Much to the fans' dismay, Xiaomi did not unveil the Mi 5 at the Nov. 24 launch event, where the smartphone maker introduced the Redmi 3 and Mi Pad 2 instead. In an interview after the affair, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun only revealed that the upcoming handset is "worth the wait" and "very, very good."
In an effort to deliver a powerful smartphone, the company takes a considerable period — longer than most competitors — in developing flagships, spending about 12 to 18 months. According to Jun, he's already using a, presumably, prototype of the Mi 5, noting that it's a fantastic device.
No word about its specs has been confirmed, but it's believed to sport a 5.3-inch Quad HD display with a 2,560 x 1,440 resolution, measuring at an impressive 554 ppi. It'll house Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 quad-core chipset along with 4 GB worth of RAM and 16 GB or 64 GB of internal storage. The handset is also said to pack in a 16 MP camera as well as a 3,000 mAh battery.
Meanwhile, more rumors surrounding the Xiaomi flagship have been making rounds on the Internet, where one suggests that its debut was initially slated for an early-2015 release, but because of the Snapdragon 810's overheating issues, it was pushed back. Now, taking the word of recently surfaced rumors, the Mi 5 will launch sometime in January 2016.
However, Chinese analyst Pan Jiutang suggests that Xiaomi will only roll out a consumer-ready Mi 5 after the Spring Festival in China, which is held in February. On top of that, another rumor indicates that the Mi 5 will go official at a Dec. 3 event, according to Weibo user Leaksfly.
At any rate, we still have to wait a couple of months before we can get our hands on the Xiaomi Mi 5. With the rumors all over the place, there's nothing we can do but take all of them with a grain — or rather, a generous amount — of salt.
