Chinese electronics giant Xiaomi on Tuesday took the wraps off two new flagship smartphones, the Mi 5s and Mi 5s Plus. What's interesting about the smaller of the two is the fact that it utilizes an ultrasonic fingerprint reader built under the front glass, something we'll likely be seeing more of in the months and years to come.
The smaller Mi 5s packs a 5.1-inch, 1080p pressure sensitive display that's powered by Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 821 SoC, up to 4GB of RAM and up to 128GB of flash storage. The handset also features Sony's 1/2.3-inch IMX378 CMOS sensor that's good for 12-megapixel photos along with an f/2.0 aperture, dual-tone LED flash, phase detection autofocus and auto HDR. It's powered by a 3,200mAh battery that utilizes Qualcomm's QuickCharge 3.0 technology.
Its bigger brother, the Mi 5s Plus, is also powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 821 chip with the option of up to 6GB of RAM and 128GB of flash storage. Xiaomi has elected to go with a dual-camera approach for the main shooter that uses Sony's IMX258 sensor. One of the cameras captures color while the other strictly does black and white. They can be used individually or simultaneously to enhance the overall image quality.
The Mi 5s Plus utilizes a larger 5.7-inch HD (1,920 x 1,080) display although oddly enough, it lacks the force sensitivity and integrated fingerprint sensor of the smaller phone. A beefier 3,800mAh battery supplies power, we're told.
Both phones are offered in your choice of gold, rose gold, silver and gray. Pricing starts at RMB 1999 ($299) for the entry-level Mi 5s and RMB 2299 ($344) for the base Mi 5s Plus. Pre-orders open on September 29 in China. No word yet on whether or not Xiaomi plans to bring its latest and greatest to markets outside of its home country.