Xiaomi Mi5: arguably the best smartphone of 2016

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Xiaomi presented its new flagship Mi5 and in one fell swoop crossed out all other announcements. At the moment, this is the most pumped and high-quality smartphone for adequate money.

At the MWC 2016 in Barcelona, Xiaomi has shown a new flagship - the long-awaited Xiaomi Mi5. Perhaps this time the company has surpassed not only LG and Samsung, but also itself. In terms of price-quality ratio - with an eye to performance and build quality - the Mi5 has no competitors right now, and it is unlikely that there will be any in the near future.

The novelty is equipped with a 5, 15-inch display with Full HD resolution and 600 nits brightness. It is worth noting that a similar diagonal from the past is much more convenient than the popular 5.5 inches. The screen is protected by glass with an oleophobic coating. Perhaps the most pleasant news was the use of the latest Snapdragon 820 processor (versions with frequencies of 1, 8 and 2, 15 GHz) with the Adreno 530 graphics accelerator in Mi5: this single-chip "stone" is 100% faster than the previous solution with the number 810.

In addition, the new product is equipped with LPDDR4 memory, which gives a 100% increase in memory performance compared to previously used in LPDDR3 smartphones. At the moment, three versions of the Xiaomi Mi5 have been announced. The base one is equipped with 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of permanent memory, the mid-price one is 4 GB and 64 GB, respectively. The top-end configuration offers 4 GB and 128 GB of storage. By the way, the flash memory here is also non-standard: the new Xiaomi uses UFS 2.0 modules with a data transfer rate of up to 450 MB / s. The new standard is 87% faster than eMMC 5.0, which is used in most smartphones.

Other filling will allow a beginner to compete with any modern smartphone. So, the main camera of Mi5 is represented by a 16-megapixel Sony IMX298 module with phase detection autofocus and optical image stabilization. A 4-megapixel module is used as a front one. The 3,000 mAh battery supports Quick Charge 3.0 fast charging technology.

In terms of design and usability, Xiaomi also did not disappoint: the device is equipped with a Home button with a built-in fingerprint scanner. The front and back of the smartphone are protected by glass. The frame is made of metal. Instead of the boring microUSB, the main and only wired interface of the novelty is the USB Type-C port. There is also an increasingly less popular, but therefore no less demanded NFC module. Wireless interfaces are presented in a complete set: the smartphone supports the latest 4G LTE-A standard with data download speeds of up to 600 Mbps and VoLTE voice telephony.

The company plans to release the smartphone in three colors: black, white and gold. The gold version will have an exclusive texture on the back. The dimensions of Xiaomi Mi5 are very comfortable 144, 55 × 69, 2 × 7, 25 mm (this is why the non-standard screen diagonal is used here), and the weight of the smartphone is only 129 grams. All this splendor, according to the manufacturer, is gaining 140 thousand parrots in Antutu and is definitely the market leader.

The cost of the gadget with such indicators seems just ridiculous (in fact, of course, just excellent). The version with a processor frequency of 1.8 GHz, 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of permanent memory will cost the buyer in the Chinese market 300 dollars. A more powerful version with a processor at a frequency of 2, 15 GHz, the same amount of RAM and 64 GB of ROM will cost $ 50 more. The price of the top variant of the Xiaomi Mi5 Plus with a ceramic back cover, a frequency of 2, 15 GHz, increased to 4 GB of RAM and an internal storage of 128 GB is about $ 415.

With such results, the novelty is ready to compete with the benchmark - iPhone 6. At least Antutu tests, the cost and show a clear advantage of the Chinese novelty. Xiaomi has overtaken the closest competitor from the Middle Kingdom - Meizu Pro5 - both in terms of tests and filling (primarily due to the presence of optical stabilization of the camera and a more powerful processor).

Comparison with Samsung S7 and the new flagship of LG will be left outside the scope of the article: I would like to hear the opinion of readers. Who will win?