On both the Xiaomi Mi5 and Xiaomi Mi Note 2, the update to Android Oreo is based on the MIUI 9 which comes in the version 8.2.1. The firmware includes the security patch from the month of February, which is very important because it fixes the Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities.

The update also includes several bug fixes for issues present in the previous version of the firmware. It is possible to flash the firmware manually via fastboot and TWRP, but you need an unlocked bootloader in order to do it. If you do not want to install the Global Beta on your Xiaomi Mi5 or Mi Note 2, you can wait for the final version which should come out in the next couple of weeks.

(Source, Source2, Via1, Via2)

The post Xiaomi Mi 5 and Mi Note 2 Updated To Android Oreo With MIUI 9 Global Beta appeared first on Gizmochina.

We all know that the Xiaomi has been on a roll as they released plenty of smartphones lately. However, you may still look at some older models released by the company as the prices have dropped significantly. The Mi 5 is one of those phones and currently Lightinthebox has it on sale for just $238.

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBOG1UVZyaA[/embedyt]

The Xiaomi Mi5 is a beautiful and well-crafted device, and you will notice that as soon as you pick it up. One of the main highlights is a curved glass panel on the back. It not only looks great but also helps with the grip.

The Mi 5s is still a plenty powerful device (standard version as it comes with a Snapdragon 820 chip with the clock speeds of 1.8GHz, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, which is, however, non-expandable.

The 5.15” 1080p display is now considered as a small panel, so if you are in the market of compact phones, the Mi5 may be a great yet budget option.

As for camera, we have a 16MP shooter with f/2.0 aperture, OIS, PDAF and dual tone dual-LED flash. 

Other great features include the USB-C port, a decent 3000mAh battery and a feature-rich MIUI 8 user interface.

You can now grab the Xiaomi Mi5 for just $238, which is a pretty decent offering considering the fact the phone is still plenty powerful both for every day use and for gaming.

The post Get the good ol’ Xiaomi Mi 5 for just $238 from Lightinthebox.com appeared first on Gizmochina.

How about Snapdragon 821 for 299$ ? Or a very well build smartphone with Helio X20 + 4GB Ram for 200 $ ? Yes this price range is where the fun begins, where competition brings us to amazing phones for every taste out there  and shows us how much more interesting the future of the smartphones might be.

So let’s begin..

Vernee Apollo Lite

209 $

Display: 5.5 inch FHD 1920x1080p Sharp IGZO

CPU: MTK Helio X20

RAM: 4GB LPDDR 3

ROM: 32GB eMMC 5.1 (up to 128GB)

Rear Camera: 16.0MP Samsung S5K3P3 sensor, 6P lens, ISOCELL , RWB

Front Camera: 5.0MP Samsung S5K5E2 sensor

Battery: 3180mAH Li-polymer

OS: Android 6.0 out of the box (Vernee OS, CM)

Features: Type-C port (supports Type-C earphone, 3.5mm jack retained), Pump Express 3.0 quick charging (5 minutes charging = 1 hour calling), LED notification, Metal unibody, 0.1s fingerprint ID (ISP smart chip, smart key), OTG, Gyro, E-compass,（2.4G/5G）WIFI, Dual SIM Dual standby / SIM + SD card, Open Kernel Code

Dimensions : 15.20 x 7.60 x 0.90 cm, 178g

GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz; WCDMA: 850/900/1900/2100MHz, FDD LTE: B1/B3/B7/B20

This one is a real champ for this price. I had the chance to review one of the “gray” Apollo Lite myself and I must say, build quality is top-notch, one of the best colors on a metal body smartphone. 5.5″ Sharp IGZO screen is amazing, Helio X20 is enough almost for every duty including games. Speaking of MediaTek Helio X20 and X25 series, I think there is no need to spend money for Helio P10 based smartphones anymore (might be exceptions of course, personal taste for example), why ? Please check the picture below :

I have Apollo Lite for almost a week and it had 2 OTA updates in this time, this shows us that Vernee is serious about rom business too, this is an important topic as you all may agree. Paying for hardware is something but paying for good ROM is more important in most cases. Well optimized software that can use all the hardware features without any problems is very precious. So if you have around 200$ to send for a new series smartphone, Vernee Apollo Lite won’t disappoint you.

Full review : http://www.gizmochina.com/2016/08/07/vernee-apollo-lite-review-one-pleasant-surprise/

Coolpad Cool1

209$  3GB/32GB, 225$  4GB/32GB, 259$ 4GB/64GB

Display: 5.5 inch FHD 1920x1080p 450nit

CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 Octa Core

RAM: 3GB/4GB

ROM: 32GB/64GB

Rear Camera: Dual 2 x 13.0MP back camera, Camera Maximum resolution: 4160×3120, Camera maximum recording capacity: 4K / 1080P @ 30fps, Slow recording capacity: 720P @ 120fps, F2.0 large aperture, PDAF, ball-type closed-loop motor, quick focus, Color temperature flash, back-illuminated CMOS

Front Camera: 8.0MP, F2.2 large aperture, 80 ° super wide-angle lens

Battery: 4060mAh Li-polymer

OS: EUI 5.6 base on Android M OS

Features: Type-C port, OTG, Gyroscope, NXP smart PA TFA9897, AAC Speaker BOX, LED notification, Fingerprint recognition, Infrared remote control.

Dimensions : 152 x 74.8 x 8.2 mm, 167g

GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz; WCDMA: 850/900/1900/2100MHz, FDD LTE: B1/B3/B5/B7/B8

New kid in town from the marriage of LeEco and Coolpad, the Cool1. With the experience of Coolpad in camera department, this new model is trying to give customers Dual Camera setup for an affordable price powered from Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 octa-core CPU. Design is better than LeEco series for my taste, seems more compact with round corners and very good metal construction body. I wish they had a color option like Apollo Lite’s gray or even matte black. 4060mAh battery will help you to carry your Cool1 at least whole day with heavy usage without worrying about power. Cool1’s dual camera setup is like that we have seen on Huawei P9 before, one is RGB camera, second shoots only black&white. The result is better low light performance, sharper images and unique effects of course.

As for Rom department, we know LeEco takes this seriously and software updates mostly are coming in right time.

Xiaomi Redmi Pro

224$ 3GB/32GB, 254$ 3GB/64GB, 300$ 4GB/128GB

Display: 5.5 inch FHD 1920x1080p LTPS-AMOLED

CPU: Mediatek MT6797T Helio X25 | MT6797 Helio X20 Deca-core 2.5 GHz – Exclusive edition | 2.3 GHz – High edition |  2.1 GHz – Standard edition

RAM: 3GB/4GB

ROM: 32GB/64GB/128GB

Rear Camera: Dual Setup, 13 MP Sony sensor and 5 MP Samsung sensor

Front Camera: 5MP, f/2.0 lens

Battery: 4050mAh Li-polymer

OS: Android 6.0 – Marshmallow

Features: Finger print sensor under home key front, OLED screen, TYPE-C connector, metal unibody, microSD – upto 256 GB.

Dimensions : 151.5 x 76.2 x 8.2 mm, 174 g

GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz; WCDMA: 850/900/1900/2100MHz, FDD LTE: B1/B3/B7

Xiaomi version of affordable Dual Camera setup and first metal unibody metal body model of the maker, the new Redmi Pro. The contender of Cool1 in this price range with rear dual cameras. If you like front replaced finger print sensor more, if you like deep blacks more (who doesn’t ?), if you don’t mind about the maker of the CPU, i’m saying that because there still many people who just buy Qualcomm processor  based phones, then Redmi Pro is your choice. This phone uses MediaTek’s high-end line (until X30/X35 comes to market) Helio X20 and X25, both as an option. Both are equal or better CPU’s then Qualcomm’s 652. Rest is like always,  taste. As for rom/software support Xiaomi is way in front of every maker, has world’s biggest forum support behind. If you want to buy high end model with X25 + 4GB Ram + 128GB Rom, this will cost you 300$ and there you might consider other alternatives too. Base model seems most logical as Redmi Pro offers SD card slot for storage upgrade. Dual camera setup differs from Cool1’s, Redmi Pro’s setup has 2 RGB (color) cameras, main is 13MP, second “depth” camera is 5MP.

Full review : http://www.gizmochina.com/2016/08/29/xiaomi-redmi-pro-review/

LeEco Le 2 Pro

229$

Display: 5.5 inch FHD 1920x1080p 

CPU: Mediatek MT6797T Helio X25

RAM: 4GB

ROM: 32GB

Rear Camera: 21 MP, f/2.0, phase detection autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash, 1/2.4″ sensor size

Front Camera: 8.0MP, F2.2 large aperture

Battery: 3000mAh Li-polymer

OS: EUI 5.6 base on Android M OS

Dimensions : 15.60 x 7.80 x 0.75 cm, 185gr

GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz; WCDMA: 850/900/1900/2100MHz, FDD LTE: B1/B3/B7

Complete package with 4GB Ram, 32GB Rom, very good workmanship/quality, plus powerful engine with Helio X25. LeEco Le 2 Pro is naturally in our list. Beeing developer friendly, bootloader  can be unlocked with a simple fastboot command, not only this model, talking about every LeEco models, has many custom ROMs online, LeEco community is growing among power users.

Full review : http://www.gizmochina.com/2016/05/10/leeco-le-2-review/ .

Nubia Z11 Mini

239$

Display: 5.0 inch FHD 1920x1080p 

CPU: Qualcomm MSM8952 Snapdragon 617 (Octa-core (4×1.2 GHz Cortex-A53 & 4×1.5 GHz Cortex-A53))

RAM: 3GB

ROM: 64GB, microSD up to 256 GB

Rear Camera: 16 MP, f/2.0, 1/2.8″ sensor size, 1.12 µm pixel size, geo-tagging, touch focus, face/smile detection, panorama, HDR

Front Camera: 8 MP, f/2.4, 1.4 µm pixel size, 1080p

Battery: 2800mAh Li-polymer

OS: Android OS, v5.1.1 (Lollipop)

Dimensions : 141.4 x 70 x 8 mm , 138gr

GSM 850/900/1800/1900, WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100;  TD-LTE B38/39/40/41; FDD-LTE B1/3/7

What do you want from a smartphone these days ? Picture (camera) quality and very good sound output are enough for you ? You want these specs in a very good looking 5″ screen phone right ? Then go grab a Nubia Z11 Mini and all done. The little brother of Z11 family shares same 4-axis OIS Sony IMX298 sensor with its big brother Z11 and Xiaomi’s Mi5, flagship grade camera performance, both pictures and videos (4K). For music lovers AKM’s latest audio chipset is onboard too. Being a former DJ myself, I always test audio outputs of smartphones in first place. Nubia’s powerful and clean sound output been always my favorite and Z11 Mini carries this tag too.  You love taking many pictures and videos and listen to music, this means you need storage too, 64GB onboard + microSD up to 256 GB are more than enough. Build quality of Z11 Mini is one of the best in the market, worldwide. Rom updates ? This is where ZTE comes behind its competitors, usually slow. Had mobile data bug in Z9 series, I hope they will take more care with new Z11 models.

Qiku 360 N4S

239$

Display: 5.5 inch FHD 1920x1080p 

CPU: MTK Helio X20

RAM: 4GB

ROM: 32GB, microSD up to 128 GB

Rear Camera: 16 MP, f/2.0, ISOCELL, PDAF, geo-tagging, touch focus, face/smile detection, panorama, HDR

Front Camera: 8 MP, f/2.0

Battery: 5000 mAh Li-polymer

OS: Android 6 Marshmallow

Dimensions : 151.3×74.6×8.35mm, 169gr

GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz; WCDMA: 850/900/1900/2100MHz, FDD LTE: 1800/2100/2600MHz

Take Nubia and Meizu, mix them, you get 360 N4S design. Full metal body, 2.5D glass on top, high build quality. Put a Helio X20 CPU with 4GB Ram and 32GB Rom (microSD up to 128 GB) in it and power all these elements with a 5000 mAh battery (biggest capacity in our list, higher than Mi Max, coming next). How does it sound ? Price should be normally a bit lower, but this phone is very hard to find, so if you want an alternative you need to pay 239$ for this beast. Cameras look very good on paper. An infrared remote control is a bonus too. 360 N4S runs its own OS, 360 OS 2.0.

Xiaomi Mi Max

219$ 3GB/32GB Snapdragon 650, 259$ 3GB/64GB Snapdragon 652

Display: 6.44-inch, full HD (1920×1080 pixels)

CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 650/652

RAM: 3GB

ROM: 32GB/64GB, microSD up to 128 GB

Rear Camera: 16 MP, f/2.0, phase detection autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash

Front Camera: 5 MP, f/2.0

Battery: 4850 mAh Li-polymer

OS: MIUI 8 based on Android 6.0 OS

Dimensions : 173.1 x 88.3 x 7.5 mm, 203gr

GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz, WCDMA: 850/900/1900/2100MHz, LTE-FDD: 1800/2100/2600MHz (B1/B3/B7)

I love big screen ! I always did, and now I’m using a Mi Max as my daily phone (first time using a Xiaomi), 3GB/64GB with Snapdragon 652 CPU, bought it for 259$ and I must say worth every penny. If you like big screen phones too, there is nowhere else to look, with 4850 mAh huge battery Mi Max will suit your needs in a quality metal body, having everything including infrared remote control and a good camera (good for my taste, can shoot good pictures in dark room with dual flash). Audio quality is surprisingly very good too. I tested Mi Note Pro’s ES9018 DAC last week, Mi Max’s output is nothing less, high output with clean sound. This big fellow is made for multimedia for sure.

Full review : http://www.gizmochina.com/2016/06/12/xiaomi-mi-max-review-lot-xiaomi/

LeEco Le Max 2

239$

Display: 5.7 inch 2560×1440 Pixel

CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 64bit, Quad Core, 2.15GHz

RAM: 4GB

ROM: 32GB

Rear Camera: 21MP 6P, f/2.0 for 4K video

Front Camera: 1.4μm 8MP f/2.2

Battery: 3100 mAh Li-polymer

OS: eUI Android 6.0 OS

Dimensions : 15.68 x 7.76 x 0.80 cm, 185gr

GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz; WCDMA: 850/900/1900/2100MHz, FDD LTE: B1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/17/20/25/26

Wellcome to the first league, talking about CPU and GPU power. Are you an Antutu freak too ? Then you should start from here.

Quote : ” Do we need so much power in our cell phones ? Can software follow this hardware power ? These are only phones, ok smart phones with operating systems in it, but what are we doing with them when its about CPU power ? Using 10 applications same time ? Playing 2-3 power hungry games same time ? Not enough..? We need somehow take this power out of these little gadgets to our desktops and push their limits with much more options like creating. After then, this “race” about making more and more powerful CPU’s for phones can come to a logical state. And when those days come, every one of us will use just one ARM powered PC for every computer based job, our Qualcomm’s, MediaTek’s or Fusion’s…”

130K is the minimum score of Snapdragon 820, best CPU that Qualcomm has made till now (+821). And you can grab it just for 239$ thanks to LeEco. The only phone in our list that has a 2K screen in 5.7″ size, if you care about that, this is your only choice, a good one indeed. Lossless audio over Type-C, excellent build quality, awful color options

Full review : http://www.gizmochina.com/2016/05/28/leeco-le-max-2-review-beauty-meets-power/

ZUK Z2

259$ (4GB Ram)

Display: 5-inch, 1080p Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels)

CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 64bit, Quad Core, 2.15GHz

RAM: 4GB

ROM: 64GB

Rear Camera: 13 Megapixel, Samsung ISOCELL sensor, f/2.2

Front Camera: 8MP

Battery: 3500 mAh Li-polymer

OS: ZUI 2.0 base on Android 6.0 OS

Dimensions : 141.65mm x68.88 mmx8.45mm, 149gr

GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz , WCDMA: Bands: 850/900/1900/2100MHz, LTE FDD: 1/2/3/4/5/7/8

And the fun continues. Ok you want Snapdragon 820 but 5.7″ screen is too big for you ( Le Max 2 ), how about a 5″ in a matte black metal frame ( my favorite ) and front finger print scanner ? And a bigger battery compared 3500mAh to 3100 mAh ? + 32GB more storage for 20$ more ? Here is your phone, ZUK Z2 from Lenovo. Still no official multilanguage ROM from the maker, but there are custom ZUI based ROMs supporting your language, or even CM14 Android 7 if you are familiar with flashing ROMs ( if you are not we will help you with our guides for sure ). It’s good to have community behind a model and Zuk Z2 does that. Best 5″ that 259$ can buy for sure.

Full review : http://www.gizmochina.com/2016/06/27/zuk-z2-review-beautiful-fast/

Xiaomi Mi5

269 $

Display: 5.15 inches, 1080p Full HD 

CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 64bit, Quad Core, 1.8GHz

RAM: 3GB

ROM: 32GB

Rear Camera: 16 MP, f/2.0, 1/2.8″ sensor size, 1.12 µm pixel size, geo-tagging, touch focus, face/smile detection, panorama, HDR

Front Camera: 4 MP, f/2.0 – , 1/3″ sensor size, 2µm pixel size, 1080p@30fps

Battery: 3000 mAh Li-polymer

OS: MIUI 8 Android 6.0 – Marshmallow

Dimensions : 144.6 x 69.2 x 7.3 mm, 129g

GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz, WCDMA: 850/900/1900/2100MHz, LTE-FDD: 1800/2100/2600MHz (B1/B3/B7)

Famous Xiaomi Mi5, love the black version (especially with the ceramic back). Talking of color, new Mi 5s models don’t have black as color option, why Chinese phone makers don’t use black in every model, I will never understand that. Support of MIUI community, the power of Snapdragon 820 and one of the best cameras in the market, Sony IMX298. If you are a Xiaomi fan you probably get this one under 300$, it surely deserves this money. But I must remind you this version has only 3GB Ram and Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 clocked at 1.8Ghz, not at 2.15 like others, will you feel it as less performance in daily use ? No, you will not, only less Antutu score that’s all, but why Xiaomi reduces clock speed ? To make higher models more attractive ? But it does not. Just make all the clock speeds same and the ram to 4GB in all Mi5 models, it will be easier to sell.

Full review : http://www.gizmochina.com/2016/03/13/xiaomi-mi5-review-beast-smartphone/

LeEco Le Pro 3

299$

Display: 5.5 inches, 1080p Full HD 

CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 64bit, Quad Core, 2.35GHz

RAM: 4GB

ROM: 32GB

Rear Camera: 16 Megapixel, Sony IMX298, PDAF, F2.0, 1/2.8″ sensor size, 1.12 µm pixel size

Front Camera: 8 MP, f/2.2, 1.4 µm pixel size, 1080p

Battery: 4070 mAh Li-polymer

OS: eUI Android 6.0 OS

Dimensions : 151.4×73.9×7.5mm, 175g

GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz; WCDMA: 850/900/1900/2100MHz, FDD LTE: B1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/17/20/25/26

Our final model and most powerful model as CPU and GPU power because it has a Snapdragon 821 onboard. Higher clocks of 820 give us about 20K more Antutu score. But, like I always say, scores are not the first key point when you want to buy a smartphone. Talking about LeEco Le Pro 3 it’s not just CPU power, the new model of the firm finally has one of the best cameras, Sony IMX298, finally has enough battery power 4070 mAh, much better comparing to Le Max 2’s 3100 Mah, 2.5D glass on top, which gives a much better look and feel, a new brushed metal body and all this in 7.5mm thickness, for just 299$ ! Many of you may say so why bother to make a list, this one is  a real bargain for this price, who would anyone buy a Mi5 for 269$ if you can buy this beast for 30$ more ? I agree with you, speaking of science, of course, rest is, like we always say, taste and budget (and better software optimizations)….

Every phone in our list is on par or even better (price/performance ratio) then famous phone makers like Samsung, iPhone, HTC, Sony or LG. I don’t count Google’s new Pixel line, nonsense costs for that ugly HTC made phones. So why pay 600$-900$ if we can buy almost same quality and absolute android freedom for 1/3 – 1/4 the price ?

Please don’t forget to check our new compare tool for full specs of phones at Gizmochina (phones are still being added to our database): http://www.gizmochina.com/compare/?pos=97354-99299-97579

The post Smartphone Buyers Guide: Best Value For Money Chinese SmartPhones $200-$300 appeared first on Gizmochina.

We are looking forward to the launch of the Xiaomi Mi 5s which sources have hinted may hold on the 27th of September. However, rumors say that might not be the only Mi 5 phone to launch. Alongside the Mi 5s, Xiaomi may be launching the Mi 5s Plus too.

Reports say the Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus will feature a Snapdragon 821 processor, a 5.7″ dual-curve display, and probably the same under-glass ultrasonic fingerprint scanner. There are no details about the RAM, ROM, and camera configuration.

In addition to the news of the Xiaomi Mi 5s, a new image of the phone was leaked earlier today in China. This time, it’s a low-quality image, and we can just make that the placement of the camera sensor at the back is a bit different than the Mi5 flagship. The camera is located around the middle, instead of the top left corner as found on the Mi5.

RELATED: Xiaomi Mi Note 2 To Be Called Xiaomi Mi Pro ?

In case you noticed, these specs are quite similar to the specs rumored for the Mi Note 2 /  Mi Note Pro smartphone. What’s even more interesting is a new rumor which states that Xiaomi Mi Note 2 may no longer exist. Now, this is indeed surprising given that we have been consistently hearing about the new flagship for the past few months.

Hopefully, things will get cleared in the days to come.

The post Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus Emerges, Specs Include Snapdragon 821 appeared first on Gizmochina.

Smartphone screens are one of the most important components of new-age handsets. If we jump up the screen size from 4-inches to 6.44-inches, there would still be a few options for customers and note that we are still talking about phones and not tablets. We all know the massive Xiaomi Mi Max with its 6.44-inch display and some of you may think, who would be crazy enough to buy this giant smartphone. Well, as we revealed before, turns out, quite a lot of people love the large screen size, and the sales of this relatively new phablet could have very well crossed the 1.5 million mark within two months of its launch.

There is no doubt that Samsung dominates the smartphone industry with its super popular Galaxy series. And the latest Galaxy Note 7 is one of the best phablets with an amazing display, probably the best in the market right now. However, the curved edge screen and the waterproofing technology does come at a cost, and if by chance, you happen to break the screen on the Note 7 (which should be less likely considering it comes with the new Gorilla Glass 5 panel), then you are left with two options, replace the screen on your device or just use the same money to buy a brand new Xiaomi Mi5 smartphone.

According to the folks over at PhoneArena, who had a chat with Samsung’s support, replacing the Note 7’s screen would be a costly affair, costing somewhere around $270 for the entire process. This does include the screen replacement, handling, shipping and other related charges. But it would surely make a dent in your pocket.

At this price, you would get a brand new Xiaomi Mi5, albeit the standard version. The phone is powered by a Snapdragon 820 chip, 3GB RAM, a 5.2-inch 1080p with Gorilla Glass 4 protection and comes with a decent camera as well.

READ MORE: Xiaomi Mi5 Review: A Beast of a Smartphone, For Less!

Now, you would argue that if you were paying this much, you would rather replace the screen than buy the Mi5. I would have agreed, but think what happens if you drop your phone the second time. Buying an insurance would probably be the wiser choice, but even with that, you would be paying around $210 ($129 initially + $79 deductible) for the replacement (Samsung’s Protection Plus cover).

What are your thoughts?

NOTE: I love the Galaxy Note 7 and I know it’s one of the best phablets you can buy right now but after reading the replacement cost of its screen, I realized that you could actually buy a decent flagship for the same price. Hence, this article.

The post If You Break Your Galaxy Note 7’s Screen, Go Buy A Brand New Xiaomi Mi5! appeared first on Gizmochina.

It looks like sellers in China are currently offering to upgrade the memory inside the Xiaomi Mi5 to 6GB for just 285 Yuan (~$43). Further, to show that upgrading the RAM works well on the new device, they even have released a few images (added below) wherein the phone detects 6GB RAM inside. And if you are worried about whether it will work in the long run, these guys are even offering 180 days chip warranty.

RELATED: Xiaomi Mi5S to feature advanced pressure sensitive display

Of course, we would always caution you from doing such a thing, as it will void your warranty. Plus, we can’t be entirely sure whether such an upgrade works perfectly fine. So, we better wait for reviews of the phone after the upgrade.

But what do you think? Will you take the risk of upgrading the RAM inside the Mi5 to 6GB under $50?

The post Sellers in China Offering 6GB RAM Upgrade to the Xiaomi Mi5 appeared first on Gizmochina.

Xiaomi is expected to release two new handsets in the next few weeks, namely the Xiaomi Mi5S and the Xiaomi Mi Note 2. Both these handsets are expected to be released in the second half of the year, which means their launch could be anytime soon. Looks like the Xiaomi Mi Note 2 would be the first one to meet us this year as Xiaomi released a new teaser earlier today, and from the image, it could be hinting at the upcoming smartphone.

As you can see in the image above, the new teaser says 2>5. Well, we know Xiaomi has the Mi5 flagship in the market and then there’s the Mi Note 2 that’s coming soon. Considering this information, it looks like the company is teasing that the Xiaomi Mi Note 2 is better than the Mi5. But that would mean that the company is degrading its own flagship Mi5, which doesn’t make sense. So, what Xiaomi might actually be trying to say here is that the Mi Note 2 is going to be much bigger than the Mi5. Well this, we knew from the start as this year’s Mi Note 2 is also expected to come with a 5.7-inch display as its predecessor. On the other hand, the Mi5 is much more compact, featuring a 5.15-inch display.

RELATED: Mi Note 2 Said To Feature Pressure Sensitive Display That’s Better Than Huawei’s Force Touch

As for the variants of the Xiaomi Mi Note 2, it is said there will be at least three models in the lineup. In fact, one of these models is even expected to come with a curved-edged display, which won’t be surprising given that we have been hearing about this version for the past few weeks. What’s more, there are even talks about dual cameras at the back and pressure sensitive display that’s better than Huawei’s Force Touch.

The top-end variants of the Mi Note 2 should retail for more than 4000 Yuan ($600) considering the recent comments by the company co-founder.

The post Xiaomi Mi Note 2 Teased! Better Than Xiaomi Mi5? appeared first on Gizmochina.

China’s Xiaomi has taken the mobile world by storm as the company released its first phone only in 2011 and since then has grown to become the 5^th biggest smartphone manufacturer in the world. The company has built a reputation for itself as the ‘Apple of Asia’ due to its affordable costs and its Mi smartphone series is its flagship phone.

The latest release in the Mi series was in 2016 with the launch of the Mi 5. There are a number of unique features such as its light weight (129 grams), Quick Charge 3.0, VoLTE and an Adreno 530 GPU that make it a fantastic phone for 2016.

However special mention must be given to the Mi 5’s display which is 5.15 inches in size with a (73.1% screen-to-body ratio); a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels (428 ppi pixel density); has 16M colors in an IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen and uses a corning Gorilla Glass 4 for protection.

The display combined with its Adreno 530 graphic processor makes it a perfect phone for gamers. During test runs, the contrast ratio stood at 1227: 1 (nominal) and 3.240 (sunlight). It is not secret that Asians love to play mobile games on their smartphones and Xiaomi has made sure that the latest release of its Mi 5 will offer gamers are great gaming experience whether they are at home or on the move.And if you are looking for mobile games to run with the Xiaomi’s Mi5, mobile casino could be a perfect place for games that can be perfectly displayed on this device.The Xiamoi’sMi 5will surely bring out their true colours and sense of realism.

The Mi 5 comes with a built-in storage of 32, 64 and 128 GB and a system memory of 3 and 4 MB of RAM. It uses a non-removable 3000 mAh battery which gives the phone quite a boost and ensures that one can play games for a long time on a single charge.Mobile gamers usually face two problems when playing a smartphone. They end up running out of battery charge pretty quick or find that the graphics from their games slow down the phone and often cause it to hang.

Gamers who are in the habit of downloading and playing mobile gaming apps that have heavy graphics will not encounter any problems when using their Mi 5 smartphone.The Mi 5 comes with a Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 820 chipset and a dual-core Kryo CPU clocked at 1.36GHz.  The Mi 5 is available in both Chinese and English making it a great phone for gamers from all parts of the world. The phone is currently selling for around $329.99.

The post Xiaomi’s Mi 5 A Great Phone For Mobile Gamers appeared first on Gizmochina.

Xiaomi didn’t announce the successor to the popular Xiaomi Mi4 last year. This meant that the new flagship smartphone that the company announced in 2016 had to be perfect, satisfying the needs of the millions of Xiaomi fans worldwide. In a way, Mi5 did fulfill the need for a cheap Snapdragon 820 powered flagship, offering pretty good specs for a price tag of just over $305, at least in China. While many manufacturers found it hard to match Xiaomi in terms of its cheap pricing for Snapdragon 820, ZUK came forward and made sure its new ZUK Z2 phone came out as another cheap Snapdragon 820 option. In fact, if we stop and think, the ZUK Z2 is actually meant to be the Xiaomi Mi5 killer. The company already had two ZUK Z2 Pro variants, which were only a few bucks pricier than the Mi5. But it went ahead and released the ZUK Z2, in a separate conference. This does tell us something about the company’s intention with its new device.

Since they are meant to be direct rivals, with similar specs and pricing, let’s take a look at the ZUK Z2 vs Xiaomi Mi5 comparison. We will see a lot of similarities in the design as well as the specs, but there will be a few differences as well. Let’s look at them in detail in the comparison down below.

ZUK Z2 vs Xiaomi Mi5

DESIGN:

Design wise, they are very similar looking smartphones. Both the companies decided to opt for a glass back and a metal frame on their smartphones. While ZUK Z2 features a flatter back, the Mi5 comes with a slightly curved back panel, which should help in the grip. Both have their camera modules placed on the top left corner on the back, and the front features a compact 5-inch (5.15-inch on the Mi5) display with a front home button enabled fingerprint sensor.

ZUK Z2 Measurements: 141.7 x 68.9 x 8.5 mm Weight: 149 grams

Xiaomi Mi5 Measurements: 144.6 x 69.2 x 7.3 mm Weight: 129 grams

As you can see, the measurements are almost the same, except for the thickness. Mi5 comes with a thin 7.3mm body, while the Z2 features an 8.5mm body. But there’s explanation to the increased thickness of the ZUK model, since it features a larger 3500mAh battery. On the other hand, the Mi5 comes with a 3000mAh battery. Since we are on the topic of battery, it’s important to mention that both feature Quick Charge 3.0 fast charging.

ZUK Z2 vs Xiaomi Mi5 Specs:

When it comes to the specs, both have very similar internals. Both the models are powered by Snapdragon 820 quad-core chipset. However, we are talking about the base variants, and the Xiaomi Mi5 standard version is underclocked to 1.8GHz. On the other hand, the ZUK Z2 is clocked at 2.15GHz, which can be overclocked further to 2.3GHz. So, on paper, the performance should be better than the Mi5. Then there’s the RAM on board. The base variant of the Mi5 comes with just 3GB of RAM, while the ZUK Z2 features 4GB RAM as standard. As for storage, you get 32GB on the Mi5 while the ZUK Z2 features 64GB. Both have non-expandable storages, so ZUK definitely gets a plus point in the memory department.

Coming to the display, the Xiaomi Mi5 sports a 5.15-inch 1080 IPS LCD display while the ZUK Z2 has a 5-inch IPS LCD display. But the screen to body ratio on the Mi5 is higher, 73.1 percent as compared to 70.6 percent on the Z2. It is confirmed that the Mi5 has Corning Gorilla glass 4 protection, while we are not sure about the protection on the Z2.

Coming to the camera department, the Xiaomi Mi5 seems to have an edge on paper. The phone features a 16MP rear f/2.0 shooter with 4-axis OIS, PDAF and dual LED flash. The camera has 1/2.8″ sensor size, and 1.12 µm pixel size. Coming to the ZUK Z2, it features a 13MP rear camera with f/2.2, EIS (electronic image stabilization), PDAF and CAF (Contrast Auto Focus) with LED flash. It has 1/2.6″ sensor size, and 1.34 µm pixel size. Both can capture 2K videos and slo-mo videos. Up front, the Mi5 comes with a 4MP f/2.0 camera while Z2 has an 8MP f/2.o sensor.

Other features common on both devices include dual-band Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 4.0, fingerprint sensor embedded into the home button and dual SIM card slots. In the connectivity department, Mi5 has NFC and Infrared but ZUK Z2 doesn’t. The battery is larger on the ZUK Z2 as mentioned above (3500mAh) as compared to Mi5’s 3000mAh. Finally, for software, the Mi5 comes with MIUI 7 based on Android 6, while ZUK Z2 features ZUI 2.0 based on Android 6.0.1.

Pricing & Availability:

When it comes to the pricing of ZUK Z2 vs Xiaomi Mi5, after the recent promotion of the device in China, the prices are almost similar. Xiaomi had announced the Mi5 at around $308 in China at the time of launch, but now, the pricing seems to have gone down. International customers can now purchase the Xiaomi Mi5 base model for just $308 and with shipping included it still is well under $350. Coming to the ZUK Z2, it has an advantage of cheaper pricing as it is priced around $273. So, even after the premium charged by retailers, the pricing should be around $300, which at present is almost the same as the Mi5. Adding express shipping should still limit the price tag to well under $350.

Availability is a different story though. Xiaomi seems to have stabilized the Mi5 stocks, and now, most retailers have the device in stock. As for the ZUK Z2, the phone is yet to go on sale, and the first sale is on June 7. Only after a few days will we know whether the Z2 is readily available for purchase in China as well as via third-party retailers.

So, that was the ZUK Z2 vs Xiaomi Mi5 comparison. It would really be hard to choose between these two devices, but if you were going to buy one, which one would it be?

We have already reviewed the Xiaomi Mi5. You can check it out from here.

The post ZUK Z2 vs Xiaomi Mi5: Cheap Snapdragon 820 Phones Compared! appeared first on Gizmochina.

Xiaomi announced the Mi5 flagship back in February. Its been nearly four months since the phone’s release and we have seen plenty of new flagship models from different Chinese companies since then. The new devices seem to be stealing the limelight from Xiaomi’s top-end flagship and hence, promotions are underway. And even OPPOMART is offering an excellent deal for potential Xiaomi Mi5 customers. The retailer is now offering the Mi5 flagship for an amazing price tag of $309. This price is for the base variant of the device, and this is exactly the official price tag that the phone was being sold at launch back in China. This is around $50 to $90 OFF the regular price tag paid by customers to third party retailers, making it quite an attractive deal.

In case you are wondering, there’s no customs tax for the product you purchase from the retailer. But you will have to shell out for express shipping, which should cost anywhere between $20-$30. This is still under $350 which is quite cheap according to third party pricing standards.

All the variants seem to be in stock at the moment. For $309, you get the base variant with 3GB RAM and 32GB of internal storage. The Snapdragon 820 chipset inside is clocked at 1.8GHz. At the back, the phone comes with 16MP camera with 4-axis stabilization and up front, you get a 4MP sensor. Other features include global FDD-LTE band support, 3000mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0 and a 5.15-inch 1080p display.

You can read all about the listing from the link down below.

The post Xiaomi Mi5 Gets A Whopping $90 Discount On OPPOMART, Now Starts At $309 appeared first on Gizmochina.

Xiaomi has often being criticized for the supply problem, given that most of the times, its new smartphones are not readily available for purchase, even in China. Xiaomi’s CEO, Lei Jun had revealed in an internal letter that he was going to personally take care of this department. Since then, we have heard some good things about the company’s production, which is said to have increased from 700,000 per month to 1 million. Now, it looks like the increased production has finally allowed the company to sell the Xiaomi Mi 5 without the flash sale model.

Xiaomi officially announced today that starting June 1, the Xiaomi Mi 5 will be available to purchase from a number of retailers in China, including company’s own website, JD.com, Lynx store, and Suning. It is said that there will be enough stock of the company’s flagship device. Also, both, the standard and the high versions of the Mi 5 will be made available for sale.

RELATED: Xiaomi to release more variants of the Mi 5, including one with dual cams

To remind you, the Mi 5 3D ceramic version still won’t be readily available for purchase. So, although it is said that the production of the 3D ceramic body has been stabilized, it looks like production on a large scale still can’t be met.

Meanwhile, the company is now offering the special 3D ceramic version in two colors. Today, the Mi 5 3D Ceramic Variant was sold in white color in a flash sale in China.

The post Xiaomi Mi5 Will Go On Open Sale From June 1, Available via Multiple Retailers! appeared first on Gizmochina.

When it comes to the high-end smartphones, they usually cost a lot. But what if there is a device that challenges the concept of it. Meet the Xiaomi Mi5, the phone that costs as twice as less as the Samsung Galaxy S7. Can it really make the new Galaxy phone run for its money? Learn more in a full comparison review.

Check out Xiaomi Mi5 Review

Check out Samsung Galaxy S7 Review

Xiaomi Mi5 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: VIDEO REVIEWS

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki-S5atjFkE[/embedyt]

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKx1VmuOl_c[/embedyt]

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBOG1UVZyaA[/embedyt]

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEfBGXWe5zg[/embedyt]

Xiaomi Mi5 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: DESIGN and DISPLAY

Both phones are very similar in a lot of ways. First, they are fairly compact as they have the 5.1” displays and thus the devices can be managed in one hand.

Both phones use metal and glass in the construction and both have curved edges on the back to help with the grip and add a little bit of aesthetics. The Galaxy S7 has one major advantage though. Its IP68 rating assures that the phone is water and dust resistant.

As for displays, the S7 brings the latest and greatest Amoled technologies. Whether you like Amoled or not, the panel is one of the best we’ve seen on any phone.

However, it doesn’t mean the Xiaomi has a bad screen. Well, its colours may not look as punchy or saturated, and the 1080p resolution means that it is not as pixel dense, the display is still very sharp, vibrant and it is pleasure to look at. It’s worth mentioning that the Galaxy phone uses a Gorilla Glass protection while the type of protection the Mi5 is not yet officially confirmed.

Just above displays we have a 4MP camera on the Xiaomi phone and 5MP snapper on the S7. Right next to it each phone has the LED light but only the one found on the Mi5 can be highly customised.

We have identical button layout on the bottom on each device that includes an embedded fingerprint scanner in the physical home button. Both scanners work equally fast but neither of them work straight from the standby mode. The Mi5 has an edge as its home button can be also tapped not only physically pressed. 

The glass back panels on both phones are enormous fingerprint magnets as any other glass surfaces. As for cameras, the Mi5 sports a 16MP Sony sensor with f/2.0 aperture, and dual LED flash. The Galaxy S7 has a 12MP shooter with a very bright f/1.7 aperture, single LED flash. Both phones sport OIS and PDAF.

The buttons on each device are clicky and tactile but I found the power key to be rattling on the Mi5 while the S7 does not have this issue. 

The Xiaomi phone has the IR blaster while the S7 does not and I don’t really understand why Samsung took this feature away this year. 

Also, Samsung decided to be more conservative as the phone still uses the micro USB port while the Mi5 has a more future-proof USB type C port.

Overall, both phones are worth being called flagships. However, the Galaxy S7 has an edge here. It is more rounded, it does not have sharp edges, its power button does not rattle and its metal frame looks and feels more premium.

Xiaomi Mi5 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: USER INTERFACE

Xiaomi Mi5 UI:

When it comes to the user interface, both phones have different implementations.

People who say that the Touchwiz is a heavily customised version of Android, never saw the MIUI 7.2, which is built on top of Android 6.0 on Xiaomi Mi5.

All the apps sit on the home screens, you have your notification shade and quick settings toggles.

The Xiaomi Mi5 can be highly customised. You can choose from a ton of wallpapers, a huge variety of themes, fonts, assign different tasks to capacitive buttons and do other things to make the phone look your own. 

Most importantly, the UI is running fast and fluid. I didn’t have a single hiccup or lag and I’m really happy with the performance.

Samsung Galaxy S7 UI:

The Samsung Galaxy S7 is still a heavily skinned iteration of Android 6.0 but it offers more conventional look of the UI especially if you care about the app tray. 

In short, the performance of the user interface is fast. The transitions, animations, opening, closing and switching between the apps is fast and fluid. 

We have some features that we’ve seen on other Samsung phones for quite some time now. Just to name a few, you can run two apps simultaneously or open up the app in a pop-up window. Also, you can launch the camera straight from the standby mode.

In addition, we have some customisation options. You can choose from a variety of themes from a dedicated themes store, change the wallpapers, fonts and so on.

At the end of the day, it all comes to a personal preference as both user interfaces are fast and I didn’t have any stutter or lag. 

Just keep in mind that the Xiaomi Mi5 is currently released in the Chinese market only meaning that it comes without Google Services pre-installed. Sure, it is very easy to install them but you have to keep in mind that the phone does not have multi-languages and there are quite a few Chinese aspects like some apps or some missed translation left in the UI.

Xiaomi Mi5 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: BENCHMARKS

Xiaomi Mi5:

Samsung Galaxy S7:

Xiaomi Mi5 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

Samsung flagships have been known to bring all the best hardware components currently available and the Galaxy S7 is no exception.

I have an international model and it sports an octa-core Exynos 8890 chip with the maximum clock speeds of 2.6GHz, 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, which is expandable via the microSD card slot.

But that doesn’t mean the Xiaomi Mi5 brings a knife to a gun fight. 

I have a standard model, which has a Snapdragon 820 chip with the clock speeds of 1.8GHz, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, which is, however, non-expandable. If you really need even more power, the Pro model offers a more powerful chip, 4GB of RAM and 128GB of local storage. 

The gaming performance is top-notch on each device. There is no stutter or lag and and graphics look stunning. 

However, I found the Xiaomi Mi5 to get a little warm quickly while the Galaxy S7 remained cool to the touch and that is thanks to the liquid cooling system. 

Anyway, you can be rest assured that neither of the devices have overheating issues.

Xiaomi Mi5 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: MULTIMEDIA

The sound via earphones is great on each phone but the Mi5 has a much louder volume output that I could not even listen to music at the highest volume setting.

Both phones sport good but not great loudspeakers. The quality of sound that is coming out the Xiaomi Mi5 is good but I would love to hear more depth and bass. The Galaxy S7’s speaker has more depth but the sound is a little bit muffled due to its waterproof properties.

Xiaomi Mi5 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: CAMERA

Xiaomi Mi5:

Galaxy S7:

The camera apps on each phone are similar but at the same time different. There are some shooting modes and settings to play with but I have to say that Samsung did a better job. The settings and shooting modes can be accessed quicker but most importantly, picture taking and video shooting modes are not separated like on the Mi5.  

Xiaomi Mi5 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: IMAGE QUALITY

I have made a 17-min long camera comparison of these phones, so make sure to check that out.

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqDaQf8SxaY[/embedyt]

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pGW1svD7bQ[/embedyt]

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQz47PXFxFk[/embedyt]

Xiaomi Mi5 camera samples:

Samsung Galaxy S7 camera samples:

In short, the Galaxy S7 has a better camera.

The daylight shots have more detail, sharpness and the dynamic range adjustment is better. However, its images tend to be overexposed and the colour reproduction is not always accurate as most of the shots have warm colours or even yellowish tint.

The Xiaomi Mi5 tends to do a better job with a colour reproduction but that’s the only department where this phone shines.  

The low-light image quality is a department where the Galaxy S7 shows its strength and a great implementation of powerful hardware. The photos have more detail and less noise than the ones taken with the Mi5. Also, the Galaxy S7 tends to brighten up the scene quite a lot in night shots. Some people may like it, some may not. 

Both selfie cameras can take good looking images but S7’s photos tend to have more detail.

When it comes to video, Galaxy S7 wins again. Its footage is sharper, the OIS works much better and continuos auto-focus is more graceful. In fact, the continuos auto-focus can become annoying on the Xiaomi Mi5.

Xiaomi Mi5 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: CONNECTIVITY

I didn’t have any connectivity issues with neither of the phones. Wifi, Bluetooth and GPS worked fine. However, I found that the earpiece was louder and the sound had more clarity on the GS7.

If you live in the U.S., you have to know that the Xiaomi Mi5 does not support 4G connectivity with neither of the major carriers but the 3G network will work fine. 

Make sure to check out the 4G compatibility in your region and I will leave a link to a website where you can check that out in the description down below the video. 

Xiaomi Mi5 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: BATTERY LIFE

Xiaomi Mi5:

Samsung Galaxy S7:

Both phones sport 3000mAh batteries but the Galaxy S7 tends to perform better. I could get 5 or 6 hours of screen-on time (depending on the usage).

I could reach only around 4 hours of SOT on the Xiaomi Mi5 and hopefully, this can be improved with future software updates.

A great thing that both phones support a fast charging feature and they can be fully charged in just 1:15 h. 

The Galaxy phone has an edge as it has an embedded wireless charging feature. 

Xiaomi Mi5 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: CONCLUSIONS

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy S7 is a better phone in almost each and every department and it’s got the Xiaomi Mi5 beat… but of course it does! But here’s the thing, the latest Galaxy phone costs as twice as much as the Mi5. 

If you are looking for a phone that has a better build quality, water resistance, higher resolution display, better camera or you just simply want one of the best devices the money can buy – the Galaxy S7 is your choice. 

If you are on a budget or simply believe that the S7 is overpriced, go with the Xiaomi Mi5. It is still a great phone. It sports a processing power that easily rivals the S7, its design and display are gorgeous, the UI is running fast and it has tons of features. 

At the end of the day, both phones are great at their respective price categories. It all comes to your personal preference – if you need a top-shelf phone for a premium price or saving money is more important for you. Of course, if you don’t mind a few shortcomings.

The post Xiaomi Mi5 vs Samsung Galaxy S7 FULL Comparison Review appeared first on Gizmochina.

Xiaomi Mi 5 by itself is a pretty good smartphone, featuring one of the best processors in the market today, Snapdragon 820. It is also one of the best value for money flagships in the market right now, starting at just 1999 Yuan in China which comes to around $310. But there are a lot of Xiaomi fans outside of China as well and for them, third party retailers are the best bet. Most have a pretty good markup on the base price, mainly because it’s still hard to get hold of the device, even in China.

Now, OPPOMART is trying to make your purchase of the Xiaomi Mi 5 sweeter, as the retailer is throwing in a free VR headset along with your new flagship. The Mi 5 32GB version is currently in stock and is available for $369. Considering that now you are getting a free VR headset, this turns out to be a good deal.

The VR headset is worth $30 and will be shipped separately after your purchase of the Mi 5. You can check out more details about the deal from the link below.

The post Now Get Free VR Headset With A Xiaomi Mi 5 From OPPOMART appeared first on Gizmochina.

We have all waited for quite a while till Xiaomi, one of the largest smartphone makers in the world, releases a new flagship phone – Xiaomi Mi5. Learn more in the full review.

We wanted to say thanks to Giztop for sending Xiaomi Mi5 for a review.

Buy Xiaomi Mi 5 from Giztop

Xiaomi Mi5 Review: VIDEO REVIEW

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBOG1UVZyaA[/embedyt] [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bRZ6vrN-rg[/embedyt]

Xiaomi Mi5 Review: UNBOXING

The phone comes in a colourful box and the contents of it include a charging brick, USB type C cable, SIM ejector pin and some documentation.

Xiaomi Mi5 Review: SPECS

Xiaomi Mi5 Review: DESIGN and DISPLAY

The Xiaomi Mi5 is a beautiful and well crafted device, and you will notice that as soon as you pick it up. One of the main highlights is a curved glass panel on the back. It not only looks great but also helps with the grip. 

The metal frame, which is also curved on each side of the phone, goes around the device and it adds a lot of premium look and feel. 

The usual buttons are on the right and they are very tactile. However, I found the power button to be rattling a little. 

The dual nano SIM card slot is on the left. Unfortunately, Xiaomi Mi5 does not have microSD card slot.

We have a 5.15” 1080p display. Xiaomi decided to stick with full-HD display and that’s ok for me, because the panel is bright, sharp, it has great viewing angles, colours and it is a very high quality display overall. 

The front camera has 4MP or ultra pixels we should say. Besides some other usual stuff, we have a notification LED light, which can be highly customised as on the majority of Xiaomi phones. 

On the bottom, we have nicely backlit capacitive buttons and the for the first time on any Xiaomi phone, we have a physical home button, which also doubles as a fingerprint scanner. A great feature is that the home button can be also just tapped but not necessarily physically pressed. 

The scanner is fast and accurate but it does not work straight from the standby mode meaning that you should press home or power button first. 

The backplate is nice to look at but it is a huge fingerprint magnet.

As for camera, we have a 16MP shooter with f/2.0 aperture, OIS, PDAF and dual tone dual-LED flash.

On the top we have a headset jack and the IR blaster to control the TV or other devices. On the bottom we have a mic, loudspeaker and the USB type C port. 

Overall, the phone looks great, feels like an expensive device and it sits comfortably in the hand. The only shortcoming is a slightly rattling power button but it is far from the deal breaker. 

Xiaomi Mi5 Review: USER INTERFACE

Xiaomi Mi5 ships with the MIUI 7.2, which is built on top of Android 6.0. 

You have to keep in mind that the phone is still running on an early software build. In fact, I received 3 huge software updates in the last 5 days and that means that Xiaomi is working hard to fix any bug it finds. 

If you are familiar with the MIUI, you will feel right at home as there are no major changes.  All the apps sit on the home screens, you have your notification shade and quick settings toggles, which can be customised. The multitasking window has been improved. It now shows the preview of the app, not just an icon as it used to be.

We have quite a few built-in apps. Some of them are great but others are just a bloatware but they can be easily removed.  

The Xiaomi Mi5 can be highly customised. You can choose from a ton of wallpapers, a huge variety of themes, fonts, assign different tasks to capacitive buttons and do other things to make the phone look your own. 

It’s worth mentioning that the phone has around 26GB of user available storage and the RAM management seems to be pretty good. 

Most importantly, the UI is running fast and fluid. I didn’t have a single hiccup or lag and I’m really happy with the performance. However, I noticed that Google Chrome loads pages really slowly in comparison to the built-in browser. Anyway, I hope this will be fixed with the software update soon. 

Xiaomi Mi5 Review: BENCHMARKS

Xiaomi Mi5 Review: HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

When it comes to sheer power, the Xiaomi Mi5 has top-shelf specs. I have a standard version of the phone meaning that it has a Snapdragon 820 chip with the clock speeds of 1.8GHz, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, which is, however, non-expandable. 

I spent quite a lot of time playing Asphalt 8, Nova 3 and Modern Combat 5 and I can tell you that the phone handles all the games very well and the graphics look stunning.

However, the device gets a little warm quite fast but it does not overheat and that’s the most important thing.

Xiaomi Mi5 Review: MULTIMEDIA 

The sound via earphones is very good. It crisp and clear,  and the volume output is very loud that I could not listen to music for a long time at the highest volume setting. 

The loudspeaker is pretty good too. It is loud and the audio is clear. However, I would love to hear a little bit more depth.

Xiaomi Mi5 Review: CAMERA

When it comes to the camera app, we have a familiar fast and responsive user interface. The shutter, as well as the focus speeds, are fast too.

We have some shooting modes and just to name a few, there is a manual mode if you don’t like the auto and the fish-eye lens mode if you feel creative.

Xiaomi Mi5 Review: IMAGE QUALITY

When it comes to the actual image quality, it is really good. The daylight images have plenty of detail, the colours look natural, dynamic range is usually handled well and the contrast levels are decent.

The indoor shots taken in dim environments have less detail and more noise but still look good. Well, I had a few blurry shots but the lighting was really poor.

The night shots look pretty good too. I took all the pictures side by side with the Galaxy S7 and obviously, they don’t look that good but knowing the fact that the Xiaomi Mi5 costs half the price, the night image quality is really good.

As for selfies, the pictures look great and it will be more than enough for social media. 

The 4k video has lots of resolved detail and it looks quite sharp. However, the footage looks quite shaky despite OIS and the continuous auto-focus could be more graceful at times. Same can be said about the 1080p video. Another shortcoming is that the audio quality could be better and sometimes the audio sounds a little bit distorted. See a video review for the video sample.

Xiaomi Mi5 Review: CONNECTIVITY

All the connecitivity options work fine. The 2.4GHz or 5GHz wifi is working fine, Bluetooth connection is good and the GPS is fast and accurate. Also, the signal reception is great. However, the earpiece could be slightly louder.

Xiaomi Mi5 Review: BATTERY LIFE

The 3000mAh battery performs okay. I used the Xiaomi Mi5 with auto-brightness feature on and I can’t say that my usage involved a lot of demanding tasks. 

I could reach just over 4 hours of SOT while mainly browsing the web, making calls, checking social media and taking pictures.

I believe it is still possible that we will see a slight improvement with the future software updates and I would love to see at least 5 hours of SOT on this phone.

A great thing is that the Mi5 supports Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0. I could fully charge the phone in 1 h 15 min.

Also, the phone takes little power on standby. In my test it used just 1% of power in 7 hours with the wifi off and all the apps closed.

Xiaomi Mi5 Review: CONCLUSIONS

So, there you have it, the latest and greatest from Xiaomi. 

The Mi5 is a fantastic device and it offers quite a lot of flagship-grade quality features for a lower price. It all starts with a beautiful design and great build quality despite a bit rattling power button. Also, the display is near excellent, the UI has tons of features but it is still running fast and the 3D gaming performance is great.

In addition, we have a really good camera, which is very hard to beat in this range. 

On the other hand, you have to keep in mind that the phone is currently released in the Chinese market only. Side-loading Google services is not an issue but you will still have some Chinese aspects left in the phone. In addition, make sure to check the 4G compatibility in your region. 

Another shortcoming is that the fingerprint scanner does not work straight from the standby mode. Last but not least, the battery life is good but it could be slightly better. 

At the end of the day, the Xiaomi Mi5 still runs on an early software build and we all know how much of a difference that makes. Still, the Xiaomi Mi5 can be easily recommended for those who are looking for a top-shelf phone, which does most of the things very well but it will not break your bank. 

Purchase link: Buy Xiaomi Mi 5 from Giztop

The post Xiaomi Mi5 Review – The Beast of a Smartphone. For Less. appeared first on Gizmochina.

Let’s be honest, most of us were pretty excited when Xiaomi announced the long-awaited Mi5. Also, it was a significant event for the company not only for the fact that they released the upgrade to their flagship smartphones’ portfolio, but also it was the first MWC Xiaomi’s product launch in Barcelona.

We have just received our Xiaomi Mi5 review unit and we are very glad to get it so early.

We wanted to say thanks to Giztop for providing us with a Xiaomi Mi5 for a review.

Buy Xiaomi Mi5 from Giztop

Xiaomi Mi5: UNBOXING

As usual to Xiaomi phones, we have just the basic accessories that include USB plug, USB-type C cable, SIM ejector pin and instruction manuals.

Xiaomi Mi5: DESIGN and FIRST IMPRESSIONS

I have just reviewed the Samsung Galaxy S7 and the S7 edge and I was impressed by the build quality those phones had.

Honestly, Xiaomi Mi5 carries a very similar high-quality build and it sits very comfortably in the hand.

We have a curved glass on the back, which makes the Mi5 sit very comfortably in the hand and adds a lot of character to the design.

We have a 4MP Ultrapixel shooter, customizable LED light and some other usual stuff on the front.

The home button is very tactile and it also doubles as a fingerprint scanner. So far, it seems to be very fast and accurate.

Our review unit (3GB RAM, 32GB ROM) comes in a white colour. As usual to all glass back panels, it is prone to fingerprints and smudges.

We have a 16MP shooter on the back with a dual LED flash. We can’t wait to see how it performs in various lighting conditions and we are also going to put it against Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge.

On the top we have a headset jack and the IR blaster.

The USB-type C, loudspeaker and the mic are on the bottom.

Overall, we were really impressed with the Xiaomi Mi5. It is well built, it has a brilliant looking display, a fast fingerprint scanner and the phone is compact. Also, the MIUI has been running very fast and fluid so far.

I have already used the phone for half a day and I will work hard to provide you with a full review as soon as possible. Stay tuned to Gizmochina.

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Xiaomi Mi 5 is confirmed to launch on February 24, which is just a few weeks away. Like tradition, Xiaomi and its executives have taken turns to reveal some of the features of the flagship, essentially confirming the specs that we will find on the device.

Today, we take a look at those specs, which have been officially confirmed by them. So, when the Xiaomi Mi 5 launches on February 24, we know what to expect from the smartphone. Given that its executives have teased various features from the start of the year, we know quite a bit about the upcoming device.

1. CPU: Snapdragon 820

Before January, we hoped that the Xiaomi Mi 5 came with the latest quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, which has managed to impress us so far in terms of performance.

Thanks to its Senior Vice President, Liwan Jiyang, we now know for sure that we will see this high-end chipset inside the device. Early January, he confirmed the CPU, which was soon reconfirmed by the CEO Lei Jun.

2. Screen Resolution: 1920 x 1080p

Yesterday, Liwang confirmed yet another feature on the Mi 5 flagship, i.e. the screen resolution. Stating that 2K displays use up a lot of battery, he revealed that the company has decided to stick with FHD 1920 x 1080p resolution for the upcoming flagship smartphone. This is actually a great decision in my opinion since the screen size (not confirmed yet) is said to be only around 5-5.2-inches. Also, the phone will come with some high-end technology for its display, according to Liwang.

3. NFC

Xiaomi has finally decided to bring back NFC on its new flagship. In a screenshot posted by Lei Jun a few days back, we could see a large N symbol on the taskbar which basically confirms NFC on the device. Today, Liwang further confirmed NFC on the Xiaomi Mi 5 flagship via his official Weibo page.

NFC was a feature left out from the Mi 4, disappointing some fans. At the time of launch in 2014, Xiaomi’s CEO Lei Jun explained that the company decided to give up on the feature because only 1% of the consumers used NFC. But looks like the company believes that the feature is still needed for its users.

4. Dual SIM Slots

Although not a surprise, but we know for sure that the Xiaomi Mi 5 will feature dual SIM, thanks to the screenshot posted by the CEO.

5. Launch Date: February 24

Well, this is not exactly a feature, but we know for sure that we will meet the Xiaomi Mi 5 flagship on February 24 at the company’s Spring Launch event.

We also know for sure, thanks to Global VP, Hugo Barra, that the phone will be showcased at one of the world’s largest tech expo, MWC (Mobile World Congress) in Barcelona, Spain.

So, these were all the features and information that we know about the Xiaomi Mi 5 confirmed by the company. Expect a lot more information about the flagship in the coming weeks before the official launch on February 24.

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This will be the first time that the company is showcasing its new device at MWC (Mobile World Congress). MWC is one of the biggest tech expos of the year, and it’s a great platform to showcase the latest innovative gadgets from companies around the world. A launch at MWC could hint that Xiaomi is eager to enter new markets, probably even in Europe. With rivals like Huawei and ZTE expanding its international reach, it won’t be surprising if Xiaomi decided to extend its footprint into new markets in the region.

Xiaomi #Mi5 media preview in Barcelona on Feb 24—our first time ever hosting an event at MWC. Can't wait! pic.twitter.com/MU0GHsfIc3

— Hugo Barra (@hbarra) January 28, 2016

We will be present at MWC 2016 in Barcelona, Spain, so we will bring you the latest coverage of the launch of the Mi 5 as well as other gadgets from the event. As of now, the Xiaomi Mi 5 is confirmed to come with Snapdragon 820, dual SIM dual standby and NFC. Rest of the features are expected to be confirmed in the coming days. So, stay tuned.

Meanwhile, you can check out the screenshot posted by Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun yesterday evening from this article. Or you can check out the Mi 5 in its box, leaked recently.

The post Xiaomi Mi5 Will Launch At MWC 2016 With Qualcomm 820 appeared first on Gizmochina.

As of now, Xiaomi has established a strong presence in the budget and mid-range smartphone segments, both in China as well as some international markets. However, as many of you would already know, the margin in the low-end segment is close to nothing, which means those who primarily operate in these markets are not going to make much, despite selling in millions.

As a result, it becomes necessary for companies to extend its products over a wide price range, which is something that we have not yet seen from Xiaomi. Yes, many of you would argue that the company has the Xiaomi Mi Note lineup in the high-end segment. But the series isn’t as popular as its other products, and the increased competition in the upper mid-range market from companies like Samsung, Huawei and Apple is not really helping the company.

Xiaomi had previously hinted that it will enter the high-end smartphone market with amazing products in the coming months. Now, Lei Jun, Xiaomi’s CEO has revealed in an interview that the company is working these high-end products and will release them in 2016.

So, there are two flagship smartphones that can be the face of the company’s high-end lineup. First, it could be the Mi 5 flagship which has been making the rumor rounds for around a year. Another possible candidate that could compete in the 3000 Yuan ($460) segment is the successor to the Mi Note series, namely the Mi Note 2. While details about the device is scarce at the moment, Xiaomi could update the lineup with very powerful smartphones to take on the high-end segment.

Well, at this moment, this is all we know. Lei Jun adds that these 3000 Yuan phones are going to be amazing, so we can expect some great products from Xiaomi next year.

So which smartphone are you most excited about from the company in 2016?

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Its been a rather long wait for the rumored Xiaomi Mi5 flagship. We have been hearing about this phone since last year and it was even said that the phone will launch by mid-2015. But that clearly didn’t happen which set the launch to the end of 2015. Now, the latest rumor suggests that the Xiaomi Mi5 will launch on December 3rd, which isn’t that far off. That’s less than a month away!

This is in line with the recent rumors we have been hearing about the Mi5 flagship. First of all, the rumor states that the Mi5 will come with Snapdragon 820, which should also see an official release sometime before December 3rd. It is said that the chip will be announced on a Tuesday, but which Tuesday we are not sure. Its probably the one before the launch, so we expect the Snapdragon 820 launch on December 1st.

We have heard from multiple sources that Mi5 could be the first 820 powered smartphone. Also, since Qualcomm officials had said a few weeks earlier that the Snapdragon 820 phones will only be available by early next year, December could be the ideal time to launch the Mi5 flagship. It may not be available immediately and the phone could start shipping from January next year.

Although many of the leaked information from Leaksfly have turned out to be true, lets wait for some official details from the company before getting too excited. Neither Qualcomm or Xiaomi has revealed any new details about its products, but if its in the coming few weeks, we may see some teasers and event invites real soon.

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We have been hearing a lot about the upcoming Xiaomi Mi 5 flagship smartphone since early 2015. However, the company is yet to reveal a launch date of the device. According to recent rumors, the phone might launch as soon as November, which is just a month away. Now, the latest news that comes from Weibo reveals that Xiaomi Mi 5 may be the first smartphone to feature Qualcomm’s Ultrasonic Fingerprint Recognition Technology.

Snapdragon 820 powered phones are expected to feature this new-age tech and since Xiaomi Mi 5 is rumored to be one of the first phones to feature Qualcomm’s latest chip, its quite likely that we will see it on the device. The company calls its the Snapdragon Sense 3D Fingerprint technology. This particular tech is better than existing technologies in the sense that its harder to imitate.

The 3D fingerprint technology creates a minute map of the details of your fingerprint, better than existing solutions. So, it becomes harder for anyone to copy your fingerprint to unlock the device, essentially making it much more secure.

Moreover, the technology does not need specific capacitive sensor or buttons to work. It can be used on a variety of materials such as plastic, metal or even glass. So, upcoming smartphones may not necessarily have a dedicated area for fingerprint sensor. It can be anywhere in the existing component like the display or even the frame, thereby allowing manufacturers to improve the overall screen proportion.

Since Xiaomi Mi 5 is expected feature pretty high-end specs, like 4GB RAM, 16MP camera and Android 5.1.1, an ultrasonic fingerprint ID would definitely be a great addition to its features.

Well, we may not have to wait too long to see if the phone comes with this new age tech, as the launch could be as soon as November 2015. Stay tuned for more details.

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We have already heard a lot about this upcoming handset, most of them claiming that it will come with Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 820 chipset on board. Earlier today, another leak seems to build on these speculations, by revealing most of the configuration of the device.

According to leaksfly, the Xiaomi Mi5 will come with the Snapdragon 820 on board. It will be the first smartphone in the market with this chip on board. We have already heard that the Mi5 will debut the new Qualcomm chipset, so lets wait and see if that’s the case. As for the display, there will be a 5.2-inch 1080p FHD screen. The phone will come with 4GB of RAM and 16GB / 32GB internal storage. At the back, you can expect a 16MP camera, while up front, there should be an 8MP shooter. Other features include Hi-Fi audio chip and Android 5.1.1 OS. Unfortunately, the leak didn’t say anything about the pricing of the device, but given Xiaomi’s track record, it should definitely be competitive. You can expect a launch sometime in November.

Well, the specs are more or less in line with what we expect from a new flagship by the end of 2015. However, what’s interesting is that Qualcomm had hinted earlier that Snapdragon 820 powered smartphones will only start shipping by first quarter of 2016. So, if Xiaomi announces the new Mi5 in November, we will have to see if it really comes with Snapdragon 820 on board.

Stay tuned for more details.

Meanwhile, let us know what you think in the comments section below.

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Xiaomi announced a lot of new products this year in various segments like smartphones, headphones, smart home products etc. While it may seem that now the company is all done for the year, the next few months are going to be even more exciting. In the smartphone lineup, Xiaomi is expected to announce its flagship model, the Xiaomi Mi5. But the announcement may not just end there, as there are other products like a new Xiaomi Mi Pad 2 as well as a Xiaomi laptop that’s coming soon.

While we wait for official details on these products, Pan Jiutang, a leading analyst from China revealed a few more details about the possible release times of these products earlier today. According to him, the Xiaomi Mi Pad 2 should definitely launch sometime before the end of this year. On the other hand, the much anticipated Xiaomi Mi5 flagship may or may not be announced this year. What’s likely to affect the release date is the mass production of the Snapdragon 820 chip. So, it looks like he expects the new model to come with Qualcomm’s latest chipset.

As for the Xiaomi Laptop, a report from a couple of days back said that the phone will enter into production soon, with the first batch of units to be shipped sometime in the first half of 2016. So, today’s comments from Jiutang only confirms this report.

We would really like to see a new flagship handset from Xiaomi this year, as recently most of the releases have focused on the low-end (Redmi Note 2) or the mid-range market (Mi4i). The only high-end smartphones that were announced this year were near the start. So, fans would love to see a new Xiaomi flagship device like the Mi5 before the end of this year. But Jiutang adds that this will depend on the supply of the Snapdragon 820. And from a previous report, it looks like first 820 powered phones will be available only by Q1 2016. So don’t keep your hopes too high.

But its not really a bad thing, as 2016 will turn out to be an eventful year for Xiaomi fans. We will most likely see the new Mi5 flagship as well as the company’s first laptop debut around the same time. It is said that the laptop will use revolutionary design, unlike its competitors, so we are all the more excited to see what the company has in store for us.

We will try to bring as much news about these new products in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.

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The Weibo user KJuma has been releasing leaks about Chinese smartphones for a long time. Some of them have turned out to be true, while some not. Today, he has released a couple of pictures of a new Xiaomi flagship device. While he doesn’t reveal the name of the handset, its most likely of the Xiaomi Mi5, that’s expected to launch before the end of 2015.

From the renders, it looks like the new Xiaomi Mi5 smartphone will have no bezels at all. The display extents to the sides, creating a bezelless effect. Now that we have seen the bezelless ZTE Nubia Z9, this doesn’t sound too far fetched. On top of the display, you have the standard sensors along with the camera. There’s the traditional MI logo on the top left corner.

However, when you come to the bottom, it gets a bit interesting. The renders show that the phone has a physical home button, which will most likely integrate a fingerprint sensor too. It has been a trend for almost every major flagship in 2015 to feature a biometric sensor, and Xiaomi too could follow suit.

Even the back is interesting. The Xiaomi phone renders reveal that the phone could come with dual cameras at the back. We have seen many recent smartphones like the ZTE Axon Elite with such a setup. Along with the dual cameras, the Xiaomi phone will come with dual LED flash as well.  Finally, there’s once again the MI branding at the back.

Before you get too excited, there’s a pretty good chance that this isn’t the real design. Also, Xiaomi is yet to reveal anything about its upcoming flagship officially, so its best to take this news with a pinch of salt. We expect the company to announce the handset, sometime after Qualcomm makes Snapdragon 820 available in the market.

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While Xiaomi may not be the first one to use this deca core chip, it is said that the company has at least one machine with this chip that’s being tested right now. Even Xiaomi is expected to release this new handset sometime before the end of this year. From the previous leaks and the timing of the launch of the new chip, its likely that the report is talking about the upcoming Xiaomi Mi5 flagship.

As for the performance of the chip, its expected to be better, or atleast at par with Exynos 7420. The MT6797 Helio X20 chip is based on the 20nm process, with the worlds first Tri-Cluster architecture. The chip will come with 10 cores, with two Cortex A72 and eight Cortex A53 ones. Other specs include support for LTE Cat. 6 network and dual carrier aggregation.

It is said that Meizu’s upcoming flagship, the Meizu Pro 5 will have a low version which will be powered by Helio X20. The higher version is reportedly powered by Samsung’s Exynos 7420. Even Xiaomi Mi5 could have two different versions, with one of them powered by the Helio X20 chip.

So, what do you think? Can Mediatek take over the premium high-end market with its new deca-core Helio X20?

The post Xiaomi, HTC & Meizu To Use Helio X20 10-core chip, First Phones Coming in October appeared first on Gizmochina.

We know that Qualcomm is going to release its Snapdragon 820 chipset sometime later this year. While the company has been revealing more details about the chip every week, Qualcomm China president Mr. Meng revealed that at present there are about 30 different phones that are going to use Snapdragon 820 chipset. So, there will be a lot of smartphones that will hit the markets in the first half of 2016 with this powerful chip.

This year, many companies decided to go with the slightly slower Snapdragon 808 or Mediatek chipset for their flagship devices, to avoid any heating related issues. But before that, Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon range have always been the chip that powered flagships. If the Snapdragon 820 is as good as we have heard till now, there will be a lot of phones in the market with this new SoC soon. Mr. Meng’s comments itself proves this point.

Now, if this is the case, many manufacturers, from China as well as other countries will try to be the first ones to boast of using this chip. And according to Pan Jiutang, the IHS analyst, it will most likely be Xiaomi, atleast in China. The second possible candidate is Smartisan, but he is not sure of that at the moment.

If Xiaomi is indeed going to release the first Snapdragon 820 powered smartphone, it should be for none other than its upcoming flagship Xiaomi Mi5. Its been more than a year since we saw the Mi4 flagship and some rumors claim that the company is waiting for the launch of the new Snapdragon 820 chipset. So it makes sense to put the best chip inside the new company flagship. And if Smartisan is joining the likes of Xiaomi, it should be for its new Smartisan T2 flagship.

Well, these are just speculations at this moment based on the information that’s available right now. But if Xiaomi Mi5 does come with Snapdragon 820, expect a launch only around November-December 2015.

Do you think Snapdragon 820 will help Qualcomm win back the trust of the customers in the high-end segment?

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Xiaomi is expected to release its new flagship, the Xiaomi Mi5 sometime later this year. According to the recent speculations, the device is expected to come with the new high-end chipset from Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 820. It was even said that the launch was delayed because Xiaomi wanted to use the new Snapdragon chip. Now, we may have some idea about the performance of the device, thanks to a leaked AnTuTu benchmark screenshot.

The leaked image shows that the Xiaomi Mi5 scored a mind blowing 73075 points. That’s even better than the Samsung Exynos 7420 that currently powers flagships like Galaxy S6, S6 Edge and Galaxy Note 5. Given that Snapdragon 820 is expected to power the Mi5, the performance that we saw on AnTuTu could very well be of the next Qualcomm chip. We expected Snapdragon 820 to perform well as recent rumors have said that the chip will most likely feature four custom Kyro cores clocked at 3.0GHz.

Another likely chip inside the Mi5 is the Helio X20 with 10 cores. The chip managed to score above 70K on AnTuTu back in April, so this Mi5 in the leaked screenshot could be powered by the MTK Helio X20 as well. But, that’s just a guess, because almost every recent leak has tipped Snapdragon 820 inside the Xiaomi Mi5.

As for the specs, the flagship is expected to come with a 5.2-inch 2K display, 4GB of RAM and a 16MP OIS camera. The launch could be around November this year. Pricing is expected to be under $400.

So, which chip would you like to see inside the Xiaomi Mi5? Snapdragon 820 or Helio x20?

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Ever since Samsung started using AMOLED displays on its high-end smartphones, we have seen many new phones with AMOLED panels. However, we haven’t seen many Chinese manufacturers use AMOLED displays recently. But that’s going to change, according to the IHS Technology Research Director, Kevin Wang.

Mr. Wang posted on his Weibo account that Huawei has already started using AMOLED displays on its smartphones. He further said that even Xiaomi is ready to use AMOLED panels on its devices. So, it looks like upcoming high-end flagships from the company will utilize this AMOLED displays instead of IPS LCD panels.

But we are not quite sure whether we will see AMOLED display on Xiaomi Mi5. The phone is supposed to debut in the coming months and since he said that Xiaomi is just ready to use the display, it could be a bit too early to see the display on this flagship model.

Kevin Wang also added that even Apple could be considering using AMOLED panels, but probably not with Samsung.

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Xiaomi has just sent out invites for its special event to be held on July 16. While the teaser image fails to explain what to expect from the company, it could be for the Xiaomi Mi5 flagship. Earlier reports have said that the phone could be unveiled sometime in September, but the company could have brought the date ahead to July.

Xiaomi aims to sell around 100 million smartphones by the end of this year. However, according to the recent report, the company managed to sell only about 34.7 million in the first half of 2015. Which is why it won’t be surprising if we see a major smartphone release like the Mi5 at the event.
Another possibility is the rumored launch of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 mid-range flagship. This would make much more sense given that Mi5 is expected to come with Snapdragon 820 and theres still time for the chip to hit the market.
Anyways, we will keep a close eye on the company in the coming days. So stay tuned.

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Weibo has always been a source of leaks, rumors and other information and earlier today, we came across a new report which revealed some of the possible specifications of the upcoming flagship smartphones from Xiaomi, namely the Xiaomi Mi5 and the Xiaomi Mi5 Plus.

So, it looks like the company will unveil two different versions of the handsets later this year. According to the new leak, which apparently comes from the engineering machine information, the Mi5 standard edition will feature Snapdragon 810 instead of the rumored Snapdragon 820 chipset. It will also come with Qualcomm Snapdragon Sense ID 3D fingerprint tech. If this does turn out to be true, it will be a big surprise given that the tech was expected to debut only alongside Snapdragon 820. It relies on ultrasonic sound tech instead of the traditional capacitive based touch ID which reportedly makes it more accurate and secure.

The leak further reveals that the Mi5 will come with a 5.2-inch 2K LCD display and a 16MP rear sensor along with a 13MP front facing camera. As for software, the phone is rumored to come with the new version of MIUI, the MIUI 7 which reportedly features floating screen UI. We expect it to be based on Android 5.1 Lollipop version.

Finally, there will be a 3000mAh battery on board which charges up to 30% in five minutes and up to 100% in 40 minutes.

Coming to the Mi5 Plus higher-end model, it is said that the phone will come with a 5.7-inch display with 2K resolution. The screen seems to use some kind of advanced tech, and could be Quantom Dot display. The company has reportedly used Snapdragon 820 under its hood which once again comes with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Sense ID fingerprint tech.

Further, the phone will feature a 23MP rear camera with OIS, Laser Focus and a 12MP front facing shooter. As you can see, for some reason, the front camera sensor on the Mi5 Plus is smaller than the one found on the Mi5 standard edition.

The battery on board the Mi5 Plus will be slightly larger, of 3500mAh capacity. It will also support fast charge. It is said that the phone will charge up to 100% in 50 minutes.

As for body, the company will most likely use an all metal body instead of a traditional plastic one on the new flagship. Also, the front will be protected by Corning’s latest Gorilla Glass 4 + 2.5D glass.

Finally, for pricing, it is said that the standard version will start at 2399 Yuan ($386). There’s still no word on the pricing for the Mi5 Plus version, but it can go up to 3000 Yuan ($480). It looks like the new flagship is going to be costlier than the present generation, but if these specs turn out to be real, it will be worth every penny.

Of course, as always, we can’t fully trust the leak. So, take this news with a pinch of salt and hope for some official specs confirmation from the company. According to a leaked product roadmap, the Xiaomi Mi5 and Mi5 Plus will debut in November. So, there’s still around four months till launch. All we can do till then is wait for some official information.

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Its been a while since Xiaomi announced a new smartphone in the market. As a result, in the coming months, expect around two to three new phone launches. One should be the Redmi Note successor, which we have already seen in a leak yesterday. And the other two could be the rumored Xiaomi Mi5 and the Mi5 Plus.

Its already time to see the successor to the company current, Xiaomi Mi4 flagship, but it looks like Snapdragon 810 issues have forced the company to delay the release. Logically, both the phones should have featured Snapdragon 810 which is the flagship SoC for the year, but given the severe heating issues associated with the chip, it seems unlikely that it will end up in both of them.

However, consumers are eagerly waiting for the next Mi device and Xiaomi may eventually succumb to market pressure. So, a Snapdragon 810 powered Mi5 is even possible. Snapdragon 820 will still take a few months to enter mass production, and it doesn’t make sense for this Chinese giant to wait until that happens. So, instead of both featuring Snapdragon 820, only the Mi5 Plus, which could be announced at the end of the year, may feature this chipset. It may even be the first smartphone to come with this latest Qualcomm SoC.

If this is the case, then you can expect the specs to be something like this.

Xiaomi Mi5: 5.2-inch 2K display with Snapdragon 810, 4GB RAM, and 16MP camera. Priced at around 1999 Yuan.

Xiaomi Mi5 Plus: 6-inch 2K display with Snapdragon 820 and 4GB RAM. Priced at around 2499 Yuan.

So, unlike earlier rumors it looks like we may not see Snapdragon 820 on both the handsets. The Mi5 will probably feature current generation Snapdragon chipset (810 or 808?). Given that the launch should be soon, lets wait and watch, whether Xiaomi takes the risk of putting Snapdragon 810 inside its latest flagship Mi5.

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Its that time of the year where Xiaomi will unveil a new flagship smartphone in its Mi series. Earlier reports suggested that the phone will be launched sometime in the months of June-July, however according to a new leak from Weibo, courtesy of Leaksfly, the company has reportedly shifted the launch deadline to November 2015.

The main reason for doing so was to incorporate the brand new Snapdragon 820 chipset inside its latest flagship. The chip would be unveiled by the end of the year, which meant that if Xiaomi wanted the Snapdragon 820 inside the Xiaomi Mi5, then it would have to wait till the very end.

The leakster also revealed a few more specs of the upcoming handset, which includes a 5.5-inch Quad HD display, 4GB LPDDR4 RAM memory, fingerprint recognition, USB type-C port and a thickness of just 5.1mm. There will be two storage variants, namely 16GB and 64GB.

With the new Snapdragon 820 chipset, its also possible that Xiaomi may incorporate Qualcomm’s ultrasound fingerprint recognition system. This unique system does not need any physical buttons or areas for fingerprint recognition like other fingerprint modules in the market. In fact, it can be incorporated under any type of material such as glass or metal and is not even affected by external factors such as dirt, water etc.

While we may see the Xiaomi Mi5 only in November, the company is also reportedly working on a upgrade to last year’s Xiaomi Mi4 which will feature Snapdragon 810 chipset. This should keep the company and its fans busy for a few months, until the monster Snapdragon 820 powered Xiaomi Mi5 makes it to the market.

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Xiaomi has been busy this year, with new product lineups and partnerships. Just yesterday, the company officially released the top-end Xiaomi Mi Note Pro flagship. However, the company had already revealed the device back in January, which meant that the Mi Note Pro launch was not exactly a new release.

But it looks like the company has four new handsets for release in the second half of 2015. A leaked product roadmap reveals some of the specs as well as release schedule of the four handsets.

The Xiaomi Mi5 and Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 launches were expected later this year. But what comes as a surprise is the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 Pro and the Xiaomi Mi4S launches. Yes, it looks like the company will first release the Mi4S in June and then, later launch the Mi5 in November.

The leak also shows off some of the specs of the device. So, the Xiaomi Mi4S which will launch in June is expected to come with the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 MSM8994 processor with a 5-inch full HD 1080p display, 13MP OIS camera and a 4MP Ultrapixel front facing camera.

A month later, i.e. in July, the company will reportedly launch the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 and the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 Pro versions. The Redmi Note 2 Pro will feature a full HD 5.5-inch display with MSM8939 processor (snapdragon 615). On the other hand, the regular Redmi Note 2 version will feature a 5.5-inch HD display just like the current generation Redmi Note and MSM8919 (Snapdragon 410 chipset). Both will feature 13MP and 5MP camera units on the rear and the front respectively.

As for the Xiaomi Mi5, the phone is expected to debut in November this year with the new Snapdragon 820 chipset. It is said the the Mi5 will feature a 5.2-inch display with WQHD display and a 20.2MP rear camera.

While this news will definitely excite a lot of Xiaomi fans around the world, remember that the leak comes via Weibo and we are not sure whether its 100% true. So, like always, we advise you to take this news with a pinch of salt.

It is also worth noting that above the Xiaomi leak, you can also see the product roadmap for Huawei’s smartphones including Ascend D8, Mate 8 and the Honor 7 which was leaked a few days before.

The post Xiaomi’s Product Roadmap for 2015 leaked, reveals four new devices including Xiaomi Mi5 appeared first on Gizmochina.

Xiaomi has made all the right moves in the past two years, now transforming itself as a global tech company. The Xiaomi Mi4 sold pretty well in China as well as international markets and it looks like its successor, the Xiaomi Mi5 could integrate a fingerprint sensor on its home button, much like the iPhone 6 and the Samsung Galaxy S6.

The news comes directly from the State Intellectual Property Office website of China wherein Xiaomi technology Limited Liability company has registered a patent for a touch buttons and fingerprint implementation method, device and mobile device. So, it looks like the company is all set to its own fingerprint tech on its upcoming devices.

The patent application (No. 2015100507538) says that the primary purpose of the patented technology is to integrate fingerprint recognition into the touch button. So, instead of a rear sensor that we have seen on many Chinese phones, Xiaomi could be looking for a user friendly home button based fingerprint recognition sensor. Also, there seems to a layer of glass on top of the button, probably for improved asthetics and solid built (these two points were highlighted in the patented application as well).

Rest of the details from the application (Application Publication No. CN104537365A) are given below translated from Chinese to English.

“The device comprises a bottom fingerprint sensors and optical sensor provided in the terminal equipment of the cover glass; fingerprint identification circuit connected fingerprint sensor for fingerprint recognition sensor and the fingerprint information analysis and processing, obtain fingerprint analysis ; host processor, and an optical sensor and fingerprint identification circuit connections for the monitored optical sensor light information received to determine whether cover glass touch button operation; identity authentication based on fingerprint analysis results obtained fingerprint identification circuit.”

So what do you think? Will the Mi5 come with this fingerprint tech?

The post Xiaomi files a patent for new fingerprint technology, could end up on Mi5 appeared first on Gizmochina.

Things have been confusing for the past few days. The internet is flooded with many articles claiming to be the new Xiaomi flagship. Some say that is the Mi5 / Mi4S that’s going to be announced tomorrow, while others say it is the Redmi Note 2 that’s gong to be released at the event. Now, Xiaomi has revealed another teaser for the tomorrow’s event, this time its a poster saying the words “See you tomorrow, NOT5”

This only increases the confusion about the upcoming flagship, but since this is the official one, lets ignore all other news that we saw in the past few days. According to the poster, tomorrow, we’ll see a new product called as the NOTE! Now, as you can see, there is a ‘5’ at the end of the word ‘NOT5’ instead of an ‘E’, so could the company be calling it the Note 5 or the Mi5 Note? But it doesn’t make any sense. What makes sense is something that one of our readers pointed out,– it could be “NOT 5″, meaning its not the Xiaomi Mi5 flagship that will be announced tomorrow like previously rumored. So, now there are two possibilities. One, it can be a new lineup called Xiaomi Note or it can also be called as the Redmi Note 2 as previously rumored. We know one thing for sure, there will be a device with the name ‘NOTE’, since the company had revealed this in the previous teaser.

This could be one of the releases tomorrow, as another poster had said that Xiaomi will release two new devices at the Jan 15 event. Given that one of this bears the NOTE name, it will most likely be the bigger sized model. The screen size is not yet revealed, but we have a feeling it should be somewhere around 5.5-5.7inches. Anything less than that won’t justify the Note name, since the regular Mi4 comes with a 5-inch screen.

The specifications of this model is not yet confirmed but it is said that the display will feature a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and will be powered by the same 2.5GHz Snapdragon 801 processor as the existing Mi4 flagship. The company had also said that the phone will be very thin and light, but as of now, we don’t have any particular figures to confirm the claim.

Anyways, this doesn’t really help to clear out the confusion about the Xiaomi device, but luckily, we don’t have to wait too long to know which flagship model will be unveiled since we are less than 24 hours away from the event.

Make sure you stay tuned to the website for more up to date news. Connect with our Facebook and Twitter pages for the  latest updates.

The post Latest Xiaomi teaser hints about a new NOTE flagship appeared first on Gizmochina.

Yesterday, we were the first ones to report that Xiaomi was launching the new Redmi Note 2 on January and not the Xiaomi Mi5 as earlier predicted. Looks like the company has finally confirmed our report today by releasing a new teaser image with a puzzle piece that needs to be deciphered to get to know all the features of the upcoming flagship phone.

It took some time to decipher the puzzle completely but once you are done, you’ll get to know more about the Redmi Note 2. If you want to try to decipher the puzzle, below is the image released by the company. Try out your luck. It’s not very hard.

The image reveals a set of features about the device as well as confirms its the new Redmi Note. Overall, the image says that “our new flagship is the redmi note, thinner, larger, lighter, faster, hifi-sound, and all glass laminate”

This finally clears up any confusion we had about the new flagship device. Also, these features are in line with the other teasers that the company had released a few days back. It really looks like the upcoming Redmi Note 2 is going to be an interesting device.

While the company has confirmed the glass finish, it hasn’t yet said anything about the curved rear glass that we saw in a few pictures yesterday. But given that the device and its features are more or less similar to what Xiaomi describes its new phone to be, we are quite certain that the curved glass back will end up on the new Redmi Note 2 that will be showcased at the 15 January 2015 event.

The company also released another image with two hands that look like there are holding two devices. The image says that a ‘double blessing has descended on the house’. So, Xiaomi could be trying to say that there will be two launches on Jan 15. The other device could be the 5.2-inch model that was leaked earlier, but we can’t be sure of that right now.

Also, Xiaomi could unveil a brand new device itself at the event like the rumored Xiaomi TV. But once again, we can’t really confirm that until Xiaomi releases something more conclusive. So, for now, we know that there will be atleast two devices at the event, possibly two phones out of which one will be the new Redmi Note 2 flagship.

Even before the official confirmation, we had got the design and spec details of the new device. Check out that post for more information. Here are some additional pictures that showcase the phone’s curved glass display.

Stay tuned to our website for the latest updates on Xiaomi.  Connect with us via our Facebook and Twitter accounts.

The post Xiaomi confirms a thinner, lighter and bigger Redmi Note 2 launch on Jan 15 appeared first on Gizmochina.

We earlier reported that upcoming Xiaomi flagship, the Redmi Note 2 will feature the world’s first curved glass body. Now, just a few hours later, we have two new images which show off this body.

The images reveal a similar form factor as the earlier leaks hinted. So, it does look like an enlarged version of the Xiaomi Mi4. Coming to the interesting part, if you look closely enough, you can see that the back cover curves at the sides. The body curved towards both the sides of the device, confirming the earlier leak which claimed a curved glass body on the Redmi Note 2. Finally, the leak also said that the back side will have gorilla glass protection.

There are three capacitive buttons, menu, home and back below the display. At the back, the camera and the LED flash lies on the top left corner while the ‘Mi’ logo lies at the bottom of the rear curved panel. The speaker grill and the microUSB port is located at the bottom and the SIM card slot on the right side. The phone has a full black glass finish which looks quite premium and polished.

Like we said earlier, overall the phone comes out as a great device. We are not explaining much in this article as we have already covered all that in our previous post. Check out that post to get full details about the specs, pricing and more images of the upcoming Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 flagship.

Stay tuned to our website for the latest updates on Xiaomi.  Connect with us via our Facebook and Twitter accounts.

The post First look at Xiaomi Redmi Note 2’s curved glass back design appeared first on Gizmochina.

Looks like we have been guessing everything wrong all this time!

All the leaks that we saw till now claiming to be the next Xiaomi flagship was right, BUT, it was not the Xiaomi Mi5 as we expected. Surprised? Yes, we were too, but looks like all the previous leaks and rumors that we saw in the past one month was of another Xiaomi flagship!

Now, if its not the Xiaomi Mi5, then which flagship are we talking about? Some may have already guessed it, but those who are still thinking, STOP, its not a new lineup — its the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 that we are talking about! Yes, in an unexpected turn of events, the latest reports suggest that Xiaomi will release the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 on the 15 January 2015 and not the Xiaomi Mi5.

But this is not something to be unhappy about, as the phone will look much like what the recent rumors show it to be. So, all this time we have been seeing the Redmi Note 2 in pictures but guessing it to be the Xiaomi Mi5.

According to the recent listing on Oppomart, which is a known e-commerce website for selling Chinese smartphones, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 is what we should expect at the next week’s event. The website has revealed full technical specifications of the upcoming device, confirming the design but proving most of the other rumored specifications wrong.

Before checking out the specs, lets take a look at how the device is designed. First of all, if this source turns out to be true, the phone will look nothing like current Redmi flagship. In fact, it will take its design inspiration from the current Mi flagship i.e. Xiaomi Mi4. The front will be protected by Gorilla glass as will be the back, however the rear gorilla glass body will be curved. Oppomart says that the phone will have the “World’s First Curved Glass Body“.

You have the sensors and the camera right on top of the display up front. There is also the ‘MI’ logo on the top left corner, much like the Mi4. Then at the bottom, you have three capacitive buttons. Yes, looks like Xiaomi will not be getting rid of these buttons for on screen ones, which is the current trend among newer phones. On the right, there is the volume rocker keys and the power button. We don’t see anything on the left side, but it will probably have the microSD and SIM card slots there.

According to the listing, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 will come with a 64-bit Snapdragon 615 octa-core processor with 2GB RAM and 16GB/ 32GB storage options. The screen size will be of 5.7-inches and will be made of 2D glass,(an upgrade from the 5.5-inches on the current Redmi Note) and will feature a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. There will be a 13MP rear camera (Sony IMX214 with zero shutter lag) and a 5MP front shooter on the device.

Coming to the interesting part, the device will measure 141.89mm x 71.4mm x 6.1mm, which makes it thicker than what the earlier leaks said. If this is true, we feel Xiaomi made a right decision by going with a thicker body because if it was just 5.1mm thick, then we would have never seen a 3600 mAh battery onboard. Yes, to our delight, the listing says that the phone will indeed have a large 3600 mAh battery which should give more than average battery life even with its stunning 5.7-inch display!

As for connectivity options, the phone is said to feature dual microSIM slots and will support GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz; WCDMA: 850/900/1900/2100MHz, FDD LTE: 1800/2100/2600MHz. Yes, it is rumored to have FDD-LTE support which it compatible with a lot of country’s 4G network band. It will run on Android 4.4 KitKat OS along with the current MIUI 6.0 on top.

The device is said to retail for 1499 Yuan i.e. around $249 which is a great price for a phone with such specs. Ofcourse, it is much higher than the Redmi Note, but then this device has a much premium design and specs which justifies its price tag, if it is true.

Moreover, the company has released almost four teasers till now revealing small aspects about the upcoming device. The first one said that it would be thin, and this new leak says it will be around 6.1mm thick, which is considered as thin. Second teaser said it would be large, which once again this leak confirms. Third said it would be light weighted, and the fourth said it would have amazing sound quality. We can’t really confirm both these features, but other than that, this looks like the real deal. We have added the teases down below.

We think this leak could be true as we have heard rumors about a Jan launch of the Redmi Note 2. Secondly, Xiaomi usually unveils its flagship devices around June, which will make this release date quite unusual. On the other hand, the company releases its Redmi series phones earlier in the year (last year it was in March!). So, if we start thinking practically, a Redmi Note 2 launch would be logical this early in the year.

For some, things just got a bit more confusing while for others things have become clearer. All depends on how you take this leak. Either you can believe that this one is false and you’ll see the Xiaomi Mi5 on 15 Jan or you can go with this leak and believe this is the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 flagship. Whatever you do, don’t worry, things will clear up soon after next week’s announcement.

Meanwhile, Connect with us via our Facebook and Twitter accounts for more exclusive updates!

The post Exclusive: Xiaomi to launch Redmi Note 2 flagship on Jan 15, not Xiaomi Mi5! Specs, design & price revealed appeared first on Gizmochina.

It seems like the leaks just won’t stop coming. In the past one day, we have received, not one, not two, not even three — but FOUR different leaks about the same device within 24 hours. That’s how much demand there is for the upcoming Xiaomi Mi5 flagship. Earlier, a few set of images revealing the 5.1-inch ultra thin body of the device was leaked. Now, it looks like the rear panel of the Mi5 has been leaked online.

Thanks to these images, we can now see the extremely thin rear chasis of the phone in closeup. The overall structure of the device seems to be in line with the 3D renders that were leaked from Foxconn a few hours back. So, the doubts about the upcoming Xiaomi flagship is slowly clearing up. The images show that the headphone jack is on the top while the speaker grill and microUSB slots are at the bottom. Another thing revealed by this leak is that the phone will have a core metal body. This isn’t surprising given that even Xiaomi Mi4 had a machined metal core. To be honest, the overall picture of the phone does make it look a lot like the Samsung’s metal series Galaxy ‘Alpha’ series phones. But then everything looks the same these days and Xiaomi’s earlier flagship too had a similar design. So, its better no to go into that direction.

Coming to the specs, we are once again hearing that the phone will sport a 5.2-inch display as opposed to the 5.5-inch or even the gigantic 6-inch displays that were rumored earlier. It could also feature dual SIM card slots, but we don’t see any specific openings for them on the rear chassis.

To sum up, the leaked device looks like a  larger variant of the Xiaomi Mi4. The specs are still not very clear but we have some idea about the overall design of the phone thanks to these leaks. It does look like the phone will have a 5.1-inch body, which pops up the question, whether it will have a large battery?

Both the super-slim Vivo X5 MAx and the OPPO R5 feature a less than impressive 2000 mAh battery. So will Xiaomi cut back on this essential feature for a thinner form profile? Well, we’ll find it out soon!

The post Xiaomi Mi5 components leaked once again: This time the rear panel! appeared first on Gizmochina.

Xiaomi’s smartphones are so popular that not a day goes by without rumors and leaks about its upcoming flagship device. Just a few hours back we saw some 3D renders of the upcoming Xiaomi Mi4S from a source within foxconn. Now, a twitter source revealed a set of pictures which claim to be the next Xiaomi flagship, the Xiaomi Mi5.

Wait, this is confusing right? Both claim to be the next Xiaomi flagship but both have different names and different designs. So you must be wondering what to and what not to believe. We are in this dilemma too. However, there could be two different variants of the device, but that’s a long shot. So, for now, take whatever is leaked by this leakster with a pinch of salt! Moreover, the account that leaked these images and specs seems to be new without any followers which adds to our suspicion.

Coming to the actual leak, the picture looks like a render rather than the actual device. The phone is gigantic and it is said that it would come with a 6-inch 1080p display. That’s a very big upgrade from the existing 5-inch display on the Xiaomi Mi4. From what we can see, the phone is bezelless. The problem with this is that the photos look too good to be true. We have seen such renders of flagships before only to be disappointed after seeing the actual device.

As for the tech specs, the device is said to feature the Snapdragon 805 processor with 4GB RAM (Yes, 4GB!) and 32GB ROM. These specs, especially the 4GB again sounds too good to be true. While we agree that ASUS has already unveiled a 4GB phone at CES 2015, its very unlikely that Xiaomi would put in such a hardware inside its next flagship which needs to be affordable too.

So, like we said earlier, we still don’t know anything about the upcoming Xiaomi flagship, but this probably isn’t the real one. The pictures leaked earlier looked much more believable and probably that’s the one we’ll be getting at the 15 January 2015 event from Xiaomi.

Thanks for sending in the tip!

The post New images claiming to be the Xiaomi Mi5 spotted on twitter! appeared first on Gizmochina.

Xiaomi has been making the headlines for a long time now. The latest leak shows off “3D” schematics of the advertised “thinner than the cicada’s wings ” new Xiaomi smartphone. These pictures come to us from the Foxconn factory in China and supposedly were snapped (in low resolution) by someone with a connection to the supply chain.

The first thing that hits you about the Xiaomi Mi4s are the rounded corners on the device, which dovetails with many of the other leaks we’ve seen of the phone. Unfortunately, the leak does not reveal any measurements of the device, although it does appear to keep the extremely thin design that we’ve seen before. But if slimness is what the company is aiming for,  then it could have similar measurements to the iPhone 6 Plus’s 158.1 x 77.8 x 7.1 mm or even better measurements!

The power key has been moved to the right, supposedly to improve the grip on the phone, and the volume buttons are now elongated. In addition, the flash has changed to an oval design from the lozenge used on the iPhone 5s.

In addition to the 3D images, we also got some specifications directly from Foxconn. The Xiaomi Mi4S flagship will reportedly feature a 5.5inch 2k display，snapdragon 805, 3gb ram, 16gb/64gb rom, 16mp + 8mp camera. These specs are in line with what we heard a few days back, except for the camera department which was said to come with a more powerful 20.7MP sensor.

Yes, you should take this with a grain of salt, especially when the Xiaomi Mi4S leaks are all over the place. It is perfectly fine to cast a cynical eye on the images, even if you believe that the next Xiaomi flagship will look just like this.

The company confirmed an event on 15 January 2015 for its flagship launch about a day back, so we don’t have to wait too long to see whether these specs and the pictures are indeed of the upcoming Xiaomi Mi4S / Xiaomi Mi5.

The leaked Xiaomi Mi4s 3D schematics follow below.

The post Latest Xiaomi Mi4s 3D schematics and specs leak from Foxconn appeared first on Gizmochina.