Fingerprint scanners have become a default feature on premium smartphones, and have even started showing up on some sub-$200 smartphones this year, with the Elephone P8000 being a case in point. So how could flagship devices possibly not ship with one? Xiaomi for one, isn’t about to let that happen to its next generation flagship – the much-anticipated, speculated and rumored Mi 5, which, alongside the Mi 5 Plus phablet, are said to be the two premium devices the Chinese vendor is looking to launch this year. If the rumors do indeed turn out to be true, the Mi 5 duo could will be the very first smartphones from the Xiaomi stable to include fingerprint scanners, which are increasingly becoming mainstream this year, and will no doubt, continue to be so in the near future.
Coming to Xiaomi’s upcoming Mi 5 and Mi 5 Plus, multiple rumors in the past have already suggested that the upcoming flagship(s) from Xiaomi will indeed come with fingerprint scanners, but now leaker extraordinaire @KJuma has posted on his Weibo account, what looks to be a pre-release teaser from Xiaomi about its upcoming smartphone. The teaser seemingly features a ‘5’ in a rather large font in the center, with the question, “Are you ready” written below. At the bottom of the image, a partial fingerprint can be seen, which may well be the first official acknowledgement from Xiaomi about the presence of an on-board fingerprint reader on the upcoming device. While we’re still no closer to knowing the possible release date, pricing, availability or even any confirmed hardware specs, the rumor mills have been churning out quite a few interesting theories about the twin handsets over the past several weeks.
As for some of the specs being talked about, the Mi 5 is expected to feature a 5.2 or 5.3-inch Quad HD (2560 x 1440) display, and come with 3 or 4 GB of RAM, a 3,000 mAh battery, a 16-megapixel rear camera with OIS and a 13-megapixel front camera. The device is also rumored to cost less than $400 in China. Newer rumors have also hinted at the presence of a microUSB Type-C port on the handset. There is however, immense confusion regarding the processor on the Mi 5, as rumors have alternatively swung between the upcoming Snapdragon 820 and the controversial Snapdragon 810. Some media reports have also speculated over whether the device may actually be the first one to be powered by MediaTek’s much talked-about Helio X20 SoC, which reportedly comes with a deca-core processor. With the Snapdragon 820 not expected to ship till early next year, we can probably write that one off then, if the phone was to ship within the next few weeks. It remains to be seen which way things go, with the launch seemingly not that far away, we’ll just have to wait for Xiaomi to clear everything up once and for all.
