Xiaomi's 2015 flagship phone Mi5 prototype testing has reportedly reached in its final phase, but the launch has reportedly been delayed.
The company's CEO, Lei Jun, (via official Weibo social network site) posted an image featuring prototypes of legacy Mi-series phones – Mi2S, Mi3, Mi4, Mi Note and all the Redmi Series devices in their prototype state developed by his R&D team.
He emphasised that the company takes consumer experience feedback and build-quality of the devices seriously and to meet the expectations, they build five to six prototypes to before finalising the device for mass production.
This message from Xiaomi chief led many to believe that Mi5 might get launched very soon probably around July, like its predecessor Mi4 in 2014.
Giving further impetus to the speculation, technology blog Gizmo China citing sources claimed that Xiaomi Mi5's design has been finalised.
But this cheering news was short-lived as market analyst Pan Jiutang (via Weibo) revealed that Xiaomi Mi5 launch has been pushed to the fourth quarter of 2015 (around October-December).
It has come to light that Xiaomi has almost identical specifications seen inside the recently launched flagship phablet Mi Note. So in order to avoid sale cannibalisation between the marquee phones, the company is expected to launch Mi5 in the fourth quarter.
[Read More: Xiaomi Mi Note vs. Mi Note Pro vs. Apple iPhone 6 Plus: Price, Specifications and Everything You Need to Know]
Even the rival, Samsung uses the same business model; it leaves minimum six months apart between flagship device series - Galaxy S and Galaxy Note launch date. The company unveils the smartphone series around March-April, whereas the phablet series in September-October.
It is learnt that Xiaomi Mi5 boasts 5.0/5.5-inch QHD (1560x1440p) display and ship with Android 5.0 Lollipop (with latest MIUI), Snapdragon 810 series Octa-core SoC (System on Chip), 3GB/4GB RAM, 20.7mp Sony camera on the rear-side and to impress selfie aficionados, it will be incorporated with feature-rich wide-angle snapper on the front.
As of now, Xiaomi is yet to respond to the speculations. We will bring you more updates on Mi5 as and when the news breaks out.
