The highest-end variant of the Xiaomi Mi 5 flagship smartphone, dubbed as the Mi 5 Pro, finally has a sale date. GizChina reported Friday that Xiaomi Mi 5 Pro, with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage, would be available for purchase in China April 6.
Xiaomi had launched the Mi 5 flagship smartphone at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2016 in February, but only two of the three variants (32GB and 64GB with 3GB RAM) went on sale in China earlier this month.
The Mi 5 Pro handset will sell for ¥2699 (around $413/€376/Rs 28,307), which is slightly higher than the 3GB+32GB and 3GB+64GB models, which are priced at ¥1999 (around $306/€279/Rs 20,965) and ¥2299 ($351/€320/Rs 24,111), respectively.
Xiaomi Mi 5 is currently available in China. Its international availability remains ambiguous at the moment. Media reports suggest the Mi 5 would arrive in India soon. The company's president confirmed the approximate price of the handset in the country will be below Rs 27,000.
Xiaomi Mi 5 Pro's arrival in China could be a co-incidence or a well-planned strategy, as the new variant is set to go on sale on the same day as the launch of Huawei P9 and Meizu M3 smartphones. The competition could get intense the following day as OnePlus is rumoured to launch its most-awaited flagship – OnePlus 3 – on April 7.
Xiaomi's VP Hugo Barra had said at the time of Mi 5 launch that the company would focus on the core markets where it currently operates, including China, India, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines and Brazil, GSMArena reported. Hence the Mi 5 can be expected in these countries before Xiaomi forays into new markets like the U.S. and other western countries.
Xiaomi received energetic response from buyers in China for its Mi 5 smartphone. The handset's first flash sale on March 1 sold a record 4 million units in a matter of a few minutes. With a sub-Rs 27,000 price tag, the Mi 5 smartphone challenges key players like Samsung Galaxy S7, LG 5, iPhone 6s series and other flagships in India.
For the price, Xiaomi Mi 5 packs a 5.15-inch full HD display with curved 3D glass, 16MP Sony IMX298 camera with PDAF, OIS, dual flash, Sapphire glass lens and Qualcomm Spectra image processor. The front camera has a 2µm (micro-meter) pixel based 4MP sensor.
The 2016 flagship is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset and sports 3GB RAM in 32GB and 64GB models and 4GB RAM in 128GB Pro variant. It has a 3000mAh battery with quick charge tech, full metal body, fingerprint scanner, dual SIM support and 4G LTE bandwidth configuration. The handset comes in three colours, black, gold and white.
