Xiaomi Mi5S and LeEco Le2 will compete to be cheapest Snapdragon 821 phones


xiaomi mi5 unboxing

News today is that Xiaomi will launch an updated flagship called the Xiaomi Mi5S with Snapdragon 821 next month.

This rumours isn’t new, and the fact that it is so persistent (combined with recent Mi5 price cuts) has us believe it might be accurate.

Apparently, Xiaomi will be launching an update to their Mi5 which launched at MWC in Barcelona this year. This updated phone will give the phone a performance boost by removing the current Snapdragon 820 chipset and replacing it with the Snapdragon 821 SOC.

Other details of the phone are expected to be the same with pricing for the phone already thought to be just 1999 Yuan at launch.

Gizchina News of the week


leeco le2 snapdragon 821

However, Xiaomi won’t be the only ones with a Snapdragon 821 phone at that price next month though ! LeEco are also aiming to release a new model. LeEco’s entry to the 2000 Yuan Snapdragon 821 club will be the Le2 with 4GB RAM, and larger 5.5-inch FHD display.

With specs, pricing and a launch date so close to one another we wonder which Chinese smartphone is going to win this battle?

Disclaimer: We may be compensated by some of the companies whose products we talk about, but our articles and reviews are always our honest opinions. For more details, you can check out our editorial guidelines and learn about how we use affiliate links.

Previous Axon 7 Mini listed in Germany ahead of release
Next HacBook Elite is a $329 macOS machine, how long before China gets at it too?

28 Comments

  1. SnowyCat
    August 30, 2016

    all i would wish for is 2,5d glass on the front, not huge black bezels on the white version and 4gb of ram without going for the most expensive version

    • Francis Sim
      August 30, 2016

      The black bezels actually works for me given that I am using dark backgrounds so it kind of blends in. If the bezels are white, they will appear bigger and the tone will be harder to match with the top and bottom.

  2. August 30, 2016

    LeEco Le2 wins it in my opinion. I wouldn’t buy the Xiaomi Mi5 cos of the 5.2inches display.

  3. Nikki
    August 30, 2016

    And we are curious with which of the two they will come to the west!
    Don’t forget to bring us LTE Band 20 with it! 😉

  4. Francis Sim
    August 30, 2016

    Given that Le2 is already released and a different design approach, I doubt it will be another Le2 variant but a Le2S. Didn’t expect Andi to make this mistake though.

  5. SnowyCat
    August 30, 2016

    all i would wish for is 2,5d glass on the front, not huge black bezels on the white version and 4gb of ram without going for the most expensive version

    • Francis Sim
      August 31, 2016

      The black bezels actually works for me given that I am using dark backgrounds so it kind of blends in. If the bezels are white, they will appear bigger and the tone will be harder to match with the top and bottom.

  6. Michael Ogbonnaya
    August 30, 2016

    LeEco Le2 wins it in my opinion. I wouldn’t buy the Xiaomi Mi5 cos of the 5.2inches display.

  7. Rob
    August 30, 2016

    My money is on Xiaomi, I remember back at CES in January Letv (LeEco) showing off the LeMax pro as the first device to be released with a snapdragon 820. If never got released (probably because I was waiting for it), no idea why as they had real phones at their booth for people to demo and there are some ‘hands on’ reviews of the device!

    • DEPTHCOREX75
      August 30, 2016

      What? They launched the Le Max 2 instead, didn’t they? It’s better and cheaper. LeUI is far more optimised than MIUI, you get better performance for usually cheaper.

  8. Guest
    August 30, 2016

    And we are curious with which of the two they will come to the west!
    Don’t forget to bring us LTE Band 20 with it! 😉

  9. Lupo
    August 30, 2016

    I am probably not going for any of these… IMO, for me the only benefit of Snapdragon 821 would be a price cut in the Snapdragon 820’s device segment. Then I would go for ZUK Z2 over MI5s & LeBio

    • Muhammad Yasir
      August 30, 2016

      typical stewie

    • Ivo001
      August 30, 2016

      But the Z2 does not have a notification led

      • Lupo
        August 31, 2016

        It has.

  10. Francis Sim
    August 30, 2016

    Given that Le2 is already released and a different design approach, I doubt it will be another Le2 variant but a Le2S. Didn’t expect Andi to make this mistake though.

  11. NextHype
    August 30, 2016

    SD821 ? Find 9 ftw !
    Oppo wins // LeBezel & Millet loose xD

  12. Rob
    August 30, 2016

    My money is on Xiaomi, I remember back at CES in January Letv (LeEco) showing off the LeMax pro as the first device to be released with a snapdragon 820. If never got released (probably because I was waiting for it), no idea why as they had real phones at their booth for people to demo and there are some ‘hands on’ reviews of the device!

    • DEPTHCOREX75
      August 30, 2016

      What? They launched the Le Max 2 instead, didn’t they? It’s better and cheaper. LeUI is far more optimised than MIUI, you get better performance for usually cheaper.

  13. Rob
    August 30, 2016

    My money is on Xiaomi, I remember back at CES in January Letv (LeEco) showing off the LeMax pro as the first device to be released with a snapdragon 820. If never got released (probably because I was waiting for it), no idea why as they had real phones at their booth for people to demo and there are some ‘hands on’ reviews of the device!

    • DEPTHCOREX75
      August 30, 2016

      What? They launched the Le Max 2 instead, didn’t they? It’s better and cheaper. LeUI is far more optimised than MIUI, you get better performance for usually cheaper.

  14. Lupo
    August 30, 2016

    I am probably not going for any of these… IMO, for me the only benefit of Snapdragon 821 would be a price cut in the Snapdragon 820’s device segment. Then I would go for ZUK Z2 over MI5s & LeBio

    • Guest
      August 30, 2016

      typical stewie

    • Ivo001
      August 30, 2016

      But the Z2 does not have a notification led

    • Lupo
      August 31, 2016

      It has.

  15. Tommi
    August 30, 2016

    Xiaomi MI5s actually got some leaks told, that possibly for 5.5-inch screen, so there are just few differences with:

    – Camera set up
    – Fingerprint scanner
    – Xiaomi could get 128GB ROM option with higher RAM (6GB?)
    – OS, MIUI vs eUI

    I’m not really fan of either brand, but I enjoy performance!

  16. NextHype
    August 30, 2016

    SD821 ? Find 9 ftw !
    Oppo wins // LeBezel & Millet loose xD

  17. Guest
    August 30, 2016

    Xiaomi MI5s actually got some leaks told, that possibly for 5.5-inch screen, so there are just few differences with:

    – Camera set up
    – Fingerprint scanner
    – Xiaomi could get 128GB ROM option with higher RAM (6GB?)
    – OS, MIUI vs eUI

    I’m not really fan of either brand, but I enjoy performance!