The much-rumored Xiaomi Mi5 smartphone powerhouse could make its debut this year, but only if Qualcomm doesn't delay the release of its Snapdragon 820 chip.
A number of 2015 flagship smartphones have launched with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor on board, but overheating issues tied to the chip have raised significant concern. Samsung, for instance, chose to skip the Snapdragon 810 and those overheating issues are reportedly at the bottom of the matter, but Qualcomm's next high-end chip should address the problem.
The upcoming Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chip is expected to be more powerful than the Snapdragon 810, while also fixing the issues that cause its predecessor to overheat. The Snapdragon 820 is expected to power many flagship smartphones set to launch in the future, and Xiaomi could be among the first clients.
Earlier this year, trusted industry analyst Pan Jiutang predicted that the Xiaomi Mi5 would be the first smartphone to rock the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 820. At the time, the analyst estimated that Qualcomm should deliver its latest chip to manufacturers in December 2015 and the first devices to pack the chip should hit the market in March 2016. The analyst has now revised his forecast, however, noting that Xiaomi could release its new Mi5 flagship as soon as December if Qualcomm delivers the Snapdragon 820 in due time.
Judging by Xiaomi's launch cycle for its previous smartphones and the fact that it's been more than a year since it launched its last Mi4 flagship, the new Xiaomi Mi5 should have launched already, but the company has reportedly delayed the launch because Qualcomm has yet to release its latest chip.
"Electronic Industry Analyst, Pan Jiutang also confirmed that Xiaomi Mi 5 completely depends of Snapdragon 820 launch, it could arrive by the end of this year if Qualcomm manage to supply the required number of chips," Tech Grapple reports.
The upcoming Xiaomi Mi5 is expected to boast top-notch specs all around, competing at the high-end segment of the smartphone market. Tech Grapple also points at a Weibo post from tipster LeaksFly, revealing the handset will have a 5.2-inch full HD screen (1920 x 1080 pixels), the aforementioned Snapdragon 820 chipset under the hood, an Adreno 530 graphics processing unit (GPU) and 4GB of RAM, among the highlights.
Other specs reportedly include 16GB and 32GB internal storage configurations, a 16-megapixel main camera, an 8-megapixel selfie cam, a fingerprint scanner and a USB Type-C connector. The smartphone should run Android 5.1.1 Lollipop out of the box.
No official information is available at this point, however, so take all leaks with a grain of salt.
