a flagship SoC?
not much but to be fair a better SoC is never wrong
like they often include better stuff for camera lte and such stuff as well..i dont game much but i would kinda feel bad like buying a new phone with a worse SoC than my current phone
its like if you buy a new pc but get weaker processor and graphic card than your current one.
What is your current phone? There is a point of spending too much for something you will never take advantage of. If you are not playing the latest games a P10 is more than powerful to do what you need. Like your PC example, you could get a top of the line gaming PC but if you only use it for watching Youtube and browsing Facebook it’s a waste of money.
My current Phone is the Mi4, still got a mx4 laying around and had a Oneplus One before.
THe Oneplus One was a bit to like ..not rounded for my hand was a bit stupid to hold unlike my old note 2
the mx4 was awesome in terms of feel like holding and so on but the mains truggle was the 2gb ram i jsut hate it if apps reload all the time because miui and flyme take so much..so i bought a mi4 just for the 3gb ram..i’m happy with it but i would kinda prefer a bigger display again.
so now my struggle is redmi note 3 pro, mi 5 32gb while the phone is maybe a bit to small for me and looking maybe at the upcoming mx6/leeco le2
the only thing that bothers me about my mi4 is the camera and i would like to have dual sim again.. and while i’m actually fine with 16gb since games like final fantasy IX take a lot i would like to also go back to atleast 32gb storage
and a better camera ..preferable with ois and a clean user interface..i also prefer ios inspired launchers like miui or flyme instead of stock android..i find stock android really boring.
but i’ll keep my mi4 for atleast like a few more months or like half a year and probably a couple of phones will launch in that timeframe or get cheaper..or is there something you would suggest to me?
The Mi4 is still a great phone, you don’t really know what you want so I would keep that until something really stands out to you or you have to get a new one. There are new phones releasing all year.