We’re in the midst of smartphone flagship season, and today it’s Xiaomi’s turn to show off its new wares.
The Xiaomi Mi 5s and Mi 5s Plus are now official. The Mi 5s features a 5.15-inch 1920x1080 display and a 12-megapixel rear camera with a Sony IMX 378 sensor. This camera offers phase detection autofocus, an f/2.0 aperture, and an 80-degree wide-angle lens.
Other features packed into the Mi 5s’s full-metal frame include Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 821 processor, 3GB RAM/64GB of storage or 4GB RAM/128GB of storage, NFC, dual SIM slots, a 4-megapixel front camera with 80-degree wide-angle lens, and a 3200mAh battery. There’s also an ultrasonic fingerprint reader that promises to work even if your finger is dirty or sweaty. Finally, Xiaomi says that the high-end 4GB/128GB version has a pressure-sensitive display.
And then there’s the Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus. The Mi 5s Plus larger than the standard Mi 5s, boasting a 5.7-inch 1920x1080 display, and it’s also got a beefier 3800mAh battery. The base Mi 5s Plus offers 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, while the step-up version has 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.
Another big difference between the Mi 5s and Mi 5s Plus are the rear cameras. With the Mi 5s Plus, you’re getting dual rear 13-megapixel cameras, one color and one black and white. Xiaomi says that the black and white camera can capture more light, which will help to produce more detailed photos when the images from the two cameras are combined.
Rounding out the Mi 5s Plus’s feature set is a 4-megapixel front camera with 2μm large pixels and an 80-degree wide-angle lens, NFC, a rear-mounted fingerprint reader, dual SIM slots, and a full-metal body.
Xiaomi’s new phones will be available for pre-order starting September 29. The Mi 5s will cost ￥1999 ($299 USD) for the 3GB/64GB model and ￥2299($345 USD) for the 4GB/128GB version. Meanwhile, the Mi 5s Plus will cost ￥2299 ($345 USD) for the 4GB/64GB model and ￥2599 ($389 USD) for the top-end 6GB/128GB version.
Xiaomi’s new Mi 5s and Mi 5s Plus look like solid additions to the Mi family. They’ve both got full-metal bodies and Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 821 processor, and the Mi 5s has its under-glass fingerprint reader that’ll resist dirt and sweat. Meanwhile, the Mi 5s Plus has an interesting dual rear camera setup and up to 6GB of RAM. The bad news is that, like most Xiaomi phones, the Mi 5s and Mi 5s Plus likely won’t see a wide release outside of China.
If you could buy the Mi 5s and Mi 5s Plus, which would you choose?