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.

The post Xiaomi Mi 5S Official: Snapdragon 821, Under Glass Fingerprint & More for just $300 (Specs UPDATED!) appeared first on Gizmochina.

Xiaomi is all set to announce the brand new Xiaomi Mi 5S flagship at an event tomorrow. While there could be a number of other products announced, including the recently leaked Xiaomi ‘Mi Brain’, the highlight of the event should be the Xiaomi Mi 5S and the Mi 5S Plus.

We all know Xiaomi is a company focused on providing top value for the price you pay. That’s why we have seen so many smartphone launches, especially in the low-end and mid-range segment featuring pretty good hardware at half the cost of what competitors like Samsung price their devices. However, as Xiaomi has been busy in the pricing war with competitors like Meizu and LeEco, innovation is one area where the company seems to be a bit behind giants like Huawei and Samsung.

But that’s going to change with the Xiaomi Mi 5S and if rumors are to be believed, pricing will still be the selling point of the device. Hence, the Xiaomi Mi 5S which will be launched tomorrow is definitely a phone that we all should be excited about.

So, here are the top reasons why you should be excited for Xiaomi Mi 5S’ launch tomorrow!

1. Under Glass Fingerprint Sensor

Yes, the Xiaomi Mi 5S is said to come with a revolutionary fingerprint technology, most likely Qualcomm’s Ultrasonic sensor. This is revolutionary in the sense that the fingerprint sensor works even when under materials like glass. Plus, it’s reportedly unaffected by contaminants like sweat and other factors which usually hampers the working of a traditional capacitive fingerprint sensor. You can read more about Qualcomm’s Ultrasonic Sense ID from here.

2. Dual Camera Setup

Xiaomi Mi 5S is confirmed to feature a dual camera setup at the back. While we are not yet sure whether it would be a similar 13MP Dual camera setup as the Xiaomi Redmi Pro, what we do know is that the camera is going to be awesome. Xiaomi’s CEO himself revealed a few set of Mi 5S camera samples taken all around the world and the bokeh effect as well as the color reproduction in the images taken from the sensor look pretty good.

Since the Mi 5S is the company’s top-end flagship, the sensor at the back should be much better than the Redmi Pro (review here).

3. Dual Curved Screen Display

Yes, I know that we haven’t seen much rumors or leaks about a curved display Mi 5S variant lately, but we have been hearing about the Xiaomi working on curved display phones in the past. Recently, an analyst revealed that the Mi 5S may not feature curved display since Samsung is not supplying the company with its curved OLED panels. However, another analyst commented that LG is also a known supplier of curved displays, so we can’t entirely rule it out. Only tomorrow will we know for sure.

4. 3D Touch Pressure sensitive Display

Apart from being the first phone to feature under glass sensor, the Mi 5S could be the company’s first pressure sensitive display enabled smartphone. According to the latest leak, the flagship could come with 3D Touch like features on the device, further enhancing its functions. However, I personally think Xiaomi could restrict the pressure sensitive panel on the top-end versions, like Huawei did with its Mate S.

5. Premium Ceramic Body

Now, I know that Mi 5 Pro also came with a Ceramic body, but since the company has confirmed this material on the new Mi 5S as well, it’s safe to assume that Xiaomi solved the mass production issues associated with this material. Company’s 3D Ceramic body does have its set of advantages including being super scratch resistant. Plus, it looks premium as well.

6. Snapdragon 821 & 6GB RAM

The Xiaomi Mi 5S will be the company’s first Snapdragon 821 powered smartphone, which will also make it the most powerful Xiaomi phone till date. Further, one of the top versions should feature 6GB of RAM, further enhancing its power. With these specs on board, you won’t have to worry about running heavy apps or games on the device as it should handle everything thrown at it with ease.

7. Cheap Xiaomi Mi 5S Price

Yes, this seems to be a common highlight of all Xiaomi products. The Mi 5S is rumored to start at an amazing 1999 Yuan! If true, this would be an amazing price tag for the phone! However, to be honest, a pricing of 2499 Yuan – 2999 Yuan ($375-$450) sounds realistic. But then, Chinese manufacturers have surprised us in the past and we could see one such surprise tomorrow as well.

Do remember that there should be two phones announced tomorrow, the Mi 5S and the Mi 5S Plus!  We will be covering the Mi 5S launch tomorrow, so stay tuned to gizmochina for all updates about Xiaomi’s conference.

The post Xiaomi Mi 5S: Why You Should Be Excited For This Flagship (Top Expected Features) appeared first on Gizmochina.

All is now set for the unveiling of the Xiaomi Mi 5S smartphone but not until the device finally pops, we’ll perhaps continue seeing new juicy leaks and teasers surrounding the Xiaomi flagship. The latest  we’re getting about the device originated from Xiaomi and its camera.

Xiaomi today released a poster which contained the image of two camera lenses arranged vertically, having  same size and shape. The poster posed a question along with it which is translated as: “In addition to dual-camera, what else?” The rest of the texts on the poster talks about the countdown to the conference which is just 4 days away.

If the teaser is anything to go by, that means the Xiaomi Mi 5S would likely be equipped with dual main cameras mounted on its back just like the Redmi Pro. The camera specs of the Mi 5S has often been shrouded in mystery as it wasn’t revealed when the device hit AnTuTu or in the leaks we got in the past. A render of the Mi 5S sporting dual cameras appeared online months back though, but it was nothing certain. However, Xiaomi is touting the Mi 5S to come with a new high-end technology on the camera plane and its just four days before we find out how it’d play out. But then, the Mi 5 released earlier this year brought with it a lot of new high-end technological innovations so it is expected that the mi 5S will take the bar higher.

Read More: Xiaomi Mi 5S Could Have A Small 4-inch Variant, New Image Leaked

Now to answer the question posed in the poster, in addition to dual-cameras the Mi 5S we are told would come equipped with the high-end Snapdragon 821 chipset, sport a 5.15-inch 1080 pixels display along with a 6GB RAM and three storage versions of 64GB, 128GB and 256GB. The device will also come equipped with a 3410/3,490mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0, USB Type-C interface , dual-SIM slots, and most importantly, NFC.

The post Fresh Xiaomi Teaser Confirms Mi 5S will Sport Dual Cameras appeared first on Gizmochina.

Xiaomi’s expected Mi 5S flagship has joined the list devices which have hit AnTuTu benchmark of late. Before now all we know about the Mi 5S were based on rumors. We didn’t even know for sure if the Mi 5S actually exists and is in development. However, the recent AnTuTu benchmark listing which was drawn from their database and featured on AnTuTu’s Weibo page gives us some insight into the specs line-up for the Mi 5S.

According to the listing, the Mi 5S will run on Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system whenever it launches. The stand out feature on the leaked specs sheet should be the fact that the Mi 5S would be powered the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor, tagging along Adreno 530 GPU. The display resolution is revealed as 1920 x 1080 pixels and the size as 5.15-inches. With these specs on board, the phone managed to score around 150K on AnTuTu.

Related: Render of Xiaomi Mi 5s with dual Camera Surfaces

We got nothing also about the memory, both RAM, and ROM, from the AnTuTu data but earlier leaks had disclosed that the Mi 5S will pack 6GB of RAM and 256GB of built-in storage. It is very likely, though, that there will be more than one memory versions on the smartphone. No data about the camera as well, but it is expected that the Mi 5S would pack an improved package from the Mi 5. We still don’t know when Xiaomi will release this one.

The post Xiaomi Mi 5S Specs Sheet Leaks on AnTuTu, Confirms SD 821 appeared first on Gizmochina.