Xiaomi has just announced the new Mi 5 smartphone and it has all the makings of a flagship device. It has the new Snapdragon 820 SoC, 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM, 128GB UFS 2.0 storage and a 16MP camera with OIS from Sony. Apart from those key features, it also sports a fingerprint sensor, NFC and a 3000mAh battery which supports Qualcomm’s quick charge 3.0. However, the biggest USP of this phone will be its price. The Mi5 is available starting RMB 1999 (Rs. 21,000 approx). So, how does the phone stack up against the competition? We took the liberty of pitting the Mi 5 against a few of the flagship smartphones which were launched at MWC 2016 and are expected to come to India in the coming months.
| Xiaomi Mi 5/Mi 5 Pro | LG G5 | Samsung Galaxy S7 | Sony Xperia X Performance | |
| SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 | Exynos 8890 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 |
| Display Size | 5.15-inch | 5.3-inch | 5.1-inch | 5-inch |
| Display type | IPS LCD | IPS LCD | Super AMOLED | IPS LCD |
| Display Resolution | 1920 x 1080p | 1440 x 2560p | 1440 x 2560p | 1920 x 1080p |
| RAM | 3/4GB | 4GB | 4GB | 3GB |
| Storage | 32/64/128GB | 32GB | 32/64GB | 32GB |
| Expandable Storage | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Rear Camera | 16MP | 16MP | 12MP | 23MP |
| Aperture size | f/2.0 | f/1.8 | f/1.7 | f/2.0 |
| Front Camera | 4MP | 8MP | 5MP | 13MP |
| Battery (mAh) | 3000mAh | 2800mAh | 3000mAh | 2700mAh |
| OS | Android 6.0 | Android 6.0 | Android 6.0 | Android 6.0 |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Build | Glass and Metal | Metal | Glass and Metal | Metal and plastic |
| Thickness | 6.95mm | 7.7mm | 7.9mm | 7.6mm |
Going by the comparison sheet it is quite evident, that the Mi 5 ticks all the right boxes. On paper, the only thing which doesn't go in its favour, is the lack of a microSD card slot which is coming back in trend. Also, the phone does not feature a 2k display i.e 2560 x 1440p resolution and makes do with just a 1920 x 1080p FullHD resolution. However, this also suggests that the phone might have a better battery life than its competitors. On the optics front, the 16MP camera which uses the Sony IMX298 sensor is quite capable and was seen earlier on the Huawei Mate 8, but Xiaomi has added a 4-axis OIS to the mix, which should help it take better and stable images.
However, to answer if the Xiaomi Mi 5 is a better phone, we might have to wait until we review all these above mentioned devices thoroughly. We are awaiting the Indian launch as much as you are.
Disclaimer: Digit went to MWC 2016 self sponsored. No other company or individual was associated with Digit's MWC 2016 coverage.