Editorials
5 Reasons to Buy Xiaomi Mi 5 Smartphone

Xiaomi, the Chinese mobile manufacturer, is believed to be one of the top contenders in the new age of affordable smartphones. The young company has even dethroned big brands like Samsung and LG in terms of sales figure both in the homeland and in outer regions like India. This year company took the announcement of its latest Mi flagship device to International in Barcelona, which was parallelly announced in China.
The device has already gone on sale in the homeland and is now heading for its Indian audience soon as the announcement date has been fixed as the March 31st. We would be covering the event, and you could expect some exclusive content from us as we did last time.
But before that day comes, let’s talk about the device first, we have listed five reasons below why you should be buying the Xiaomi Mi 5 Smartphone.
Design
With a focus on look and feel, it took company two years to design this handset. And it can be said that the device looks stunning, looks like the long wait for the Mi flagship was finally worth it. If a company is such hugely invested in working on design parts, one should understand that it’s a pure consumer-centric approach. Talking about the specific, the device weighs 129 gram, which is 14 grams lighter than the iPhone 6S. Why it’s incredible is because the Xiaomi device packs a larger screen and a larger battery as well. The device would be coming in three variants, although, there would be only be one point stated to differentiate the difference.
The standard and prime models would be sporting a 3D Glass back while the Pro variant will have a 3D Ceramic back, which is said to be quite tougher than the glass body. And this time around the company has put the fingerprint sensor on the front, which is the first time for a Xiaomi device. The company claims to have perfect the design of the physical button, which is integrated with the biometric sensor. We have spent some quality time with the handset at MWC unveiling of the device as well as at the Redmi Note 3 launch, where it was showcased for the demo purpose. If you have a special appreciation for the design, then you’ll understand how fantastic the design language is on the new Xiaomi flagship.
Display
There are not many smartphones with full HD display that has impressed us more than a Quad HD display. Now even though, it’s not an AMOLED display, which is practically the best screen technology in the market right now, has a lot to offer. With 21 patents for the display technology alone, the company might have outdone any other manufacturer regarding innovation. The company promises the brightness level of 600 nits, which we are yet to test once the device arrives for the review. This 1080p 5.15-inch size display also looks pretty stunning with almost no bezels. There are a read mode and a feature to tackle the pixel resolution when you’re using it under sunlight, which is why it’s also called as the sunlight display. As far as the full HD displays are concerned it can be said that this is the best screen out there.
Processor
The Powerhouse, which is what the Snapdragon 820 chipset is being called as, it has a Quad-core Kryo CPU setup, which is said to be 2X faster than the old iteration SD 810 processor. For the graphical processing, it has an Adreno 530 GPU, which improves the graphical delivery performance by 40%. Thus, you can experience the realistic graphics for console gaming and virtual reality apps. We haven’t had a chance to test out the full potential, but the company was keen to share the Antutu score of the device at the launch event, which is at 142,084. It may be too early to judge this handset as the highest performer, as we would be seeing the SD 820 processor in other handsets as well. But why anyone would bet that this handset would be the highest performer for this year? Well, all thanks to the software optimization done by the company on their MIUI ROM. The pro variant would be coming with storage of 128GB, which is quite massive.
Camera
The camera package on this thing is amazing as well; it sports a 16-megapixel resolution Sony IMX298 sensor on the rear side. We haven’t played much with the camera module, as we are yet to get a review unit. So, I’ll be brief about it. The top photography experts at Dpreview have rated this sensor to be one of the best in class for smartphone photography. The company didn’t stop just at installing the best camera module; it has used DTI (Deep Trench Isolation) technology, which is said to prevent light leaks. Thus, you can get true and clean colors. Meanwhile, it also has 4-axis optical image stabilization (OIS), you have to understand that many handsets these days ship with 2-axis OIS, while very few come with 3-axis, now if a handset coming with 4-axis is impressive and it should be able to achieve better stability. Moreover, it has a support of Phase Detection Auto Focus (PDAF) technology for faster focusing and a dual LED flash. And with Qualcomm Spectra Image processor allowing support to shoot 4K videos, you shoot some high quality content on this handset. While talking about the front-facing camera module, it has a 4MP resolution selfie camera, which should be good, given the history of selfie cams on the Xiaomi handsets. Some camera samples shared by company.
Pricing
The most important factor here is the pricing; I mean any company can offer high-end specification of their handsets, but how many can price their handsets aggressively. There have been reports circling the Internet that whenever Xiaomi plans to start its operation in the United States, the smartphone realm in the country will see some big changes. The Company is practically offering the similar specs handset for half the price when compared with offerings from those big brands. Talking about the pricing in India, it would be available
Verdict
The conclusion is that the device at such pricing, which was unexpected, the device seems to beat every other contender. Now you call it a premium flagship or affordable flagship, whatever, the fact is that you won’t get better specification in this pricing from any other handset manufacturers. If you were looking to upgrade to a new smartphone, then your search should be over. This is the handset you should be purchasing.