Xiaomi is definitely one of the most active smartphone manufacturing companies in 2016. This China-based company had announced quite a few devices this year, ranging from their affordable Redmi-branded devices, all the way to high-end Xiaomi Mi 5, Mi 5s, Mi 5s Plus, Mi Note 2 and Mi MIX handsets. Having that in mind, the company’s Xiaomi ‘Meri’ smartphone has been leaking for quite some time now, and it seems like Xiaomi could introduce this handset really soon, at least if a recent report is to be believed. According to that report, the Xiaomi Meri will be announced later this month, and it will be fueled by the company’s in-house SoC, the so-called ‘Pine Cone’ processor. The phone is expected to become available for purchase on December 12th, at least if the aforementioned report is accurate.
Having that in mind, the device just leaked yet again, and this time around we actually get to see a real life image of the Xiaomi Meri, both its front and back sides. Now, if rumors are to be believed, this phone could be called the Xiaomi Mi 5c once it launches, the Xiaomi Meri is obviously its codename. That makes sense, definitely, mainly because this phone resembles the Xiaomi Mi 5 quite a bit. If you look at the phone from the front, the resemblance is undeniable, the phone comes with a physical home key below the display, and two capacitive keys flank that button. Its side bezels are quite thin, while both its power / lock and volume rocker keys are placed on the phone’s right-hand side. The back of this smartphone will be made out of metal, instead of glass, as it is on the Xiaomi Mi 5. The home key below the display will, of course, double as a fingerprint scanner, just in case you were wondering.
This won’t be a large smartphone, as its display will hardly be larger than 5.2-inches, it is even possible Xiaomi plans to use the same display they used in the Xiaomi Mi 5, a 5.15-inch fullHD IPS LCD panel. In addition to the ‘Pine Cone’ processor, the phone could ship with 2GB or 3GB of RAM, and Android 6.0 Marshmallow will come pre-installed on it, with the company’s MIUI 8 OS on top of it.
