After several leaks and teasers, Xiaomi officially launched the Redmi 5 and Redmi 5 Plus on Thursday, keeping affordable pricing and high-end specifications as the selling point. The devices succeed Redmi 4 and Redmi Note 4, the best-selling phones in India this year.
Xiaomi Redmi 5, 5Plus – premium specs at affordable prices
Both the Redmi 5 and 5 plus have an 18:9 aspect, a norm for most of the smartphones released in 2017. Both the phones have rounded corners and slim bezels on the top and bottom of the screen. Xiaomi has put the fingerprint sensor and single camera on the back of the phone. Xiaomi’s new flagship phones are encased in aluminum, and come in blue, pink, Gold and black colors.
The Redmi 5 is priced around $120 for the 2GB RAM and 16GB storage model, whereas the 3GB RAM and 32GB version costs around $135. The Redmi 5 Plus costs around $150 for the 3GB/32GB model, while the 4GB/64GB variant will sell for $180 approximately.
The Xiaomi Redmi 5 has a 5.7-inch HD+ (720×1440) display with an 18:9 aspect ratio as the company is looking to offer a bezel-less design in affordable phones as well. There is a microUSB port on the bottom and two speaker grills on either side of the charging port along with a 3.5mm headphone jack on the top. The handset sits on the 1.8GHz octa-core Snapdragon SoC based on 14nm FinFET technology and Adreno 506 GPU.
The Xiaomi Redmi 5 also sports a 12-megapixel sensor on the back with 1.25-micron pixels for better photography, and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera with Beautify 3.0 and Soft-Toned selfie light for better selfies. The smartphone has a 3300 mAH battery, promising a standby time of 12 days.
The bigger model, the Redmi 5 Plus has a 5.99-inch Full HD+ display with a resolution of 1080 x 2160 pixels. The handset is powered by the Snapdragon 625 chipset, and boasts a 4,000mAh battery that can easily last two days of intensive usage. Both the handsets will be available in China starting Dec.12. In India and some Western markets, they will likely be available sometime later.
Redmi 5A at introductory offer price
Meanwhile, Xiaomi has started selling Redmi 5A online for an introductory price of Rs 4999 (approx $77) in India. Once Xiaomi sells 50 lakh units, the introductory offer will be withdrawn, and the phone will be available for Rs 5,999.
This Redmi 5A, touted as a “Made in India” phone, is similar in design to the previous iteration, with the difference being the metal body instead of the polycarbonate used in the Redmi 4A. Just like all other current generation Redmi phones, the antenna lines are on the edges providing a more sophisticated look to the phone. Just like the Redmi 4A, the 5A does not have a fingerprint sensor as well.
India is one of the most important markets for Xiaomi, and this is evident from the fact that the company turned profitable in just three years of its arrival in the country. The revenue for the company surged about seven fold this year.
“The entire revenue is generated through sale of cellular phones, accessories, spares and services. Directors expect the performance of the company during the current financial year to improve as estimated,” the company said in its regulatory filing, according to Economic Times.
