Xiaomi to launch a dual-camera phone next month in India; will it be Mi 5X or Mi 6?

Xiaomi, which is riding high with the stupendous sales of Redmi Note 4 and the Redmi 4 in India, launched big-screen phone Mi Max 2 last month. Now, the company is all set to add another phone to its product portfolio next month.

Manu Kumar Jain, vice president (global) and India head of Xiaomi, has confirmed on Facebook that the company will launch a new phone in September. Jain did not name the device but revealed that it will boast a dual-camera.

Also read: Xiaomi Mi Note 3 tipped to be released this month; here's what you need to know about Mi Note 2 heir

This means Xiaomi will release either Mi 6 or the newly launched Mi 5X, as they are the company's 2017-series phones which boast a dual-camera.

What about Redmi Pro?

Well, Xiaomi is unlikely to release the Redmi Pro (with dual-camera) for one primary reason. The device comes with MediaTek and the company is barred from selling devices with the aforementioned chipset in India, as Xiaomi is yet to settle the patent dispute with Ericsson.

This issue first cropped up in December 2014, leading to the ban of first generation Redmi Note as it was found to have infringed Ericsson's Standard, Essential Patents (SEPs), which are subject to FRAND (Fair, Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory) terms.

Will it be Xiaomi Mi 6 or Mi 5X?

Since it's settled that Redmi Pro will not debut in India anytime soon, intuition tells us that Xiaomi will either launch Mi 6 or Mi 5X.

So, which one will come to India? It's quite a quandary for us to predict. But, given a chance, we like to bet on the Mi 5X as it falls under mid-range category and the company has made huge revenue from the record sales of Redmi Note 4. The latter has been in the market for a more than six months and we believe it's time for the company to retire and bring in a new phone with more features and costs under Rs. 15,000.

Also read: Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 sale breaches 1 million mark; shatters Redmi Note 3 record in India

For those unaware, Xiaomi Mi 5X comes packed with two 12MP OV cameras, one with a wide-angle lens and another with a telephoto lens. With dual-camera, the Mi 5X will be able to take photos with Bokeh effect and perform optical zoom as well. It also comes with a dual-tone LED flash with which one can capture good quality images under low-light conditions. 

On the front, it houses an equally impressive 5MP wide-angle snapper with beautification feature.

Other stipulated features include a 5.5-inch full HD display with an all metal body, fingerprint sensor on the back, Android Nougat-based MIUI 9 OS, Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 octa-core, 4GB RAM, 64GB storage and a 3,080mAh battery with fast charging technology.

On the other hand, Xiaomi Mi 6 with its top-end specs will most certainly be placed in the price bracket above Rs. 20,000. In this price segment, the company's two previously launched phones -- Mi 5 and Mi 4 -- failed to find traction in India. Therefore, there is a very slim chance of Xiaomi launching Mi 6 in anytime soon.

Xiaomi Mi 6 comes with 5.15-inch full HD display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 octa-core processor, 6GB RAM, 64GB/128GB storage and a 3350mAh battery.

It also boasts 12MP dual-camera with 10x digital zoom, 2x lossless zoom, dual-tone LED flash and optical image stabilisation (OIS) technology and an 8MP snapper on the front.

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