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The Mi5 is one of the first devices to run on the latest Snapdragon 820 chip. The 3GB of RAM allows for fluid multi-tasking while the Adreno 530 GPU provides smoother gaming experience.
Previous Snapdragon 800 chips normally have octa-core (801, 810) or hexa-core (808) processors using a combination of Cortex A53 and A57 architectures.
With the Snapdragon 820 chip, Qualcomm went back to the drawing board and made their own Kryo architecture. The 820 chip only has 4 cores and in the case of the entry-level Mi5, it’s a combination of a low-power 1.36GHz dual-core processor and a high-power 1.8GHz dual-core processor. Xiaomi must have underclocked the second pair from a top speed of 2.2GHz so there’s a noticeable gap to justify the price difference of the 3GB/64GB variant that’s running on full speed.
The variant that we got uses a slightly clocked-down Snapdragon 820 processor with an Adreno 530 Graphics. Top core speed is capped at 1.8GHz but in our synthetic benchmarks, it still got really high scores.
Benchmark Scores:
Antutu Benchmark: 114,445
Quadrant Standard: 36,547
PC Mark: 6,086
Vellamo: 3,224 (Multicore), 2,934 (Metal), 4,768 (Chrome browser)
The Mi5 got a top score of 114,000 from Antutu benchmark. It’s a pretty high score but falls short of the expected 130k mark we’ve seen in other SD820-powered devices like the Galaxy S7 and the LG G5. It is obvious the underclocked Kryo HP 1.8 processor resulted to the lower-than-expected benchmark scores.
The Mi5 came with every standard connectivity options one would expect — WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC, GPS, Infrared sensor and LTE.
Call quality is excellent and voice calls are clear and crisp. Same goes with SMS while WiFi signal is slightly weak though not a big concern.
The Mi5 comes with a 3,000mAh non-removable battery and though it does not support wireless charging, Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0 along with the USB-C provides quick charging feature.
In our PC Mark Battery test, the device managed to get a score of 8 hours, 41 minutes. It’s still a bit short compared to the 9 hours, 19 minutes of the Galaxy S7 which has the same battery capacity.
In our own standard video loop test, the Mi5 got 12.5 hours before being completely depleted at 50% brightness, 0% volume and on airplane mode.
Charging time is equially fast with the USB-C providing enough power to completely charge the Mi5 in just 71 minutes. The Type-C cable that came with it can only do charging and not data transfer, forcing us to buy a separate data cable just to download the sample photos and videos we took from the camera.
Xiaomi has consistently produced topnotch smartphones for years and the Xiaomi Mi 5 is no exception. In fact, we think it’s their best one yet. For a starting price of just Php15,000, you get a top-of-the-line Snapdragon 820 chip and 3GB of RAM on a beautiful body that packs everything you’ll ask for in a flagship handset. It’s like getting a Galaxy S6 at half the price.
The Mi5 isn’t a perfect flagship but for its asking price, it is easy to admit it’s a great smartphone overall.
The Xiaomi Mi5 is not yet officially available in the Philippines and there’s no known release date yet. However, select models such as the 3GB/32GB variant is available in online stores like Widget City (see listing here).
Xiaomi Mi 5 specs:
5.15-inch full HD display @ 1920 x 1080 pixels, 428ppi
Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 quad-core processor
Adreno 530 GPU
3GB / 4GB LPDDR4 RAM
32GB, 64GB / 128GB UFS 2.0 internal storage
4G+ LTE Cat. 12, up to 600Mbps
VoLTE support
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth 4.2
NFC
IR Blaster
GPS w/ A-GPS, GLONASS
Fingerprint sensor
USB Type-C
16-megapixel Sony IMX298 PDAF rear camera w/ dual-LED flash, 4-axis OIS
4-megapixel front camera
3000mAh battery w/ Quick Charge 3.0
Android 6.0 Marshmallow w/ MIUI 7
144.54 x 69.20 x 7.24 mm
129 g
Black, White, Gold
What we liked about it:
* Gorgeous design
* Impressive performance
* Great camera quality
* Very good display
* IR blaster
* Good battery life
What we did not like:
* No expansion card slot
Robbie Rob says:
Dear Abe,
Will Smart’s LTE network work on this beauty?
Thanks!
Stelson Sia says:
Hi medyo off topic but may I ask for help? Bought a Samsung A9Pro from one online seller. It says dual sim. The unit is China release and is rooted. The dual sim function doesnt work. Would greatly appreciate any help. Ty.
Faust Principet says:
do we have this in davao city yet?
ILUXTRE says:
But it says 19,900-22,000 PHP on WidgetCity?
Phil says:
The fact that you need another cable for data transfers really, really bothers me actually. That’s probably the biggest turn-off for me. Where can you find Type-C cables locally, and at what price?
Abe Olandres says:
There are a lot of 3rd-party USB-C cables already. Got mine for Php990 from Digital Walker.
Bryan says:
Sir, might wanna check your charging. Mine full charges in around an hour from 30%
Abe Olandres says:
Have you tried doing it from zero? We used a 2.1A charger. We also used DU Battery to get an extrapolation.
Lorenzo says:
Dear yuga writer. I am wondering how the buttons at the side feel, some units as some people complain feel cheap. How is your unit
Abe Olandres says:
They’re okay. Feels like aluminum actually.
Road says:
I have the MI3 since it was made available from Lazada. I never had a problem with the phone. its a great phone for the price. I think Xiaomi Phones are very competitive to their expensive counterparts.
If the 4GB ram version will be available here then i guess Im going to upgrade my phone :D
archie says:
Dalhin ng widgetcity yung upcoming 128gb version with ceramic back in the future at papatulan ko talaga yang mi5.
buznoob says:
Good Review! I cannot wait for the phone to actually ship with much more normal prices here in the philippines and even more with black