Xiaomi Mi 5 Price, Specifications, and Everything Else We Already Know

Xiaomi recently confirmed February 24 launch in China where we will see the unveiling of the Mi 5 flagship smartphone. Considering that the Xiaomi Mi 4 was unveiled back in July 2014, the Chinese company has certainly been slow with its production of the next-generation flagship smartphone. A flurry of leaks and official information related to Xiaomi's new flagship smartphone has already given us a glimpse of what to expect from the Xiaomi Mi 5 launch.

To start off, Xiaomi's Mi 5 has now become the most anticipated flagship smartphone for the company as a lot rides on the success of the device. The company announced that it had shipped over 70 million phones in 2015, which was below the company's expectations. Recent reports also pointed that the Chinese company was being questioned about its $46 billion (roughly Rs. 2,84,454 crores) valuation due to missing its sales target last year.

The Chinese company has been rumoured to be trying to add more features to its latest flagship including an all-metal build, fingerprint scanner, and usage of a latest chipset.

An earlier report suggested that the Xiaomi Mi 5 would launch multiple variants - two all-metal variants, and two glass variants. According to the report, the first metal model is tipped to pack 3GB of RAM and 32GB inbuilt storage, and is said to be priced at CNY 2,199 (approximately Rs. 22,500), while the second metal model featuring 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage is likely to be priced at CNY 2,599 (approximately Rs. 27,000). The first Mi 5 glass model is said to feature a 2K QHD display with 4GB of RAM and 32GB storage, while the second glass model will only pack more storage - 64GB. These glass models will be priced at CNY 2,799 (approximately Rs. 29,000) and CNY 3,099 (approximately Rs. 32,000). Note that this information is courtesy unconfirmed leaks.

The Xiaomi Mi 5, however, has been confirmed to feature Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 820 processor. Earlier, the Chinese company had also revealed that the Mi 5 entered mass production and the company was making sure that there are enough units available for consumers when the phone finally launches.

Several leaked images of the Xiaomi Mi 5 may sport a physical home button below the display which will likely serve as a fingerprint scanner. If this turns out to be accurate, then the Mi 5 will be the first handset in Xiaomi's line up to sport a physical home button.

The Mi 5 has been leaked in several images showing the handset featuring a 2.5D curved glass display and 3D glass covering the back panel. The slim oval-shaped home button was also seen in the new press renders and has been said to double up as the fingerprint sensor, which is claimed to be the smallest and faster sensor in the market.

The Chinese company is also said to use a pressure-sensitive touchscreen, which will be a technology similar to Apple's 3D Touch-like pressure sensitive technology. The Mi 5 is widely expected to be the company's first smartphone running Android 6.0 Marshmallow and will also come with the new MIUI version, possible dubbed MIUI 7.

The Chinese company may not have officially revealed the Mi 5 flagship smartphone, but the company has been buzzing social media with claims that the handset will be "worth the wait" and is "very, very good".

Xiaomi had confirmed plans to launch the Mi 5 flagship smartphone after the Spring Festival, which this year starts on February 8, and lasts 15 days. Xiaomi Co-Founder and Senior VP Liwan Jiang had later also revealed that Mi 5 would go on sale one week after the launch. Jiang did not specify whether the Xiaomi Mi 5 would go on sale only in China after one week of the launch, but that seems likely given past launches.

Based on preliminary leaks, the Xiaomi Mi 5 specifications include a 5.2-inch display with either full-HD or QHD resolution. The handset is said to come in two memory and storage versions - 3GB of RAM with 32GB inbuilt storage, and 4GB of RAM with 64GB storage. On the camera front, the Mi 5 is rumoured to pack a 16-megapixel rear camera and a 13-megapixel front-facing camera. It is also supposed to be backed by a 3600mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0 tech.

The Chinese company is also expected to double offline smartphone sales this year. The move could mark a shift away from Xiaomi's online-only sales that was later picked up by other competitors as well.