It's just been days since Xiaomi launched the Redmi 5A as "Desh Ka Smartphone" in India, and the company is already paving way for its successors. But it looks like Xiaomi is levelling with other budget OEMs by offering the most popular full-screen displays in budget devices.
While the Redmi 5A came with regular design, the Redmi 5 and Redmi 5 Plus are widely expected to have full-screen displays, allowing the company to accommodate larger-than-before screens in a compact body. The two new phones have been spotted in their full glory, first in a series of promotional videos and another in what appears to be the press renders for the Redmi 5 and Redmi 5 Plus.
As these teasers arrive, Xiaomi's launch date of the Redmi 5 and Redmi 5 Plus inches closer. On December 7, the two new phones are going to be launched in China, whereas the India release plans are still unknown. Given Xiaomi's tradition, it'll be a few weeks before the handsets are launched in India after being announced in its home country.
Let's start with the promotional videos spotted by GizmoChina, where the Redmi 5 and Redmi 5 Plus are shown. Both phones are clearly shown in the ads, which are in Chinese, featuring full-screen displays as earlier rumours suggested. The phones are shown in four colours, Black, gold, rose gold and blue, which is also confirmed by the leaked press renders by ITHome.
According to the images, the Redmi 5 and Redmi 5 Plus carry the same design with different screen sizes. The phones have metallic construction, rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, and single lens camera with dual LED flash at the back. On the front, there is a full-screen display, which doesn't eliminate the bezels completely but reduces them significantly compared to previous Redmi phones.
The speaker is at the bottom with microUSB slot for charging placed in between the two grilles. At the top, we see a 3.5mm headphone jack and what appears to be an IR blaster.
The report also revealed key specifications of the Redmi 5 and Redmi 5 Plus, which align with the rumours in the past. The Redmi 5 is said to come with a 5.7-inch display with 18:9 aspect ratio and HD+ resolution with 1440x720 pixels. On the other hand, the Redmi 5 Plus will sport a larger 5.99-inch display with Full HD+ resolution and same 18:9 aspect ratio.
Under the hood, the Redmi 5 will get a 1.8GHz octa-core processor paired with 2GB/3GB/4GB RAM in 16GB/32GB/64GB storage models, respectively, and a 3,200mAh battery.
As for the Redmi 5 Plus, there's going to be a 2GHz octa-core processor, paired with 3GB/4GB RAM in 32GB/64GB storage models. The larger device will naturally get a larger battery. The Redmi 5 Plus is to come with a 4,000mAh unit.
Both phones are expected to have the same optics. The rear camera will sport a 12MP lens and a 5MP front-facing shooter for selfies. The handsets will be powered by Android 7.1.2 Nougat-based MIUI 9 out-of-the-box.
While the full-screen design is going to be a strong USP for the Redmi 5 and Redmi 5 Plus, their pricing will also make quite an appeal. The Redmi 5 will start at ¥699 (about Rs 7,000) while the Redmi 5 Plus will start at ¥1099 (around Rs 10,600).
