Xiaomi Mi 5 is a stunner and it arrives in Feb with a Snapdragon 820

The Xiaomi Mi 5 looks good! Photo: XDA Developers

The Xiaomi Mi 5 looks good! Photo: XDA Developers

The Xiaomi Mi 5 fans have been waiting for will finally make its official debut next month, and it’ll be well worth the wait. Its new design will make it one of the prettiest smartphones on the market, while its Snapdragon 820 processor will make it one of the fastest.

We expected Xiaomi to make the Mi 5 official late last year, with the Mi 4 now looking a little long in the tooth 17 months after its debut. But rumors claimed Xiaomi was waiting for Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 820 processor, and now that’s been confirmed by co-founder Liwan Jiang.

Liwan announced on Chinese micro-blogging website Weibo that the Mi 5 will be packing that processor when it goes on sale in China next month. There is no specific release date yet, but Liwan did say it would happen after the Chinese Spring festival, which takes place on February 8.

Other specifications — according to the rumors — including a 5.2-inch display (possibly Quad HD), dual-SIM card slots, USB-C connectivity, a 16-megapixel rear-facing camera, a 13-megapixel front-facing camera, and a 3,600mAh battery.

The Mi 5 is expected to come in two variants, one of which will combine 3GB of RAM with 32GB of storage, and another that will combine 4GB of RAM with 64GB of storage. Both are likely to run Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box.

The Mi 5 could also be Xiaomi’s first smartphone with a pressure-sensitive display, just like the iPhone’s.

The pictures above and below confirm the Mi 5 will have 2.5D glass on its front — like many of today’s smartphones — and curved 3D curved glass on its back. Its physical home button is also expected to incorporate a fingerprint scanner.

Photo: XDA Developers

Photo: XDA Developers

While the Mi 5 will have the design and specifications to compete with the latest offerings from the likes of Apple, Samsung, LG, and others, it’s unlikely it will be taking any of those companies on outside of China. But you never know; this could be the first Xiaomi smartphone to go global.

And if it isn’t, you should be able to pick one up on Amazon or eBay shortly after it makes its debut wherever you live.