For the first time, Xiaomi will be attending the Mobile World Congress event which is held in Barcelona, Spain. This is an important event for all tech companies, particularly smartphone manufacturers as almost everyone has something new to showcase during the four-day period.
Xiaomi has been particularly quiet about its intentions of expanding into European and North American markets. The presence of the company at MWC 2016 could be an indication of its plans to enter new markets in the region. As a result, it becomes important for Xiaomi to showcase the best products at the event which will be held from February 22 to February 25, 2016.
So, here’s what to expect from Xiaomi at MWC 2016.
Xiaomi Mi 5
Xiaomi has confirmed that it will showcase its flagship, the Xiaomi Mi 5 at MWC 2016. This will undoubtedly be the company’s most important product of the event this year. It’s a flagship in the making for more than one and half years, and there’s a lot of expectations from fans worldwide that the company needs to deliver with the Mi 5.
Several sources have revealed a Xiaomi Mi 5 with a physical home button up front. The renders also show that the phone will come in multiple colors such as white, black, pink and gold.
As for the specs, the Xiaomi Mi 5 is expected to come with a 5.2-inch display with FHD 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution. There will most likely be multiple RAM + Storage versions, like 3GB + 32GB and 4GB + 64GB. At the back, you can expect a 16MP shooter with Laser Autofocus, while up front an 8MP sensor.
RELATED: All Xiaomi Mi 5 Renders So Far
These were the unconfirmed specifications of the Mi 5. There are some features which were officially confirmed by company executives like the CPU: Snapdragon 820, Screen Resolution: FHD 1080p, Connectivity Features: Dual SIM, NFC. You can read more about all the confirmed features of the Xiaomi Mi 5 from this article.
Pricing is still unclear, but earlier rumors have said that the Mi 5 will be slightly costlier than its predecessor, the Mi 4. The expected pricing is said to be 2499 Yuan ($380) for the base variant. You can expect the prices to go north from this figure for the other variants (we expect a number of Xiaomi Mi 5 variants).
As for the release, the phone is confirmed to be available within a week after it’s launched officially. So, at least, users in China should be able to purchase/ pre-order a brand new Xiaomi Mi 5 by the start of March 2016.
Now that we have covered Mi 5, which is the only product confirmed to meet us at MWC 2016, its time to look at products which are rumored to be launched at the event.
Xiaomi Drone
Xiaomi has been rumored to be working on a drone for the past few months. This is not really surprising given the company’s interest in a lot of different categories, ranging from gadgets in the wearable industry to home appliances.
The latest rumors indicate that the company could launch its first drone / UAV at MWC 2016. Since this is yet to be confirmed by any means, we would advise you to take this rumor with a pinch salt. Still, the rumors about Xiaomi’s first drone is interesting enough to be worth checking out.
We had heard about Xiaomi patenting some of the features of its upcoming drone back in December. The same documents have cropped up online recently, with the additional rumor that the company will announce it at MWC 2016.
The company seems to be working on an interesting device. From the patent documents leaked, it seems that Xiaomi’s drone can be controlled via its Mi Band wearable. Given that the Mi Band lacks a display, we guess the drone could be controlled via hand gestured supported by the wearable as well as the companion Mi Band Android / iOS app.
The images further show that the Xiaomi Drone could have a ‘follow me’ feature. So, you could be just wearing the Mi Band, riding you bicycle and the drone could follow you from above, taking pictures and videos of your ride. If it works well, this feature could attract a lot of adventure enthusiasts, enabling them to take shots from angles, and places, not easily accessible before.
The rumors further add that Xiaomi may not manufacture the drone, rather it could focus on marketing and selling the device. So, the actual manufacturer of the drone could be a different company. Also, the drone is said to focus on the lower price band, so it may not compete with market leaders such as DJI.
Other Products:
So, the Xiaomi Mi 5 and the Xiaomi drone were the two possible new launches that can be showcased at the event. However, Xiaomi most likely won’t miss the opportunity to show off its existing products at MWC 2016. So, you can expect best sellers from the company like Redmi Note 3, Redmi 3 and even other products such as the Xiaomi Mi TV3 and Mi smart scale at the event.
So, mark your calendars — Xiaomi Mi 5 and lot many products are coming our way at MWC 2016!
