After weeks of speculations, Xiaomi has finally unveiled the Mi 5c, mid-range model of the original flagship Mi 5 series and also a new Redmi 4X variant in China on Tuesday (February 28).
The highlight of the metal-clad Xiaomi Mi 5c is its processor. It comes with company's first in-house built Pinecone Surge S1 octa-core, which can clock a staggering 2.2GHz speed. It is backed sumptuous 3GB RAM, 64GB inbuilt storage and a 2,860mAh with fast-charging capability.
Also read: MWC 2017: Selfie camera-centric Gionee A1, A1 Plus series with massive battery launched
With the launch of Surge S1, Xiaomi becomes only the fourth smartphone manufacturer in the world to create a chipset that has been designed and developed in house.
"The ability to create its own chipsets is the pinnacle achievement for any smartphone company. For Xiaomi, the move is an essential next step in our development. In order to deliver on our promise to make innovation available to everyone, we need to master the core technologies of our industry and tightly integrate the development of our hardware with our software, helping us to make even better smartphones that will consistently surprise the industry and delight consumers," Lei Jun, CEO and co-founder of Xiaomi, said in a statement.
Based on the Geekbench v4.0 performance benchmarking scores, Xiaomi's Surge S1 is said to be superior compared to the Qualcomm 625 octa-core and MediaTek Helio P20 and P10 series, as well.
[Note: Xiaomi subsidiary Pinecone builds Surge S1 CPU. Samsung, Apple and Huawei are the other three brands that make their own chipset for smartphones]
Xiaomi Mi 5 also comes packed with 12MP primary camera on the back with LED flash and 8MP snapper with wide-angle lens. It costs ¥1499 (approx. $218/€206/Rs. 14,564) and will be made available for purchase from March 3 onwards in China.
On the other hand, Xiaomi Redmi 4X comes with new Qualcomm-made Snapdragon 435 CPU. Rest of the features are identical to the original Redmi 4 series.
It features a 5.0-inch HD screen, 2GB/3GB RAM, 16GB/32GB internal storage, 13MP camera on the back, 5MP shooter on the front and a massive 4,100mAh cell.
It will be released in two configurations—2GB+16GB and 3GB+32GB—for ¥699 (approx. $102/€96/Rs.6,791) and ¥899 (approx. $131/€124/Rs.8,734), respectively.
As of now, there is no word on when Xiaomi plans to introduce both the Mi 5c and the Redmi 4 series in India.
Watch this space for latest news on Xiaomi.
Key specifications of Xiaomi Mi 5c:
| Model | Xiaomi Mi 5c | Xiaomi Redmi 4X |
| Display | 5.15-inch full HD (1920x1080p) curved glass display
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5.00-inch HD (1280x720p) 2.5D curved glass display
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| OS | Android Marshmallow-based MIUI 8 (guaranteed to get Nougat update) | Android Marshmallow-based MIUI 8 |
| Processor | 64-bit class 2.2GHz Xiaomi-Pinecone Surge S1 octa-core CPU | 64-bit class 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 octa-core CPU |
| GPU | Mali-T860 quad-core | Adreno 505 |
| RAM | 3GB LPDDR3 | 2GB/3GB LPDDR3 |
| Storage | 64GB (eMMC 5.0) | 16GB/32GB, expandable up to 128GB |
| Camera |
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| Battery | 2860mAh (typical)/2810mAh (minimum) embedded battery with quick charging capability | 4100mAh |
| Network | 4G-LTE (Cat. 4) with VoLTE (Voice-over-LTE) | 4G-LTE (Cat. 4) with VoLTE (Voice-over-LTE) |
| Add-ons | Dual-SIM (type: nano+nano), fingerprint sensor, IR (InfraRed) sensor, Bluetooth v4.1, Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n/ac; dual-band: 2.4GHz/5GHz), FM Radio, 3.5mm audio jack, Type-C USB | Hybrid Dual-SIM (type: nano+ nano/microSD), fingerprint sensor, IR (InfraRed) sensor, Bluetooth v4.2, Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n), FM Radio, 3.5mm audio jack, |
| Dimensions | 144.38 x 69.68 x 7.09mm | 139.24 x 69.69 x 8.65 mm |
| Weight | 135g | 150g |
| Colours | Black/Gold/Rose Gold | Champagne Gold/ Cherry Gold/Matte Black |
| Price | ¥1499 (approx. $218/€206/Rs. 14,564) |
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