Xiaomi has garnered many people’s attention, and smartphone-buying dollar, since they have become what some know them rightfully as: ‘the Apple of China’. But that’s because of their high-quality products and community (and members, of course). The Xiaomi name has also caught a lot of attention because of their batch-based flash sales which sell tens of thousands of units in seconds regardless of where they are sold or offered. But that’s not the focus here. The focus now falls to their next flagship, the Mi 5, and particularly its speculated release date.
The Mi 4, the surprisingly high-class and high-powered flagship with Nexus 4 and 5-like pricing, came out last fall and it pleased many a Mi fan around the world. Now, as with every manufacturer, Xiaomi tries to improve various aspects from iteration to iteration, and we don’t yet have any rumors to share except when the flagship might come out this year. We have heard, specifically during the Mi 4 event, that the Xiaomi production cycle is roughly 18 months long, so every year and a half comes a new flagship or iteration of the specific device. And we found out through the founder of the company, via Weibo, that each device gets a series of working prototype iterations before the final device and design is realized and showcased and released to the consumers
Each device, shown in the photo, is present in multiple, and he wrote that the photo showed the prototype status of each device, including the Mi 2S, Mi 3, Mi 4, Redmi S, Redmi 2, and Mi Note one to two weeks before the release of them. Needless to say, there is refining happening between those multiple iterations of the phones. So, when can we probably expect the Mi 5 to show itself to us all this year? We, according to analysts, should expect the next Mi to be unveiled during the fourth quarter of this year, in time for the winter holidays. Have you ever owned a Xiaomi phone or tablet? What do you hope to see improve from the Mi 4 on the Mi 5 this year’s end? What will keep Xiaomi relevant, while keeping their prices down as usual, do you think? Let us know down below.