Xiaomi Mi5 Release Date, Pricing, Specs; New Flagship for CES 2015?

Xiaomi, the Chinese tech firm, is planning to release its latest flagship smartphone, the Mi5, at the upcoming CES 2015 in Las Vegas next month

Xiaomi's plans for its unannounced flagship were reported by the Economic Daily News, according to Digitimes. Going by Mi4's features and high-end specs, the Mi5 will undoubtedly set new standards in the smartphone industry.

Industry analyst Sun Changxu says the Xiaomi Mi5 will likely feature a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 octa-core processor coupled with Adreno 430 GPU for extreme graphics. The Mi4 successor will be a major overhaul compared to the current flagship, complete with a 5.7-inch Quad HD display and a fingerprint scanner on-board.

The analyst report also suggests the price will reflect the company's traditional strategy. It is expected the Mi5's price will range around 1,999 Yuan ($326), which makes it one of the most affordable handsets for the kind of specs it offers.

According to sources, Xiaomi's competitive pricing and massive upgrade in specs comes in response to the latest Meizu phone, the MX4 Pro.

The Meizu handset features a 5.5-inch QHD screen, octa-core processor, 20.7MP camera and a fingerprint scanner. It is also reported that the Xiaomi's Chinese competitor Meizu is working on a successor to its current flagship, the MX4. A leaked shot on Weibo suggested a 41-megapixel sensor and sort of a secondary e-ink screen. But it's too early to conclude what the new phone will look like based on one leaked image.