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Xiaomi Mi 5 The Pros and Cons you can't Ignore


It's taken Xiaomi almost two years but the company has finally launched a successor to its wildly popular Xiaomi Mi 4; the Xiaomi Mi 5, an affordable high end smartphone available on iGoGo for 380€.  The company's new flagship stuns at first sight thanks to its elegant design, curved glass rear end as well as its perfect screen to body ratio. However, it's not all pros, today we're going to dig deep and give you the pros and cons of the Xiaomi Mi 5. Are you ready?





Xiaomi Mi 5 Pros and Cons you should know before buying it


Xiaomi Mi 5 Pros


1. A set of camera's worth using.

It seems that as of late most smartphones have become embroiled in the megapixel battle. However, as many of us can attest, a bigger number of megapixels doesn't really translate into better quality pics. It's with this in mind that Xiaomi has opted to really work on the cameras it implemented on the Mi 5.

The Xiaomi Mi 5 comes with a 16 megapixel camera, courtesy of Sony, that boosts a good f/2.0 aperture as well as a very impressive 4 axis optical image stabilization technology. This basically translates into quality pictures that aren't blurry even if the lighting conditions are subpar.

The front facing camera, on the other side, features a 4 megapixel sensor and works with a wide angle of 80ยบ to provide us with very impressive selfies. All in all, if we were to seek a comparison, this camera would be pretty similar to that of the Galaxy S5.

By the way, of you're more interested in the video quality then you'll be happy to know that the Xiaomi Mi 5 can record in 4K resolution.

2. No need to spend hours charging your phone anymore thanks to Quick Charge 3.0. 

One of the biggest concerns amongst consumers looking to buy a new smartphone is battery life. On that front, the Xiaomi Mi 5 doesn't have an impressive battery, in fact it has a standard 3000 mAh battery that will basically take you through the day. 

However, as important as battery life is in itself, it's also heavily influenced by charging time. This means that if our smartphones charged very quickly we wouldn't really worry that much about battery life and that's exactly how Xiaomi has opted to tackle this issue.

Specifically, the Mi 5 features Quick Charge 3.0 technology which means that between 80-90% of the battery will charge within just 30 minutes. Suddenly battery life doesn't seem that important now does it?

3. The fingerprint scanner you want where you want it. 

Touch ID recognition has been growing at a very fast pace and nowadays it's not odd to see many mid level smartphones feature this technology. However, many of them implement them on the back, a place that isn't necessarily the best fit, therefore Xiaomi implemented it within the home button.

Sure, you might get confused and think you're using a Samsung flagship but that's a price we're more than happy to pay.

4. Impressive 4G+ connectivity and fully fledged NFC implementation. 

If you thought 4G was fast you haven't seen nothing yet. On that front, one of the biggest pros of the Xiaomi Mi 5 is it's 4G+ connectivity. That plus sign isn't just there for decorative purposes but rather to signalize a connection that's twice as fast as 4G. Said in "english"; 4G+ connectivity allows you to download content at an impressive 600 Mbps.

Another element that's present in the Xiaomi Mi 5 is the Near Field Communication technology (NFC). Sure, this might be standard when talking about most mid range smartphones but for asian smartphones this is quite uncommon.

5. An overall upgrade to meet the demands of the high end smartphones.

Finally, signaling the last big pro of the Xiaomi Mi 5 we'd like to give a quick shout out to all the impressive hardware hidden under the hood. There's 3 GB of RAM to guarantee a fluid functioning Android 6.0, an impressive Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 that puts an end to the overheating issues present within the 801 model and an impressive Adreno 305 graphics card for the most intensive gamers out there. All in all, we're witnessing improvements on all aspects of the smartphone, leaving the Xiaomi Mi 5 to compete with the likes of the iPhone 6s or the Galaxy S7.

6. A compelling price point.

Of course, one of the biggest pros that the Mi 5 has going for it is the pricing. With its specs going for a tie with most high end models, it's undoubtedly one of the phone's most distinguished features the fact that we can buy it at a rather low price of roughly $400.

Xiaomi Mi 5 cons worth noting

1. No expandable card slot. 

This is an issue present on most Xiaomi smartphones though I would like to take a minute to clarify this issue as it's not as black and white as many would assume. In fact it does have a slot where you can place an SD card, however, such slot is the same as where you would place the additional microSIM card.

 Therefore you're faced with a crossroads, you can either have a dualSIM smartphone or you can opt to have a single SIM smartphone with extra storage. Either way, the Mi 5 boosts 32 GB of storage in its basic version and 64 GB in its upgraded version so it's likely that most people would opt for the dual SIM option.

2. USB Type C connector. 

While a USB Type C connector offers several advantages, it also comes with it's own set of important disadvantages, the most important one being that since this technology isn't mainstream yet that means that accessories that use USB Type C are still far more expensive than those which use the standard microUSB 2.0 port

Also, if you happen to break your charging cable you're far less likely to have a substitute at home, whereas with microUSB 2.0 you're much more likely to either have a charger at home or have a friend who has a spare cable.

3. No Radio. 

I don't know about you guys, perhaps i'm a bit on the old fashioned side but I appreciate a smartphone with a radio and when reviewing the cons of the Xiaomi Mi 5 this is something I take notice off. Of course you can stream music or already have your songs downloaded but there's something about simply tuning into the radio and discover a song i've never heard before that just doesn't loose its charm.

4. Modest Battery. 

While fast charging technology is great it can't be denied that a long lasting battery overall would be better for the consumer. Say you go out with friends and don't have a power plug nearby it doesn't really matter how fast the Xiaomi Mi 5 can charge if your battery life lasts too little to allow you to find a charging station.

5. Full HD screen is no 4K

Wrapping up our set of Xiaomi Mi 5 cons we would've liked and actually expected to see a 4K screen so we were quite disappointed when upon unveiling the smartphone we came across a "run of the mill" Full HD resolution. At a time where the high end is gearing towards 4K and in a smartphone that's actually capable of recording 4K video a 4K screen would've definitely come in handy to appreciate the stunning quality of our pics.


Wrapping things up: What's the verdict?


It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages on the Xiaomi Mi 5. At best, the disadvantages are more like annoyances than anything else, things that we can work around, except for the lack of a 4K display of course. So the question becomes; Is this smartphone worth buying? 

Remember it's not a particularly cheap smartphone (you can look up the price here) but all in all we would have to say it's still one of the best options in the market taking into account its 380€ price in iGoGo. Especially when the alternative is buying a "name brand" that costs 300 dollars more and offers a nearly identical experience. 

All in all we would have to say the Xiaomi Mi 5 is definitely worth buying. What's your take on it? Is there a pro or a con that we missed? Let us know in the comments!