In a break from tradition, Xiaomi, the Chinese upstart giving Samsung and co something to worry about, announced their latest flagship in Europe. The Mi 5 was officially announced during an event in Barcelona, Spain during Mobile World Congress 2016. Traditionally an event for big International brands, Xiaomi’s presence at the event has certainly caused some controversy, to say the least. As for the device itself, it appears as though the Mi 5 is an evolution of both the Mi 4 and the Mi Note Pro. In terms of appearance, the Mi 5 does look quite different, but there are also some changes under-the-hood, too.
The Mi 5 is powered by a Snapdragon 820, but keeping this beating heart going is a 3,000 mAh battery. As we’ve come to expect from Xiaomi, they’ve managed to pack in a sizeable battery, despite the device’s 5.15-inch display and small form factor, coming in at 144.55 — 69.2 — 7.25mm. This also support’s Qualcomm’s new Quick Charge 3.0 standard, which should allow the Mi 5 to get 2.5 hours of talk time from a scant 5 minutes of charging. This is part of the good news out of the way, but for some there’s also a little bad news. This 3,000 mAh battery isn’t removable, and the Mi 5 charges using a Type-C connector. The latter is perhaps more of a blow to people, as it means they’ll need to purchase a whole new load of Type-C USB cables. Which we’re sure that Xiaomi will be more than happy to sell people lots and lots of different USB Type-C cables under their Mi brand of course.
Whil not much is known about the 3,000 mAh battery used by the Mi 5 just yet, we’ll hopefully be able to get our hands on one soon and put it through its paces. In the past, Xiaomi devices have been known for fairly good battery life, so we’d expect some similar performance from this higher-density and larger capacity battery inside the Mi 5. Quick Charge 3.0 support should help make this a much more flexible battery over time, and there’s more than enough juice on hand to ensure that the Mi 5 lasts beyond a day.
