Xiaomi Mi5 - The first acquaintance with the novelty of the Chinese industry
Welcome everyone to the iCover blog. A little history of new Xiaomi to begin with. Since the presentation of the flagship past, it has been just a little more than a year and a half ... During this time, the electronics giant Xiaomi has had more than once to please fans and just users with a number of different devices, from budget new products to almost top solutions. There were even non-mobile devices that entered the market very well and attracted a lot of attention from the media and simple “users” - their Mi Band , which are already everywhere. And now, finally, the time has come for the presentation of the new crown of creation at CES 2016 - Xiaomi Mi5.
As is usually the case, shortly before the show, almost everything about the new product was known on the Internet ... including the characteristics:
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• Body materials: metal and glass (Gorilla Glass 4);
• Display: 5.2 ”-inch IPS matrix with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, ppi 430.
• Platform: Qualcomm Snapdragon 820, video chip - Adreno 530;
• RAM: 3 or 4 GB;
• Operating system: Android 6.0 + MIUI 7;
• Memory for data storage: 32/64/128 GB (there is no slot for a memory card);
• Network: GSM / EDGE, UMTS / HSDPA, LTE (TD / FDD-LTE) (DualSIM)
• Main camera: 16 MP, f / 2.0, phase autofocus, optical image stabilization, dual LED flash, video is written in 4k;
• Front camera: 4 MP, f / 2.0, without autofocus, video is written in 1080p;
• Interfaces: Wi-Fi (ac / a / b / g / n) Dual-Band, Bluetooth 4.2 (A2DP, LE), NFC, Infrared, USB Type-C (USB 3.0), AUX, GPS / GLONASS, Fingerprint's scanner;
• Battery: 3,000 mAh (non-removable);
• Dimensions: 144.5 x 69.2 x 7.3 mm;
• Weight: 129 grams (139 for the version with a ceramic back).
The advanced characteristics, beautiful appearance and against the general background rather tempting cost approximately in $ 440. Accustomed to the combination of low prices and high quality, people always begin to expect more and the demands are too high. Let's get acquainted with the new product, which apparently is not only capable, but will also actively compete with the flagships of A-brands in 2016. Unfortunately, only two phones were brought to the CES exhibition, where countless journalists gathered. And since it was not possible to get into the ranks of shark feathers, I propose to consider a retail sample that came from China and successfully fell into our hands for the day.
The appearance of almost any gadget is often criticized by public opinion. Fans of some devices insist that the “company” that released the smartphone has made it extremely similar to the favorite gadget, and vice versa. These wars in the forums, in the comments under the articles almost always can be seen, and certainly the Xiaomi Mi5 was no exception. However, the official images really created the feeling that the gadget outwardly clearly replicated the design features of the notorious Samsung line of recent years, namely the Galaxy Edge . However, taking the smartphone in hand, quickly and clearly recalls Xiaomi Mi Note. He has the same rounded backdrop, for example. Yes, and in front they are very similar, only Mi5 is more compact. And, interestingly, the Xiaomi Mi Note was presented exactly two months earlier than the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge ...
Is it possible to say that Xiaomi is not explicit, but unify the design of its products? All of them touch each other in outlines one way or another, but at the same time they harmoniously look with each other on a shelf, table or in life ... Curiously, the fact itself is not particularly annoying.
Considering all the features, the Mi5 design came to my liking. The smartphone looks concisely, stately and outwardly rather representative even in comparison with other smartphones . On the other hand, such a solution has its drawbacks. For the sake of good external and tactile sensations, you will have to sacrifice fall resistance. Since the front and rear glass is used and it, in fact, does not protect anything. Along the edges of the aluminum edging. By the way, unlike the backdrop, the front panel is made without a 2.5D rounding effect - this, by the way, is the Corning Gorilla Glass 4th generation. It is also worth mentioning that in the maximum configuration the back glass cover will be replaced with ceramics. The only thing is both branded, especially in the black version of the smartphone. In the white version of the pollution is not so noticeable. Well, it is probably worth noting the overall slipperiness of the smartphone - although for the entire day of testing, he never tried to swoop down from my hand towards the floor. True, from the book, on the table, perfectly rolled down without help.
Perhaps such confidence in the hand give the size and comfortable grip. Despite the diagonal size of 5.15 ”-inch, the smartphone is very compact and fits well in the palm of your hand. Using one hand gadget is a pleasure, I will not even hide it. Perhaps the last time I felt similar sensations, I was holding an Apple iPhone 5S in my hand, but the screen there was noticeably less, and there were more indents on the sides. Speaking of the screen, the smartphone uses an IPS matrix with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. It’s nice that the manufacturer didn’t take the lead of the marketers and didn’t equip the smartphone with a 2K or 4K resolution - after all, Full HD was almost a five-inch smartphone in the eyes, and it would have a noticeable effect on performance and runtime. And in conjunction with the new Qualcomm chipset, this solution will give a performance margin for several years to come. As for the quality of the matrix - this is excellent, the colors are bright and juicy. Sometimes it even seemed too juicy ... almost like AMOLED.
Controls are in standard places, like everyone else. On the right is the on / off key and volume control rocker. On the left is a SIM slot. Top AUX connector, optional microphone and infrared. Bottom new USB Type-C connector and neat perforation on the sides of the microphone and speaker. Rear camera, dual hot and hot flash and MI logo below. Front top block of the sensors of light and proximity, front camera and mesh conversational dynamics in the deepening of the glass.
Below we are waiting for the second most notable innovation. Firstly, the usual icons of the touch keys “menu” and “back” on the sides were changed to two glowing LEDs. The "home" button has now become hardware, it now contains a fingerprint scanner. Moreover, the key can be either pressed or tapped, then the sensor will work. The pressing is worked out clearly, the stroke is small, there is no button play, there is a distinct click. Many in the network have responded to this decision ambiguously, but at first glance, in life it seems quite convenient, and it looks like it looks organic. Personally, I was pleased that, finally, the company moved away from the usual icons indicating the keys, and so much more attractive.
At the end I would like to mention that the available colors are white, black and gold.
The hardware platform, without exaggeration, is good ... It is a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset, 3 or 4 gigabytes of RAM, 32/64 or 128 gigabytes of main flash memory. And the Adreno 530 chip is responsible for the graphics ... and this is where the most interesting begins.
It turns out that there will be three versions of the smartphone. The first version of Mi5 basic is 32 GB of main memory of the UFS 2.0 standard, 3 GB of dual-channel operational LPDDR4 memory, which operates at a frequency of 1333 MHz. A Snapdragon 820 processor with cores up to 1.8 GHz, and Adreno 530 graphics running at 510 MHz.
The second version, the so-called advanced - here already 64 gigabytes of flash memory of the same standard UFS 2.0, together with the same three gigabytes of RAM, but already operating at 1866 MHz. The four cores of Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 overclocked to a maximum clock frequency of 2.15 GHz, and the Adreno graphics 530 to 624 MHz.
And the last, the most "top" version, which, by the way, comes with a ceramic back cover and exclusively in black. It contains: four Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 cores overclocked to 2.15 GHz and unaltered Adreno 530 graphics with a clock frequency of up to 624 MHz. 128 gigabytes of the main UFS 2.0 flash drive, and 4 GB of RAM LPDDR4, which operates at a frequency of 1866 MHz.
As I said in the section above, most likely these characteristics will be enough for more than one year to remain in the leading positions. Unfortunately, it was not possible to test the smartphone in synthetic tests, as there was not enough time and there were some problems with installing the Play Store. However, I think that the values ​​will be expectedly high. In any case, you can always go back and look at the smartphone in further detail.
And what else is in the smartphone? Wi-Fi 802.11ac modules, Bluetooth version 4.2, NFC and infrared, GPS with support for A-GPS technology, GLONASS, and the BeiDou system that is not very much in demand outside the People's Republic of China. The smartphone can work both in 2G and 3G networks, and 4G - domestic frequencies are supported. Minus - there is no support for memory cards, but the smartphone works with two SIM cards at once ... but still there is only one radio module. The battery used is the most common for most flagships of 2015 and 2016, with a capacity of 3,000 mAh ... Such a battery should, in principle, be enough for a day of moderate use of a smartphone. In some powerful 3D toy, it can probably be discharged in 6 hours. However, we’ll check this information if possible return to the smartphone for a longer testing period, but for now this is just a guess. Also a plus can be noted the presence of the function of fast charging.
The smartphone is running the latest available version of Android 6.0, along with the familiar proprietary shell MIUI 7 version. It is hardly possible to tell something new about it, if you have previously familiarized yourself with the MIUI system, then from the innovations you will see some small but useful improvements. The system works stably, smoothly, all actions are worked out quickly - it is a merit of both optimization and overall smartphone performance. The shell looks concisely and is somewhat similar to the ideology of iOS. All standard applications are made in the same style with the system, and their number does not exceed the limits of reasonable. There are Chinese services, but they are easy to remove in two clicks. A possible disappointment will be the lack of Google services out of the box, the Russian language and, perhaps, a blocked downloader. On this, perhaps all.
Let's start with the characteristics. There are two cameras in total. The main 16.0 MP with aperture 2.0 and phase avatofocus - Sony IMX298 sensor. Front 4.0 MP, made using ultra-pixel technology, pixel size of 2 ÎĽm. The aperture value is the same - f / 2.0. Recalling the times of appearance on the Mi Note market, the model could be called among the top three best Chinese smartphones with a good camera. It is best to understand and draw some conclusions for yourself by looking at sample images below. From my point of view, Mi5 definitely deserves a place among the best. Of course, there are problems ... for the most part they concern the work of autofocus and the quality of the frames themselves when shooting at night. All is well in the afternoon. The video is written by a smartphone in 4K main camera, and as Full HD frontal.
The camera application itself has not undergone any major changes. It differs from this in other devices of the company only in the presence of different modes for shooting. There is an adjustment of exposure by tapu with a convenient manual change of exposure in a circular motion around the point of focus. Another advantage can be noted a large number of available settings and the rapid preservation of the frame in the device's memory.
What conclusion can be made after a day of life with the new Xiaomi Mi5? Did I like the smartphone? Yes, I liked it. Can this text be considered completely objective? Not sure opinions can be mixed. I note that over the past year, for the first time after meeting a smartphone, I did not want to give it away. I will say more, there was a desire to leave it in the form of the main device to replace the personal HTC One M8 .
Of course, the smartphone has flaws, some flaws, but they can be recognized either after a long period of testing, or you can be puzzled by their search. Is the lack of the Russian language and full-fledged Google services a disadvantage? Yes, but they can be put in "pens", and after some time a localized version of the firmware from domestic craftsmen will be released. A person who wants to buy a smartphone, get it out of the box and use it, will hardly consider such an option to purchase. But it will certainly be easier for the confident user, since setting up the device will not be a problem for him.
Is Xiaomi Mi5 an indicator of the clear progress of the technosphere? Does he demonstrate any new technology? More likely no than yes. All that is in the Mi5, we have seen or will soon see from many other manufacturers. However, a holistic and positive opinion is created precisely because of the general development of the product and the thoughtfulness of the details. However, like many other devices from Xiaomi . But the search for the perfect smartphone does not end there ... It is likely that we will find it, and such a smartphone will show itself. In the meantime, Mi5 occupies a leading position among the applicants.
Other articles and events on the iCover blog
As is usually the case, shortly before the show, almost everything about the new product was known on the Internet ... including the characteristics:
')
• Body materials: metal and glass (Gorilla Glass 4);
• Display: 5.2 ”-inch IPS matrix with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, ppi 430.
• Platform: Qualcomm Snapdragon 820, video chip - Adreno 530;
• RAM: 3 or 4 GB;
• Operating system: Android 6.0 + MIUI 7;
• Memory for data storage: 32/64/128 GB (there is no slot for a memory card);
• Network: GSM / EDGE, UMTS / HSDPA, LTE (TD / FDD-LTE) (DualSIM)
• Main camera: 16 MP, f / 2.0, phase autofocus, optical image stabilization, dual LED flash, video is written in 4k;
• Front camera: 4 MP, f / 2.0, without autofocus, video is written in 1080p;
• Interfaces: Wi-Fi (ac / a / b / g / n) Dual-Band, Bluetooth 4.2 (A2DP, LE), NFC, Infrared, USB Type-C (USB 3.0), AUX, GPS / GLONASS, Fingerprint's scanner;
• Battery: 3,000 mAh (non-removable);
• Dimensions: 144.5 x 69.2 x 7.3 mm;
• Weight: 129 grams (139 for the version with a ceramic back).
The advanced characteristics, beautiful appearance and against the general background rather tempting cost approximately in $ 440. Accustomed to the combination of low prices and high quality, people always begin to expect more and the demands are too high. Let's get acquainted with the new product, which apparently is not only capable, but will also actively compete with the flagships of A-brands in 2016. Unfortunately, only two phones were brought to the CES exhibition, where countless journalists gathered. And since it was not possible to get into the ranks of shark feathers, I propose to consider a retail sample that came from China and successfully fell into our hands for the day.
Design and construction
The appearance of almost any gadget is often criticized by public opinion. Fans of some devices insist that the “company” that released the smartphone has made it extremely similar to the favorite gadget, and vice versa. These wars in the forums, in the comments under the articles almost always can be seen, and certainly the Xiaomi Mi5 was no exception. However, the official images really created the feeling that the gadget outwardly clearly replicated the design features of the notorious Samsung line of recent years, namely the Galaxy Edge . However, taking the smartphone in hand, quickly and clearly recalls Xiaomi Mi Note. He has the same rounded backdrop, for example. Yes, and in front they are very similar, only Mi5 is more compact. And, interestingly, the Xiaomi Mi Note was presented exactly two months earlier than the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge ...
Unpacking and accessories in detail
Is it possible to say that Xiaomi is not explicit, but unify the design of its products? All of them touch each other in outlines one way or another, but at the same time they harmoniously look with each other on a shelf, table or in life ... Curiously, the fact itself is not particularly annoying.
Considering all the features, the Mi5 design came to my liking. The smartphone looks concisely, stately and outwardly rather representative even in comparison with other smartphones . On the other hand, such a solution has its drawbacks. For the sake of good external and tactile sensations, you will have to sacrifice fall resistance. Since the front and rear glass is used and it, in fact, does not protect anything. Along the edges of the aluminum edging. By the way, unlike the backdrop, the front panel is made without a 2.5D rounding effect - this, by the way, is the Corning Gorilla Glass 4th generation. It is also worth mentioning that in the maximum configuration the back glass cover will be replaced with ceramics. The only thing is both branded, especially in the black version of the smartphone. In the white version of the pollution is not so noticeable. Well, it is probably worth noting the overall slipperiness of the smartphone - although for the entire day of testing, he never tried to swoop down from my hand towards the floor. True, from the book, on the table, perfectly rolled down without help.
Perhaps such confidence in the hand give the size and comfortable grip. Despite the diagonal size of 5.15 ”-inch, the smartphone is very compact and fits well in the palm of your hand. Using one hand gadget is a pleasure, I will not even hide it. Perhaps the last time I felt similar sensations, I was holding an Apple iPhone 5S in my hand, but the screen there was noticeably less, and there were more indents on the sides. Speaking of the screen, the smartphone uses an IPS matrix with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. It’s nice that the manufacturer didn’t take the lead of the marketers and didn’t equip the smartphone with a 2K or 4K resolution - after all, Full HD was almost a five-inch smartphone in the eyes, and it would have a noticeable effect on performance and runtime. And in conjunction with the new Qualcomm chipset, this solution will give a performance margin for several years to come. As for the quality of the matrix - this is excellent, the colors are bright and juicy. Sometimes it even seemed too juicy ... almost like AMOLED.
Controls are in standard places, like everyone else. On the right is the on / off key and volume control rocker. On the left is a SIM slot. Top AUX connector, optional microphone and infrared. Bottom new USB Type-C connector and neat perforation on the sides of the microphone and speaker. Rear camera, dual hot and hot flash and MI logo below. Front top block of the sensors of light and proximity, front camera and mesh conversational dynamics in the deepening of the glass.
Details, continued
Below we are waiting for the second most notable innovation. Firstly, the usual icons of the touch keys “menu” and “back” on the sides were changed to two glowing LEDs. The "home" button has now become hardware, it now contains a fingerprint scanner. Moreover, the key can be either pressed or tapped, then the sensor will work. The pressing is worked out clearly, the stroke is small, there is no button play, there is a distinct click. Many in the network have responded to this decision ambiguously, but at first glance, in life it seems quite convenient, and it looks like it looks organic. Personally, I was pleased that, finally, the company moved away from the usual icons indicating the keys, and so much more attractive.
At the end I would like to mention that the available colors are white, black and gold.
Hardware potential and software
The hardware platform, without exaggeration, is good ... It is a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset, 3 or 4 gigabytes of RAM, 32/64 or 128 gigabytes of main flash memory. And the Adreno 530 chip is responsible for the graphics ... and this is where the most interesting begins.
It turns out that there will be three versions of the smartphone. The first version of Mi5 basic is 32 GB of main memory of the UFS 2.0 standard, 3 GB of dual-channel operational LPDDR4 memory, which operates at a frequency of 1333 MHz. A Snapdragon 820 processor with cores up to 1.8 GHz, and Adreno 530 graphics running at 510 MHz.
The second version, the so-called advanced - here already 64 gigabytes of flash memory of the same standard UFS 2.0, together with the same three gigabytes of RAM, but already operating at 1866 MHz. The four cores of Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 overclocked to a maximum clock frequency of 2.15 GHz, and the Adreno graphics 530 to 624 MHz.
And the last, the most "top" version, which, by the way, comes with a ceramic back cover and exclusively in black. It contains: four Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 cores overclocked to 2.15 GHz and unaltered Adreno 530 graphics with a clock frequency of up to 624 MHz. 128 gigabytes of the main UFS 2.0 flash drive, and 4 GB of RAM LPDDR4, which operates at a frequency of 1866 MHz.
As I said in the section above, most likely these characteristics will be enough for more than one year to remain in the leading positions. Unfortunately, it was not possible to test the smartphone in synthetic tests, as there was not enough time and there were some problems with installing the Play Store. However, I think that the values ​​will be expectedly high. In any case, you can always go back and look at the smartphone in further detail.
And what else is in the smartphone? Wi-Fi 802.11ac modules, Bluetooth version 4.2, NFC and infrared, GPS with support for A-GPS technology, GLONASS, and the BeiDou system that is not very much in demand outside the People's Republic of China. The smartphone can work both in 2G and 3G networks, and 4G - domestic frequencies are supported. Minus - there is no support for memory cards, but the smartphone works with two SIM cards at once ... but still there is only one radio module. The battery used is the most common for most flagships of 2015 and 2016, with a capacity of 3,000 mAh ... Such a battery should, in principle, be enough for a day of moderate use of a smartphone. In some powerful 3D toy, it can probably be discharged in 6 hours. However, we’ll check this information if possible return to the smartphone for a longer testing period, but for now this is just a guess. Also a plus can be noted the presence of the function of fast charging.
The smartphone is running the latest available version of Android 6.0, along with the familiar proprietary shell MIUI 7 version. It is hardly possible to tell something new about it, if you have previously familiarized yourself with the MIUI system, then from the innovations you will see some small but useful improvements. The system works stably, smoothly, all actions are worked out quickly - it is a merit of both optimization and overall smartphone performance. The shell looks concisely and is somewhat similar to the ideology of iOS. All standard applications are made in the same style with the system, and their number does not exceed the limits of reasonable. There are Chinese services, but they are easy to remove in two clicks. A possible disappointment will be the lack of Google services out of the box, the Russian language and, perhaps, a blocked downloader. On this, perhaps all.
Talk about the camera?
Let's start with the characteristics. There are two cameras in total. The main 16.0 MP with aperture 2.0 and phase avatofocus - Sony IMX298 sensor. Front 4.0 MP, made using ultra-pixel technology, pixel size of 2 ÎĽm. The aperture value is the same - f / 2.0. Recalling the times of appearance on the Mi Note market, the model could be called among the top three best Chinese smartphones with a good camera. It is best to understand and draw some conclusions for yourself by looking at sample images below. From my point of view, Mi5 definitely deserves a place among the best. Of course, there are problems ... for the most part they concern the work of autofocus and the quality of the frames themselves when shooting at night. All is well in the afternoon. The video is written by a smartphone in 4K main camera, and as Full HD frontal.
Sample Images
The camera application itself has not undergone any major changes. It differs from this in other devices of the company only in the presence of different modes for shooting. There is an adjustment of exposure by tapu with a convenient manual change of exposure in a circular motion around the point of focus. Another advantage can be noted a large number of available settings and the rapid preservation of the frame in the device's memory.
Dry subjective residue
What conclusion can be made after a day of life with the new Xiaomi Mi5? Did I like the smartphone? Yes, I liked it. Can this text be considered completely objective? Not sure opinions can be mixed. I note that over the past year, for the first time after meeting a smartphone, I did not want to give it away. I will say more, there was a desire to leave it in the form of the main device to replace the personal HTC One M8 .
Of course, the smartphone has flaws, some flaws, but they can be recognized either after a long period of testing, or you can be puzzled by their search. Is the lack of the Russian language and full-fledged Google services a disadvantage? Yes, but they can be put in "pens", and after some time a localized version of the firmware from domestic craftsmen will be released. A person who wants to buy a smartphone, get it out of the box and use it, will hardly consider such an option to purchase. But it will certainly be easier for the confident user, since setting up the device will not be a problem for him.
Is Xiaomi Mi5 an indicator of the clear progress of the technosphere? Does he demonstrate any new technology? More likely no than yes. All that is in the Mi5, we have seen or will soon see from many other manufacturers. However, a holistic and positive opinion is created precisely because of the general development of the product and the thoughtfulness of the details. However, like many other devices from Xiaomi . But the search for the perfect smartphone does not end there ... It is likely that we will find it, and such a smartphone will show itself. In the meantime, Mi5 occupies a leading position among the applicants.
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Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/391815/
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