All the fuss about the upcoming Xiaomi smartphones –
Xiaomi Redmi 5 and Redmi 5 Plus has been laid to rest as these devices were
launched today at an event in China. It turned out that most of the leaks,
speculations, and rumors about these devices were true. Both devices come in
Black, Light Blue, Gold and Rose Gold colors and they are scheduled to go on
sale by December 12 in China.
The dual-sim Xiaomi Redmi 5 which weighs only 157
grams is powered by an Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 processor clocking
1.8GHz and built using the 14nm Mobile Platform. This processor is supported by
2GB RAM and 16GB of internal storage. There is also the 3GB RAM and 32GB
internal storage option. The internal storage of both variants is expandable up
to 128GB with a microSD. This smartphone is equipped with a 5.7-inch HD+ 2.5D
curved glass display with 18:9 aspect ratio and 1440 × 720 pixels resolution.
It runs on Android 7.1.2 (Nougat) with MIUI 9 on top and its display is handled
by an Adreno 506 GPU. In the camera department, we have a 12MP rear camera with
LED Flash, 1.25μm pixel size which is supported by a 5MP selfie camera with LED
flash. The lights of the Redmi 5 are kept on by a 3300mAh battery which
delivers 12-days standby and 2 days usage (average usage). Other features
include a rear Fingerprint sensor, Infrared sensor, 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac
(2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth 4.2, GPS + GLONASS and others.
As for its pricing, the Xiaomi Redmi 5 (2GB RAM+16GB
storage) sells for 799 yuan or US$ 120 or Rs. 7,795 approx while the 3GB RAM+32GB
storage variant goes for 899 Yuan US$ 135 or Rs. 8,770 approx.
The Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus comes with a dimension of 158.5
x 75.45 x 8.05mm and weighs 179.5grams.
Just like the Redmi 5, it is a dual-sim smartphone but it is powered by a
larger Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor clocking 2GHz and built
using a 14nm process. It comes with two options in terms of RAM and internal
storage. We have a 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage variant and another 4GB
RAM with a 64GB storage option. The internal storage of both variants is
expandable up to 128GB with a microSD.
Its display is larger than its sibling
as it comes with a 5.99-inch HD+ 2.5D curved glass display with 18:9 aspect
ratio and 2160 × 1080 pixels resolution. It also runs on Android 7.1.2 (Nougat)
with MIUI 9 on top and its display is handled by an Adreno 506 GPU. The camera
department and other features are the same as Redmi 5 Plus above but the lights
of this smartphone are kept on by a large 4000 mAh battery which gives 17 days
standby and over 2 days usage (average usage).
As for its pricing, the Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus (3GB
RAM+32GB storage) sells for 999 Yuan or US$ 151 or Rs. 9,745 approx while the 4GB
RAM+64GB storage variant goes for 1299 Yuan US$ 195 or Rs. 12,675 approx. From
these, we see that the major advantage of Redmi 5 Plus over its sibling Redmi 5
is in its better processor, larger screen/size, and larger battery. Everything
else is pretty much the same.
