A device suspected to be Xiaomi’s Redmi 5 has allegedly leaked out via photos online. As with most leaked smartphone photos, the images themselves aren’t exactly clear and definitely don’t have the appearance of having been taken professionally. There are also some stark differences between earlier leaks and reports about the Xiaomi Redmi 5 and the uploaded images. That certainly doesn’t mean that nothing can be gleaned from them but it is worth bearing in mind that this may not actually be the smartphone fans of the series have been waiting for.
First and foremost, there appear to be several big differences between the device pictured in the images and the device which surfaced on TENAA back in February – which was also suspected to be the Redmi 5. Perhaps most notably, the earlier leak purported that Xiaomi’s next budget smartphone would sport a full-metal body at the back. In the newly released images, the device appears to be formed from plastics. Moreover, one of the leaked images is of internally stored information about the device and shows it to be powered by an ARM processor clocked at 2 GHz. The TENAA listing, on the other hand, touted a processor clocked much lower at 1.4 GHz. From the newly uploaded images, there is also no sign of the expected rear fingerprint sensor and a front sensor or flash also appears to be absent. There are some similarities between the two conflicting devices, as well. While it’s impossible to determine the size of the device pictured, it does look like it could be in the right range – at five inches. The front capacitive buttons are also present, as they should be if earlier reports about Xiaomi’s up-and-coming device are to be believed.
The differences between the device in the photos and the earlier report out of the TENAA are not small, by any means. While it can’t be said with any surety which is the real deal, it’s also possible that neither device from the two reports is actually the Redmi 5. Worse still, any or all of the previous leaks could have contained inaccurate information due to the nature of leaks. There is really no way of determining whether or not the latest images are of Xiaomi’s Redmi 5 until the device gets an official unveiling.
