The Xiaomi Mi 5S and 5S Plus officially opened for sale today online and really the progress has been rapid. The device released a few days back wowed us with the beautiful design, well packed flagship specs and as an icing on the cake, it clutches an ultra cheap price tag of 1999 Yuan ($300) for the base variant.
We have been following the device right from the launch, to its first unboxing and even before that we have had the opportunity of seeing sample images shot by the device’s camera. Now images from what should be the device’s first teardown have emerged, brought courtesy of the guys at IT168.
The Mi 5S features a number of innovative, new technologies of which the most prominent is the under glass ultrasonic scanner. There is also an all new 3D Touch pressure sensitive display, custom bright display. Apart from that, the Mi 5S makes it out as just the third device released so far to come equipped with Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 821 chipset clocked at 2.15GHz. Xiaomi crammed all these and more inside the Mi 5S and still made its price $300! Isn’t that wonderful?
For sake of clarity, the tear-down is that of the higher Mi 5S version sporting a 4GB RAM + 128GB of built-in storage. The device that is being dismantled comes in gray and we should add at this point that the process was carried out by professionals so please don’t attempt it at home of you get a unit of the Mi 5S.
Going on, the tear-down reveals the 4GB RAM supplied by SK Hynix, the non-removable 3200mAh battery from Scud and the 2.3 inches Sony IMX378 sensor which is quite huge as well as the other components inside the flagship. Due to the design, Xiaomi had to sacrifice the infrared as well as optical image stabilization but that doesn’t remove a thing from the Mi 5S.
In all, the Mi 5S comes in studded both on the outside looks and even inside, the components look solid and the device also comes in as one that should be easy to fix in the event of damage. You can check out the entire tear-down images from down below.
Bluboo may not be the first manufacturer name you think of when it comes to choosing a smartphone but I came across the Maya model. It costs less than $75, it has an HD display and more. Find out if this cheap phone is any good in the full review.
The phone ships with just a charger, USB cable and some paperwork.
Bluboo Maya Review: DESIGN and DISPLAY
The Bluboo Maya is kind of nice phone for such a low price. We have a metal trim that goes around the device along with nice and tactile metal buttons.
The textured back cover gives a little plasticky feel of the device but overall, the phone is well-built. We have a 13MP shooter on the back.
We have a 5.5” 720p display, which is sharp enough for the daily use but it is very reflective outdoors due to pre-installed screen protector. Also, it has a somewhat blueish tint and cold-looking colors. The capacitive buttons are not backlit and I don’t like the position of them. I always prefer the back button to be on the right side.
The LED light is a nice touch for a cheap phone.
You can easily remove a backplate and underneath it you can find 2 SIM card slots, the microSD card slot and a removable 3000mAh battery.
The loudspeakers usually suck on cheap phones and the one found on this phone is no exception.
Bluboo Maya Review: HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE
The phone ships with a quad-core Mediatek 6580 chip with the clock speeds of 1.3GHz, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable storage.
These are pretty low-end specs and the thus the 3D gaming performance is not so impressive. You should expect some stutter even on medium graphics when playing Asphalt 8.
Bluboo Maya Review: BENCHMARKS
Bluboo Maya Review: USER INTERFACE
I always prefer stock Android especially on the cheap phones like this but the Bluboo Maya ships with their own skin on top of Android 6.0.
For some reason, they removed the app tray. A great thing is that there are no bloatware apps and the phone is pretty fast on the daily basis.
Bluboo Maya Review: IMAGE QUALITY
When it comes to image quality, you should never expect something spectacular from any cheap phones.
Surprisingly, the Bluboo Maya can take some decent-looking images. Even the low-light camera performance is slightly better than on some similarly priced phones.
The video quality is just mediocre as on most of the cheap phones.
The selfies produced by the 8MP camera look quite noisy and the level of detail is kind of low.
Bluboo Maya Review: CONNECTIVITY
As for connectivity, everything is working fine except for the GPS. Sometimes it takes a lot of time to get the position lock and GPS is not always accurate.
Bluboo Maya Review: BATTERY LIFE
A 3000mAh battery performs quite well. I could easily get through the day with this phone and that translates to 4.5h of screen-on time on a mixed use. However, the charging speeds with the supplied charger are very slow.
Bluboo Maya Review: CONCLUSIONS
Bluboo Maya aims to brings a lot of value to the table and it succeeds in a lot of ways.
Of course, it is not perfect as the gaming performance is not so great, the GPS is slow and inaccurate, the display is reflective outdoors and the phone is kind of slow to charge.
Still, for just $75 you get a 5.5” phone that runs on Android 6.0, it has a decent day-to-day performance, a good battery life and surprisingly decent camera.
All in all, Bluboo Maya may not be your next flagship phone but it is definitely a decent offering for the price if you are okay with the shortcomings that I just mentioned.
Chinese smartphone giant TCL has announced the entrance of two of its latest smartphones into the market dubbed TCL 950 and TCL 580 both in its Business series. Of the two, the TCL 950 is the high-end version, boasting of flagship specs and a sturdy classy look.
The TCL 950 features the high-end Snapdragon 820 processor which by the way is no longer the topmost from Qualcomm with Adreno 530 GPU. Along also with the SD 820 chip, is a 4GB RAM and 64GB of internal storage which can be expanded. The flagship sports a 5.5-inch AMOLED display with 1080 pixels resolution which lies on top of an all-metal body having 2.5D glass both on top the display and at the back. The entire device measures 153.6 × 75.4 × 6.99mm, and weighs 165g and the design is said to have been effected using 3D laser engraving technology.
The camera on the TCL 950 comes huge, with a massive 21MP rear-facing camera with Sony IMX230 sensors, PDAF and LED flash. Up front, there is an 8MP front-facing camera for selfies. Furthermore, the smartphone features a 3000mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0 fast charge support. The device also comes with full network support including 4G, dual SIM slots, NFC support, USB Type-C interface.
Aside these, the TCL 950 also comes with other cool features such as dual front speakers or earpiece and the earpiece is such that it can be used to answer calls. There is also a rear mounted fingerprint sensor on the device.
On the other hand, the TCL 580 comes with a smaller 5-inch AMOLED display and is powered by a MediaTek MT6750 processor having eight Cortex-A53 core and clocked at 1.5GHz. There is 3GB of RAM on the 580 along side 32GB of expandable internal storage. There is a 13MP rear camera with Sony IMX258 sensors and PDAF as well as LED flash and up front, a 5MP camera does the job of snapping selfies.
The TCL 580 adopts the same double glass on top of metallic body design of the 950 and TCL also used 3D laser engraving technology on the design. The device also comes with fingerprint scanner just like the 950 but that on the TCL 580 is on the front specifically the home button. There is also a 2460mAh battery under its hood.
As for their prices, both the TCL 950 and 580 come in just gold and silver color variants and sales of the TCL 950 is said to start at 18.00 tonight in China on Jingdong, Lynx, Suning. The TCL 950 starts at 3299 Yuan ($495) while the TCL 580 carries a price tag of 1399 Yuan ($210). Sales of the 580 is said to commence on October 10 in China.
Xiaomi launched the new Mi 5s and Mi 5s Plus yesterday and according to the company both phones use Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 821 processor. But the question on people’s mind is if the Mi 5s indeed sports a Snapdragon 821 chip seeing as its clocked at 2.15 GHz which is the maximum clock speed for the snapdragon 820 while the Mi 5s Plus is clocked at 2.35 GHz.
Someone decided to confirm that and checked the CPU details using popular app CPU-Z.
The app shows the Mi 5s indeed uses a Snapdragon 821 chip which also goes by the model name MSM8996Pro. However, the CPU is not the only thing that got under-clocked, the GPU is also under-clocked at 624MHz instead of 653MHz like that of the Mi 5S Plus.
Yesterday we reported a leak press render of one of Google’s upcoming phone, the Pixel. It’s bigger brother, the Pixel XL doesn’t get left out as its own press render has leaked too. Both phones are expected to launch next week on the 4th of October.
The render for the Pixel XL isn’t any different from that of the smaller sized Pixel, and based on insiders, Google’s act is intentional. Both phones are expected to feature similar internals and just be a little different on the outside just like Apple did with the new iPhones.
The render shows the phone running Google’s new launcher called Pixel Launcher which uses round icons (which I don’t like) and filled out on-screen navigation buttons (ugly as well).
The Pixel XL has been reported to sport a 5.5-inches AMOLED Quad HD display, a snapdragon 821 chip, a 12MP primary camera whose pictures were leaked recently, and an 8MP front facing shooter. The phone will also have a USB Type-C port, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a fingerprint scanner. There will be a 3450mAh battery inside which should support Quick Charge 3.0. The phone is expected to launch with Android 7.1 Nougat.
Top Chinese drone manufacturer DJI has unveiled its latest Mavic Pro drone which comes in as the company’s first foldable drone which can be folded down to the size of a water-bottle, giving it a very compact body built. The new drone comes in as the smallest in DJI’s line-up of drone and is also said to feature the new DJI Goggles which gives a bird’s eye view of the flight.
The DJI Mavic Pro enters the market battle ready to take on GoPro’s Karma, coming in as the company’s smartest drone so far and tagging along some cool obstacle avoidance and auto tracking features which are both absent on the GoPro Karma. What this means is that users don’t need to put a tracking device on the object they want the drone to follow rather all they need do is select the target on a smartphone and that’s all.
The Mavic Pro comes weighing just 1.64 pounds but the dimensions are not specified even though it is touted as being able to be folded up to a water-bottle’s size which makes it possible to fit into the pocket. The Mavic Pro also includes a foldable controller which allows a smartphone to slide into it and give users both touchscreen and joystick control options.
DJI already has a reputation for its advanced flight options but the Mavic Pro takes things a notch higher, sporting an updated FlightAutonomy system. DJI calls the system a complex network which simplifies the navigation process. There are five built-in navigation cameras, GPS, ultrasonic range finders, multiple sensors and 24 computing cores. These all aid the drone to be capable of achieving several advanced flight modes. DJI also touts the Mavic pro of being capable of avoiding most obstacles even at speeds of up to 22mph The drone is however capable of hitting speeds of up to 40 mph in sport mode.
The DJI Mavic Pro also comes with features which are on earlier quadcopters such as autofollow, crash avoidance, and flight modes. In addition to those, the Mavic Pro has been made capable of achieving precise landing within one inch of its original take off spot with just a simple tap on the return home command. even when racing uphill, you don’t have to be scared of crashing because there is a new mode which keeps the drone at the same distance from the incline as it flies. Gesture control, selfie featres are also part of the new inclusions on the Mavic pro.
On the camera angle, the Mavic Pro is equipped with both a 4K capable built-in camera and a three-axis gimbals which stabilizes the camera. The gimbals are DJI’s smallest till date and is reputed to be able to steady the camera enough to shoot aerial long exposures up to two seconds long. The camera has a 12MP sensor and it shoots in both RAW and JPEG and there are options of using 4K in 30fps, or 1080 pixels at 96 fps.The Mavic Pro was launched along with a new drone camera which gives users live view of what is happening mid-flight. Christened DJI Google, the camera has a display of 85 degrees in 1080p HD and also the Google receives the signal straight from the drone which helps prevent lag time in the footage.The DJI Mavic Pro comes with a price tag of $999, higher than the GoPro Karma but then the more sophisticated features it packs seem to justify the price tag. On top of that, DJI has introduced a new $99 optional DJI Care Refresh option which covers accidental damage for a year. The DJI Mavic Pro is expected to start shipping on October 15.
When Meizu released the MX6 flagship two months ago it launched with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage at a price of 1999 Yuan ($300). Now the company has launched a 3GB RAM version of the device.
The new MX6 retains the other specifications as the 4GB RAM version. There’s still a 5.5” full HD display supplied by Sharp, a Helio X20 processor under the hood, 32GB of storage space, Sony’s 12MP IMX386 CMOS sensor at the back and a 5MP camera in front for selfies.
Battery is also the same at 3060mAh with support for 12V 2A fast charging. You also get VoLTE, 4G+, Cat. 6 LTE, and Android 6.0 with Meizu’s Flyme UI overlay.
The new 3GB MX6 has a selling price of 1799 Yuan ($270) which if you ask me is still pretty expensive as there are a bunch of Snapdragon 820 phones selling for less the price and some new Snapdragon 821 phones priced at that same point.
The rhythm of the Chinese phone market is expected to see a change from next month, seeing more devices getting released ahead of the year end sales. It is speculated that majority of the releases would be flagship devices and one of the manufacturers expected with a flagship device or two is Meizu.
Rumors are rife that Meizu is expected with a new smartphone release by the end of October or possibly in November and the smartphone has been given as the Pro 6S which would take over from the Pro 6 released earlier in the year. To be more concise, it is said that there might be two smartphone models one of which will be powered by the MediaTek Helio P20 processor and will go be the moniker Meizu Pro 6S. The Pro 6S apart from having a different processor from the Pro 6 Plus, will also come with a smaller 5.2-inch display.
On the other hand, the second expected flagship is said to be called Meizu Pro 6 Plus and would be powered by an Exynos 8890 chipset. According to the leak source, the Pro 6 Plus will feature a 5.7-inch display but it is unknown if the display would be curved.
On top of that, Meizu is said to be working on redesigning the looks of the devices and that the Chinese phone maker is looking to create a design where the antenna bands are completely hidden. If true, the devices are expected to see a more refined and unified visual effect.
Also worth mentioning is the news that Meizu seem to have manufactured a new device with display screen in the region of 4.7 inches to 5 inches with plastic body. The said device adopts the model number M611A and has received 3C certification in China (pictured above). The details from the production factory also gives the idea the device will run on the Yun OS. We could be looking at another Blue Charm smartphone as well along side the Pro 6S and Pro 6 Plus. But then, we can’t be so sure until the devices are officially announced.
When you get a new phone, you are always excited about it for a couple of weeks before the feeling wears off. But one thing that usually brings back that excitement is an update. I’m not referring to small and boring incremental updates like security patches and bug fixes. I mean the large updates ushering in a new version of android and a ton of new features. I am always so excited about such updates as long as it doesn’t mess up my device.
Google’s new version of android called Nougat, is just a little over a month old and just a handful of devices are running the official version. A few manufacturers have started announcing update schedules for supported devices and one of them is Motorola.
The company has announced that starting Q4 2016 the new Moto Z and Moto G4 lines will be seeing Android Nougat. Why is this a big deal? Motorola is one of the companies known for pushing out updates in a timely manner but lately things seem to have gone bad following Lenovo’s acquisition.
A few months ago Motorola released an official statement over its inability to release monthly security updates for its phones citing the difficulty associated with the amount of testing and approvals necessary for a large number of devices as the reason. The company has also laid off a large percentage of the original workforce since the take over which might mean less hands assigned to tasks like that.
In my opinion, Xiaomi’s biggest threat when it comes to affordable flagships is LeEco. Just two years into the business of phone manufacturing, the company (LeEco) already has an interesting portfolio even though it isn’t half as large as that of Xiaomi.
Last week, LeEco launched a new phone, the Le Pro 3 which is the first Chinese phone to feature the all-new Snapdragon 821 processor. Earlier today, Xiaomi launched not one, but two snapdragon 821 phones, the Mi 5s and Mi 5s Plus. We’ve decided to do a comparison of all three devices. Highlighting their pros and cons hoping it will help you decide which to settle for.
Le Pro 3Mi 5s PlusXiaomi Mi 5s
Design
All three phones feature an all-metal body. The Xiaomi Mi 5s is the smallest of the lot standing tall at 145.6 mm, followed by the Le Pro 3 at 151.4 mm, and the 5s Plus at 154.6 mm. You might think the Mi 5s should get the award for the thinnest considering it’s small size and small battery, but the Le Pro 3 wins in that aspect and its a surprise considering it has the largest battery of the lot. The large battery of the LeEco makes it lose out in the weight department. It weighs 175g, a tad higher than the Mi 5s Plus at 168g and significantly more than the Mi 5s’ 145g.
Display
Both companies decided to stick to IPS displays this time, probably to keep the price down. Resolution is the same at 1080p but pixel density varies. The Mi 5s has a 428 ppi for its 5.15” display; the Le Pro 3’s 5.5” screen has a ppi of 403, and the Mi 5s Plus comes in last with a ppi of 386 based on its massive 5.7” display.
Most people won’t notice the difference unless they are holding the screens very close to their eyes. But what matters most will be colour reproduction and sunlight legibility.
Cameras
The Le Pro 3 is equipped with a 16 megapixel Sony IMX298 camera with a 1/2.8″ sensor size and 1.12 µm pixel size. The camera which has an aperture size of f/2.0, 76.5° wide-angle lens, PDAF, dual tone flash, shoots in 4K at 30fps, and 720p slow motion at 120fps. It’s front facing camera is an 8 megapixel sensor with a f/2.2 aperture which can also record 1080p videos.
Xiaomi’s Mi 5s has a 12MP f/2.0 Sony IMX378 1/2.3″ 1.55µm sensor mounted at the back. The camera is an 80° wide-angle lens with dual tone flash, PDAF, 4K recording at 30fps, 1080p at 120fps and 720p slow motion at 120 fps. There’s a 4MP Ultrapixel camera with f/2.o aperture, 80° wide angle lens, facial recognition up front.
The Mi 5s Plus is the beast here with dual 13MP Sony cameras. One camera shoots RGB only, capturing colour details; and the other shoots monochrome images only, allowing for more light and higher contrast. Both images are then stitched together to make for a great picture with less noise and greater clarity. The camera shoots in all the formats above and adds RAW format to the list. Front camera is the same as that of the Mi 5s.
Sadly, all three phones lack optical image stabilisation.
Connectivity
Each of the phone has a slot for two nano SIM cards. They all have LTE but the difference is in the bands supported and this is a big deal as the absence of a particular band makes it a deal breaker for some buyers.
The bands supported by each device is listed below:
Le Pro 3
2G/GSM: 2/3/5/8
CDMA: BC0/BC1
3G/WCDMA: B1/2/5/8
TD-SCDMA: B34/39
EVDO: BC0/BC1
4G/FDD-LTE B1/2/3/4/5/7/8/20
TDD-LTE: B38/39/40/41
2. Xiaomi Mi 5s and Mi 5s Plus
2G/GSM: 2/3/5/8
CDMA: BC0/BC1
3G/WCDMA: B1/2/5/8
EVDO: BC0/BC1
4G/FDD-LTE B1/3/5/7/*8
TDD-LTE: B38/39/40/41
*Only the Xiaomi Mi 5s is listed as having support for Band 8 (900).
There’s NFC, Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, WiFi Direct, hotspot, A-GPS and GLONASS on all three phones. The ports are also USB Type-C.
While LeEco has abandoned the 3.5 mm jack, users will still find the audio port on the Xiaomi Mi 5s and Mi 5s Plus.
Battery
This is another important factor when it comes to phones. Like I mentioned above, the LeEco has the largest battery capacity (4070mAh), followed by the Mi 5s Plus (3800mAh). The Mi 5 has a 3200mAh battery which is still larger than that of some other flagships like the Samsung S7 (3000mAh) and the Moto Z (2600mAh). Just so you know, all three phones support Quick Charge 3.0.
Special Features
The highlights of the Mi 5s is its new ultrasonic fingerprint scanner (present in the Mi 5s only) and the pressure sensitive display (available in the 4GB variant of the Mi 5s only). The LeEco Pro 3 and the Mi 5s Plus both use capacitive fingerprint scanners and don’t have pressure sensitive displays but they have IR blasters like the Mi 5s.
Price
The LeEco comes in 4 versions:
Standard version 4GB + 32GB sells for $270
High End version 6GB + 64GB sells for $300
Zhang Yimou 4GB + 64GB sells for $375
Zhang Yimou 6GB + 128GB sells for $450
The Mi 5s is available in 2 variants:
3GB + 64GB sells for $300 (which doesn’t have a pressure sensitive display)
Huawei’s flagship device of the year is the Huawei Mate 9 and the phone is expected to be announced sometime in November 2016. While we wait for the official launch of the phone, new renders of the Mate 9 flagship have emerged, giving us some insight on the phone’s design and features.
There are not one, but seven renders of the Mate 9 that emerged today on Weibo. The seven renders reveal seven different colors for the upcoming smartphone. Further, we can see that the phone in the render features an all metal design with dual cameras at the back. Also, there are the words ‘Leica’ between the two cameras, revealing that the new device could also be Leica certified. After the news about the new research lab established by Leica and Huawei together in Germany, there is hardly any doubt that Mate 9’s camera will be Leica certified as well.
Other details revealed by these renders include a possible Laser Focus setup, at least that’s what the black sensor on the right of the dual camera setup look like. Then, there’s a rear placed fingerprint sensor as well.
According to earlier rumors, the Huawei Mate 9 will come with the brand new Kirin 960 chipset featuring Cortex A73 Artemis cores along with 20MP dual Leica certified cameras with OIS. The phone should also run on Android 7 Nougat out of the box.
More details should emerge in the days to come. So, stay tuned for more updates. Meanwhile check out rest of the renders from down below.
Xiaomi and Xiaomi’s CEO Lei Jun have been teasing the camera samples from the Xiaomi Mi 5S for the past few days. However, these were without EXIF data and not even in full resolution. While the images looked stellar, in terms of its clarity and color reproduction, they were not quite enough to confirm that the Mi 5S indeed had a great camera.
Now, we have got 26 original camera samples from the Xiaomi Mi 5S’s 12MP Sony IMX378 camera sensor and they look pretty good. While we can judge the actual performance of the camera module only after testing out the Mi 5S’ camera in real life, these pictures taken by professional photographers do give us a glimpse of the capability of the large sensor on the back of the device.
We have covered the camera of the Mi 5S in detail in our launch article, but to recap, the phone features a 12MP Sony IMX378 sensor at the back with 1/2.3 inch sensor and large 1.55-micron pixels. This should effectively translate into better low light photography and better details on the images captured. And these samples do give us a hint that the low light photography of the phone is going to be impressive.
Note that some of the images are of the resolution 4000 x 3000 pixels (12MP) and some are of 3264 x 2448 (8MP resolution). All these photos have their original EXIF data, so you can check all the details in the original images.
Also, if you would like to download the original images, you can do that directly from this google drive link.
Finally, the Xiaomi Mi 5S and Mi 5S Plus have both been unveiled and indeed the unveiling was packed with lots of surprises. Most surprising is the fact that the Mi 5S Plus is only a Plus version in size and not ready a higher variant of the Mi 5S . Another surprise package is the actual render of the devices, especially the Mi 5S which looked nothing like the leaked renders we had been holding on to. Yet another surprise, perhaps the most epic of the lot, is the price tag which the Xiaomi Mi 5S amd 5S Plus carries, which even comes cheaper than the cheap price tag they had been rumored to carry. You’ll get to see this early hands on and unboxing images which comes courtesy of Sina Technology.
The Xiaomi Mi 5S and Mi 5S Plus are real beauties in all ramifications; beautiful design, awesome specs, innovative features and lots. However, they both cannot be at par, the Mi 5S comes in as the most innovative, and beautiful of the duo. The Mi 5S alone features the acclaimed under glass ultrasonic fingerprint scanner situated as a virtual button at the home screen region right under the display.
The Xiaomi Mi 5S Plus on the other hand, comes as a 5.7 incher and sports a dual camera at its rear which is said to include a black and white sensor and a color sensor. They both can work independently or together to give crisp clear images devoid of image noise. Its own fingerprint scanner is at the back under the dual cameras and there are no virtual buttons but capacitive keys on the device.
If you don’t look carefully, merely staring at the Xiaomi Mi 5S and Mi 5S Plus box casing would give the impression that you are staring at the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus boxes. And quite frankly, opening up the boxes reveal devices as beautiful, if not more beautiful, as the latest iPhones. The devices comes inside the boxes with their charger and data cables.
We must not fail however to point out that the shape of the virtual button looks nothing like the iPhone’s round home key as rumored but rather maintains Xiaomi’s custom oblong shape. The only different should be the fact that the button this time around is a virtual one and you won’t get to hear the click sound when pressed.
In all, these are real beauties and it is just apt to say that the China phone giants seem to be on a mission to redefine what a flagship actually is. First OnePlus 3, then Le Pro 3 and now the Mi 5S has taken the old impression that a flagship has to be pricey to the cleaners and we are indeed impressed! Delight yourselves in lot more images from down below.
The launch of the new Xiaomi flagships has come and gone and while we might have to wait a few days before articles and videos of first impressions start flooding the net, that doesn’t mean the feeling off euphoria has to wear off immediately. So bask in these official photos of the bigger Mi 5s Plus.
Is it just me or does the Mi 5s Plus look a bit like the Redmi Pro, save for the design of the dual cameras, fingerprint scanner, and the LED flash?
The Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus has a nice design. This is Xiaomi’s second dual-camera phone and the camera design is entirely different. The cameras are in a single housing and the LED flash flanks it on the left. Sitting below it is a fingerprint scanner which doesn’t appear to be an ultrasonic sensor like that of its sibling, the Xiaomi Mi 5s.
Xiaomi retains the style of placing the volume rocker and power buttons on the right. Unlike the original Mi 5 and the Mi 5s which have illuminated dots on both sides of the fingerprint scanner, the Mi 5s Plus uses the familiar backlit icons which is present on the Redmi Note 3.
The Mi 5s Plus has a large 5.7 inches 1080p display that has been crammed into a body smaller than that of the iPhone 7 Plus which has a 5.5” display by the way. It also has a 3800mAh battery, NFC, Bluetooth 4.2, and support for Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0.
Pricing starts at $345 for the 4GB RAM + 64GB version and $390 for the 6GB RAM and 128GB version. With the pricing of the latter, I think the OnePlus 3 has indeed met its match.
Manufacturers slashing the price of their previous models following the release of a new one is not a new practice. Xiaomi just announced two new flagship phones and they’ve decided to follow the same pattern by reducing the price of the Mi 5. If you head to the official online store, the new price changes have been effected.
The standard edition with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage sells for 1599 Yuan ($240). If you want one with a lot more storage (64GB) but with the same RAM, you’ll have to pay 1799 Yuan ($270).
The high end version which features a 3D glass body, 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage sells for 2399 Yuan ($360), while the ceramic edition is priced at 2499 Yuan ($375). Do note that the price is the same irrespective of the colour you choose.
Just about an hour ago, Xiaomi launched its new flagships, the Xiaomi Mi 5s and Mi 5s Plus. After weeks of leaks and rumours, we finally know what the phone looks like and what it has and doesn’t have. One notable feature that must have caught the eyes of many readers is the ultrasonic fingerprint scanner which surprisingly is ”visible”, when we hoped it was going to be completely hidden.
CEO, Lei Jun, during the launch decided to explain why the fingerprint scanner can be seen. He said the company decided to include a groove on the front glass, right above where the sensor is located to make it easy to find. While his reason is acceptable, I still believe users will be able to unlock their phones once they know the area the fingerprint scanner covers. It might take a while to get used to but if we can make use of phones that don’t have backlit capacitive buttons in the dark, this should not be difficult. A little haptic feedback will also help.
The new generation scanner present in the Mi 5s has been in development for years before the company decided it was time to put it out for consumers. Users don’t have to worry about their hands being dirty or wet, as the phone unlocks in a split second once the recorded fingerprint is detected. This is due to the thousands of micro-seismic sensor probes of the scanner. The glass is also tough and is seamlessly integrated with the rest of the phone.
The company has also released a 4-minute clip about the technology behind the scanner which you can find here, but it’s in Chinese.
Along with the Xiaomi Mi 5S, the company announced the Mi 5S Plus at the event held today in Beijing, China. While the Mi 5S is a flagship aimed at users who want a balanced compact smartphone, the Mi 5S Plus takes things to a whole new level, in almost every aspect.
DESIGN:
The Xiaomi Mi 5S Plus comes with the same all metal design as its smaller brother, however, it features a much larger display, to cater the needs of those who want something for entertainment and gaming. So, it’s kind of a bulked up version of the Mi 5S, featuring a large 5.7-inch display. However, you won’t feel its too big considering that it’s narrower than the iPhone 7 Plus. The company has actually done a good job of limiting its dimensions. Its light weight as well, 20 grams lighter than the iPhone 7 Plus.
Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus Dimensions: 154.6mm x 77.9mm | Weight: 168 grams
The curved design should ensure better grip and the brushed metal body gives it a premium look. Like its sibling, you get 2.5D glass on the front. There are four color options, silver, dark gray, rose gold and gold.
What’s really interesting about the Mi 5S Plus’ design is the fingerprint sensor located at the back! The Mi 5S came with an ultrasonic under glass sensor on the front, but for some reason, the Plus variant features the sensor at the back. The company has not yet confirmed whether this rear placed sensor is an ultrasonic sensor as the Mi 5S.
SPECS:
The Xiaomi Mi 5S Plus comes with the powerful Snapdragon 821 chipset with two memory options 4GB RAM + 64GB ROM and 6GB RAM + 128GB ROM. The RAM is LPDDR4 and the storages are UFS 2.0 standard. With these high-end specs, the Mi 5S Plus manages to score a good 164,119 on AnTuTu v6.1.9.
The screen is of 5.7-inches with 1080p resolution (386ppi), 94% NTSC color gamut with high color saturation.
Once again, the camera is the highlight of the Mi 5S Plus. But unlike the Mi 5S, the phone features a dual camera setup on the device. The module consists of dual 13MP Sony sensor, one a standard RGB sensor which captures color information, and the other is a black and white sensor. The camera is said to be pretty good, especially because it uses ClearSight technology, thereby enhancing the rich details and limiting the noise in the images.
The camera module supports HDR, PDAF, RAW format, real time image filters and comes with dual tone LED flash. The Mi 5S Plus supports 4K video at 30 fps, 1080p / 720p video shooting at 30 fps and 720p slo-mo video shooting at 120 fps. Up front, you get a 4MP Ultrapixel sensor with 2um pixels, f/2.0 and 80-degree wide angle lens.
Here are some official camera samples:
Other features of the Mi 5S Plus include NFC (so support for Mi Pay), 4G+, and 3800mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0.
As for connectivity, the phone comes with 802.11 ac dual band Wi-Fi with MU MIMO tech, Wi-Fi display, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 4.2, Bluetooth HID, 4G+ and dual SIM dual standby with 3 x CA support. In addition, you also get an infrared port which is missing on the Mi 5S.
Supported LTE Bands:
FDD-LTE Band 1, 3, 5, 7
TDD-LTE Band 38, 39, 40, 31
PRICING:
The Xiaomi Mi 5S Plus is priced pretty aggressively, with the 4GB RAM + 64GB storage version retailing for 2299 Yuan ($345) and 6GB RAM + 128GB storage variant retailing for 2599 Yuan ($390).
These are amazing prices for the specs that you get.
Both the Mi 5S and the Mi 5S Plus will go on sale on September 29 via JD.com and Xiaomi’s official store in China.
Things may not have gone as planned this year for Xiaomi, however, the company is back in the game in the top-end segment with not one but two new flagship grade smartphones, the Xiaomi Mi 5S and the Xiaomi Mi 5S Plus. We have been hearing about these two devices for the past few weeks and leaks started to come in pretty fast recently. But now, both the devices have been made official which means we have all the information that we need about these two handsets.
Read on to find out more about the Xiaomi Mi 5S.
DESIGN:
Xiaomi used 3D Glass body on its earlier flagship, the Xiaomi Mi 5 and there was a 3D Ceramic version as well. This time, for its new flagship, Xiaomi is using a metal body. This could be a good decision as mass producing the ceramic body is not an easy task and we don’t want any supply problems with the Mi 5S as its predecessor.
The Xiaomi Mi 5S comes with an all metal design with four color options, dark gray, silver, gold and rose gold. It’s curvier and smoother in terms of design as compared to its predecessor. The metal gets a matte anodizing finish to give it a unique look. On the front, the phone features 2.5D glass, giving it a slightly curved feel.
Dimensions: 145.6 x 70.3 x 8.25mm | Weight: 145 grams
Plus, you even have the option of getting the 79 Yuan ($12) dot protective case to give your phone a different look.
SPECS:
As expected, the Xiaomi Mi 5S comes with the powerful Snapdragon 821 chipset, which is the upgraded version of the already powerful Snapdragon 820. Then there’s LPDDR4 RAM and 64GB / 128GB UFS 2.0 high-speed memory on the device. There will be two variants: 3GB + 64GB and 4GB + 128GB.
The phone features a 5.15-inch custom high-brightness 1920 x 1080p display with brightness up to 600 nits. Other features of the display include NTSC color gamut coverage up to 95% and high color saturation. What’s also special about this display is that it supports pressure sensitivity but only in the 4GB + 128GB model!
While these specs are pretty good, what’s really the highlight of the Xiaomi Mi 5S is its ultrasonic fingerprint sensor. Yes, it will be the first mass produced smartphone to feature the advanced ultrasonic fingerprint sensor. This 3D sensor enabled seamless integration of panels unlike other capacitive sensors. Further, it’s quick, accurate and long lasting. The sensor is located below the glass, without the need for any opening in the display panel.
The company did mention that optimizing the ultrasonic sensor required a lot of time and efforts from its engineers. But finally by June 2016, Xiaomi successfully solved major problems with the sensor and optimized power consumption.
The camera is yet another highlight of the Xiaomi Mi 5S. The phone comes with a 12MP Sony IMX378 1/2.3″ 1.55um sensor , which is 61% larger than the one inside the iPhone 6S Plus. Since the sensor size is bigger, Xiaomi claims that the phone is able to capture stellar photos, even at night. However, note that this is a single camera module. Only the Mi 5S Plus comes with the dual camera module at the back.
Other specs of the camera module include f/2.0, 6P lens, 80 degree wide angle, dual LED dual tone color temperature flash, PDAF, Second Gen. Qualcomm ISP, facial recognition, auto HDR and Panorama. The camera supports 4K shooting at 30 fps, 1080p at 120 fps and slo-mo 720p at 120 fps.
Up front, you get a 4MP Ultrapixel camera with f/2.o aperture, 80 degree wide angle lens, facial recognition etc.
Lei Jun revealed that the company gave out the Mi 5S to a professional photographer traveling to Northern Europe and the US. The pictures taken by the photographer turned out to be very good, and with the right amount of exposure control, even night time photography from the Mi 5S turned out to be impressive. You can check out the official samples below (a couple of them we have already seen).
To see whether the Xiaomi Mi 5S camera is good or bad, the company conducted a blind test with a sample of 200 ordinary users who were asked to select the camera sample that they liked. Out of these, 55% (110 users) found the Xiaomi Mi 5S camera sample to be better. In another blind test with a sample of 159 professional photographers, Xiaomi claims that 49% preferred Xiaomi Mi’s camera sample.
The company claims that the phone’s camera comes with richer detail and accurate colors as compared to competitors like the S7 Edge and the iPhone 6S Plus. That’s a big claim, but it also revealed an image comparing the sample from the three phones. Check it out for yourself.
The Xiaomi Mi 5S also comes with NFC and 4G+ technologies. So, it should support fingerprint enabled payment systems like Xiaomi Pay in China. Other specs include 802.1 ac dual band Wi-Fi with MU-MIMO, Bluetooth 4.2, Bluetooth HID, Wi-Fi Direct and Wi-Fi Display.
Supported LTE bands include:
FDD-LTE B1, B3, B5, B7 and B8
TDD-LTE B38, B39, B40 and B41
The battery is of 3200mAh capacity with QC 3.0 support (9V 2A) using the USB Type-C port.
PRICE:
The Xiaomi Mi 5S will start at 1999 Yuan ($300) for the 64GB version and 2299 Yuan ($345) for the 128GB version.
There are many details yet to be revealed by the company like the battery capacity (but it supports Quick Charge 3.0), so we will update this article after more details are available.
It has been confirmed by sources in the tech industry that Google would indeed unveiled the Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL flagship smartphones on October 4. Google had earlier announced that it would be holding an event on October 4 in San Francisco and the tech giant is tipped to be planning to release a boat-load of gadgets.
Google Pixel and Pixel XL have for long featured in leaks, rumors and renders. We first got to know them by their code-names Sailfish and Marlin which were thought to be two new devices in the Nexus line-up. However, Google later revealed that the smartphones would not use the Nexus brand name but rather coming as Pixel brands but would still be built by HTC.
Among the two, the Pixel is the smaller one and it first came out by the code-name Sailfish. According to the leaked specs, the Pixel Sailfish will come with a 5-inch display with 1080 pixel resolution, powered by a quad-core 2.0GHz 64-bit processor backed by a coool 4GB RAM. There is also said to be 32GB of internal storage on the device and a 2770mAh battery. If you are a fan of mobile photography, Google has included a 12MP rear-facing camera for your delight and an 8MP front camera that outputs crisp clear selfies.
Google has not followed suit with Apple et al in yanking off the beloved 3.5mm headphone jack as there is one mounted at the top of the device. There is also a fingerprint sensor at the rear similar to those on the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P, as well as a USB-C port on the bottom. The bigger Google Pixel XL is expected with a 5.5-inch QHD display and also a larger 3450mAH battery as the only things which would differentiate it from the Pixel.
Both the Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL is expected to be available on Verizon in the US which should be a network locked version but Google will also make available an unlocked version which should be available in all regions. As to their prices, we have heard rumors just recently that the smaller Google Pixel will carry a huge price tag of $649 and the first thing that comes to mind is outrageous! If true, it would make the device more expensive than any of the Nexus lineup released so far. But then, these are Pixels and Google doesn’t seem to be interested in massive sales.
Huawei Honor 6X has again appeared on TENAA’s website this time with model number BLN-TL10. Recall that the Honor 6X was spotted on TENAA a few weeks back having the model number BLN-AL10. The thing is, during the first appearance, all we got were images of the device only without the specs listing attached. This time around, the images were revealed along with the key specifications the smartphone would pack.
From the images, we could tell both devices are the same save for different model numbers that they were listed. The dual cameras at the back are very much visible as well as the fingerprint scanner under the camera. The rear case is not an all-metal design as the upper and lower end is made of plastic materials.
Talking about the specs, the Honor 6X sports a 5.5-inch display and is powered by a Kirin 650 chipset along with 3GB of RAM. The device also features 32GB of internal storage and crams a 3340mAh battery under its hood. On the camera end, the Huawei Honor 6X packs an 8MP front-facing camera and at the rear, the dual cameras are said to have a 12MP sensor for the primary shooter and 2MP for the secondary camera which would likely provide depth of field.
Rumors have it that the device would likely be released around mid-October and would come with support for all networks in China. The Honor 6X is said to be in production already in four of Huawei’s factories in China and would likely not come in as an expensive one.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
