Xiaomi launched its much awaited its Mi 5 flagship smartphone at the MWC 2016. The 5.15-inch smartphone's features pack in quite a punch and houses the latest Snapdragon 820 processor to boot.
Let's take a look at the early verdicts on the flagship smartphone from Xiaomi.
"Overall I was fairly impressed with Xiaomi's new flagship device. The screen and design are definitely the highlights of the device. The Snapdragon 820 seems reasonable and represents a large improvement of Qualcomm's previous generation of SoCs. While there's still a lot more to test for the upcoming full review, in the short time I had with the device I didn't find any outstanding faults with the Mi 5 so it looks like Xiaomi was able to pull off a quite outstanding device that seems to be hard to beat in terms of price/performance ratio," says Andrei Frumusanu of Anand Tech.
Reviewers are also waxing eloquent when it comes to the smartphone's camera capabilities.
"If you thought Oppo's three-axis image stabilization was hot stuff, dig this: The Mi 5 has four-axis stabilization, which is a lifesaver for video in particular. We here at Engadget used to have a thing for shaky-cam footage (weird phase, I know) but after a bit of field-testing, it really seems to help lock down those wobbles. Photo quality, on the other hand, seemed above average rather than game-changing," says Engadget's Chris Velazco.
While the smartphone's design seems to find early favor with reviewers, a concern is whether or not the handset will be released in the U.S., as Hugo Barra did not specify the same.
"Xiaomi has presented us with an excellent flagship, capable of comfortably competing with those seen from Samsung, LG and Apple. Personally, I was expecting a little something extra from the device, like with the OnePlus 2, given the long wait and the plethora of rumors that fueled my expectations. It does remain haunted by one big problem: the lack of an official release in Europe and the US makes it difficult to get hold of. However, the Mi 5 is undoubtedly an excellent device," says Android Pit's Sergio Colado.
"Xiaomi phones have had a habit of being a little generic, uninspiring, but there's some real effort gone in to the Mi 5. The most disappointing thing is that we won't (officially) see it in Europe or North America any time soon. If you import one it should work just fine (though check how it'll fare with your carrier first), but it's a phone that people would want to buy," notes Android Central's Richard Devine.
The pricing of the handset also seems to have gone down well with reviewers.
"The Xiaomi Mi5 is a rather incredible phone that'll entrance you the first time you pick it – especially if you hear the price before doing so. There are some question marks over whether anyone NEEDS this much power, but that's something to discuss about the wider smartphone industry. The price is super low – for the 32 GB model, it's the equivalent of around $300 (around £220) which is amazing when you see what's on offer. Sadly, it looks like it might be stuck in China and India for the foreseeable future, but this launch was the first held on European soil, so fingers crossed," notes Tech Radar's Gareth Beavis.
