Xiaomi reveals new Mi 5S and Mi 5S Plus flagship phones
Xiaomi just launched two beefed up successors to their Mi 5 phone that was launched scarcely a few months ago. Akin to the recent Apple iPhone 7 launch, their new flagship comes in two different variants – the Mi 5S and the Mi 5S Plus for those looking for a larger display.
Mi 5S
The MI 5S comes with a 5.15-inch 1080p display with 600 nits and the ability to display 95% of the NTSC colour gamut, runs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 2.15GHz processor and has 3GB RAM and 64GB of onboard storage. An upgunned variant exists with similar specs but which gets 4GB RAM and 128GB of storage space. Externally, the casing comes with a rounded unibody aluminium casing with chamfering on the edges that is bisected by antenna bands across the top and bottom of the rear backplate. The fingerprint reader cum home button lies on the front base of the display and uses Qualcomm’s 3D Sense ID tech for better security.
Bringing up the rear, the Mi 5S’ 12-MP camera uses a Sony IMX378 sensor with an F/2.0 aperture that has the ability to capture 4K video@30fps and 1080P@120FPs. Complementing the rear camera is auto HDR, phase detection autofocus and a dual tone LED flash.
The front has a 4-MP F/2.0 camera for selfies along with a beauty mode that fixes your mug in real time. The phone sports a 3,200mAh battery with QuickCharge 3.0 support that is charged via a USB Type-C port at the base. The stock Mi 5S with 3GB RAM/64GB storage retails for 1,999CNY (about 1,239 ) while the Mi 5S with 4GB RAM/128GB storage retails for 2,299CNY (about RM1,426) with both shipping in four different colours – dark gray, gold, silver and pink.
MI 5S Plus
The larger MI 5S Plus sports a larger 5.7-inch 1080P display ensconced in an all-metal aluminium build, a rear fingerprint reader and a Snapdragon 821 processor clocked at 2.35GHz.
The rear camera setup has two cameras, akin to the Huawei P9 and Honor 8, which combine a colour sensor and a black and white mono sensor for crisper, more detailed images as well as brill mono shots. A larger 3,800mAh battery keeps things running.
In terms of storage the MI 5S Plus ships in a version with 4GB RAM/64GB storage and one with 6GB RAM/128GB storage. The former retails for 2,299CNY (about RM1,426) while the latter retails for 2,599CNY (about RM1,612).
Both phones are available for preorder on Xiaomi’s website in China though they won’t be available here anytime soon in an official capacity though more enterprising users can likely source them via gray importers.