Xiaomi Mi 5 review – the cheapest Snapdragon 820

The Xiaomi Mi 5 has finally been launched in the Indian markets for ₹24,999. This handset houses the snapdragon 820 quad core processor and is packed with 3GB RAM and 32GB ROM. Indian customers were expecting a lower price but is it still worth the price?

Mi 5 Unboxing

Content : Mi 5, user manual, warranty card, data cable (USB Type C), travel charger fast charger 12V  – 1.5A. Earphone is not included.

Design

This handset has got a unique design. It’s  a combination of metal and 3D glass. The rear panel comes with a curved glass layer. Even the side are not completely flat in fact they are curved at an angle, this includes the buttons / SIM tray too.

The design makes it more conformable to hold and operate. The second thing that one would notice is the handset weight with battery – it’s just 131 grams. Dimensions are 69.20 x 144.56 x 7.19(mm).

Power button and volume rocker is on the right side. SIM tray is on the left.  Audio jack, secondary mic and IR blaster is on the top. On the bottom side there is a primary microphone vent, USB Type C port and speaker out vent.

It’s a dual SIM handset – there are 2x nano SIM slots with 4G LTE and VoLTE support.

There is LED notification – you can choose from selected colours. Mi 5 is loaded with accelerometer, magnetic, light, proximity,  gyro, pressure and hall sensors.

Display

Xiaomi Mi 5 sports a 5.1 inch (sunlight) screen with 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution. The front and the back comes with gorilla glass 4 protection. Colour reproduction, viewing angles and touch response are very good.

Memory, Storage and OS

The Mi 5 launched in India comes with 3GB RAM and 32GB ROM. On the first boot you will get 1.5GB free RAM and about 21GB free internal storage space. There is no micro SD card slot.

Performance

The handset no doubt is very powerful. It houses the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 MSM8996 quad core chipset using Kryo architecture coupled clocked at 1.8GHz coupled with Adreno 530 GPU. Performance specially graphical / gaming is amazingly smooth. Handset does tend to heat up but battery temperature is well under control. Max temperature I encountered was 45 degrees when shooting videos / images outdoor under direct sunlight.

Benchmark

• Quadrant – 36871.
• Antutu (64 bit) – 106435 | 3D score – 39195
• Antutu (64 bit) 2^nd time – 108606 | 3D score – 42129
• Nenamark 2 – 59.8fps
• Internal storage Speed – Read (348MB/s), Write (121MB/s)
• Multi Touch – 10 Point.

Gaming

it’s SD 820, asphalt 8 worked buttery smooth – check video review.

Camera

There is 16MP AF camera (Sony IMX298 sensor) on the back with dual tone LED flash and 4MP 2 micron camera on the front.  There is some issue with AF when recording videos in 4K resolution (I guess can be fixed – software issue).  Camera quality is above average.

Another unique thing about the Mi 5 primary camera is that it comes with 4 axis OIS (Optical Image Stabilisation). I tried it with the Gimbal and the results were amazing. I used a 3 axis gimbal and a small vertical bounce was compensated by the 4 axis OIS on Mi 5 the result check below.

Xiaomi Mi 5 sample with Zhiyun Smooth-C 3 axis Stabilizer Gimbal

Rear Camera Sample

Front Camera Sample

Mi 5 4K sample

You can also check this sample with OIS and without the gimbal.

Others

No issues with 4G, WiFi, GPS, Infrared port, NFC and Bluetooth. You can use the Mi 5 as remote to remote control multiple devices. Sound is loud and clear, in call sound quality is also very good. I did not face any issues with network quality / signal.

There is touch ID based finger print sensor that doubles up as home button. The button size is smaller than when compared with other smartphones. Accuracy and detection speed is very good. When screen is off you will need to press the button to wake up the handset it will also scan finger instantly and on success it show up the home screen.

Battery

The Xiaomi Mi 5 comes with 3000 mAh non-removable battery that does a decent job. You can expect about 4 to 5 hours of continuous moderate to heavy usage on a single charge. Handset supports fast charging – you will be able to charge the handset to full in just about 1 hour 40 minutes.

Battery Performance (time / battery % drop / battery temperature)

• Running Benchmark app – 16 minutes / 6% / 38 degrees
• Played Asphalt 8 – 20 minutes / 8% / 40 degrees
• FHD (1080p) video playback with full brightness (WiFi /4G on) – 35 minutes / 12% / 37 degrees

Verdict

Indian users have huge expectations from Xiaomi especially when it comes to the price. For many the Mi 5 looks pricey. It is a very good handset, slim, light weight yet very powerful. It may be pricey but it definitely is the cheapest Snapdragon 820 powered available the market for now.

Definitely a very good buy if you can.

Xiaomi Mi 5 is available for ₹24,999.

Mi 5 Image Gallery

Xiaomi Mi 5 video review