Xiaomi has spent just about two years in India right now, but its story started about two years before that. Its first three phones had already done quite well in China, before the Xiaomi Mi 3 ran rampant in India. Here's a look back at Xiaomi's flagships till date.
Xiaomi Mi 1
Originally known as the Xiaomi phone, it was the device that started it all for the company. If you saw this phone today, you'd find it hard to believe that it was ever a Xiaomi flagship.
Here is a quick look at the specification sheet of the Xiaomi Mi 1S
Display: 4-inch, 480p
SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon S3
RAM: 1GB
Storage: 4GB
Camera: 8MP, 2MP
Battery: 1930mAh
OS: Android 4.0
Xiaomi Mi 2
Xiaomi's second phone, the Mi 2 was in November 2012, offering an upgraded specification sheet, but most importantly an HD display. This phone was also sold exclusively in China. It came with Android Jelly Bean, but more importantly, feature curves on its plastic back, similar to what we see in the Mi 5 today. It was supported till Android Kitkat. The phone was followed by two other variants, the Xiaomi Mi 2S and the Xiaomi Mi 2A which offered slightly better specifications. The Mi 2 was also the first Snapdragon 600-powered device ever.
Here is a quick look at the specification sheet of the Xiaomi Mi 2
Display: 4.3-inch, 720p
SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 600
RAM: 2GB
Storage: 16/32GB
Camera: 8MP, 2MP
Battery: 2000mAh
OS: Android 4.4.4
Xiaomi Mi 3
Xiaomi Mi 3 was the first phone from the manufacturer to land in India. Offering a flagship-like specfication sheet at a fraction of the cost. It was the first phone, in India, to boast the Snapdragon 800 processor at a sub-15k price point. It basically paved the way for the uber competitive market that we see today.
Here is a quick look at the specification sheet of the Xiaomi Mi 3
Display: 5-inch, 1080p
SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 800
RAM: 2GB
Storage: 16GB
Camera: 13MP, 2MP
Battery: 3050mAh
OS: Android 4.4.2
Xiaomi Mi 4
The Xiaomi Mi 4 was a very good phone, but it was somewhat in the shadow of the Mi 3. The amazing specs to price ration was just hard to match and the device ended up dropping from a starting price of over Rs. 20,000 to less than Rs. 15,000. Nevertheless, it has many things going for it.
Here is a quick look at the specification sheet of the Xiaomi Mi 4
Display: 5-inch, 1080p
SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 801
RAM: 3GB
Storage: 16/64GB
Camera: 13MP, 8MP
Battery: 3080mAh
OS: Android 4.4.3 (at launch)
Xiaomi Mi 5
This is the latest flagship smartphone in the Mi family. Offering top of the range specification sheet, the phone is the first Snapdragon 820-powered device in India. We will be reviewing the smartphone shortly. Here is a quick recap of the specifications
Display: 5.15-inch, 1080p
SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 820
RAM: 3GB
Storage: 32GB
Camera: 16MP, 4MP (ultrapixel)
Battery: 3000mAh
OS: Android 6.0
The Xiaomi Mi Note Pro and Mi Note were launched only in China, but were pretty interesting devices. They were the first to introduce the the curved back design that we see on the Samsung Galaxy S7 family and the Xiaomi Mi 5 today.