When the conversations about the next-level MIUI9 have started buzzing the net, there were too many versions which smartphone it will come on. The Xiaomi Mi 6 was the most probable model. But something went wrong and the most powerful Mi phone was released with the eight version pre-installed. On the other hand, the new OS of Xiaomi was almost ready and it should become available as soon as possible. I guess this was the most real reason why the Chinese Apple launched the unexpected Xiaomi Mi 5X, when all we had been waiting for other devices such as the larger version of the Xiaomi Mi 6, the Mi MIX 2, and Mi Note 3.
The most popular Mi phone is the Xiaomi Mi 5, a legend device took Xiaomi to the heights. That’s why anything new the company wants to test always comes to fifth generation models. As you know, there are several models behind the Mi 5 such as the Mi 5S, Mi 5S Plus, and Mi 5C. So the launch of MIUI9 on the Xioami Mi 5X is quite logical.
Two weeks back, on July 26 the manufacturer announced the Xiaomi Mi 5X. Many call it the cheaper variant of the iPhone 7. Some think this is more the lightened version of the Mi 6 rather than the continuation of the Mi 5. Personally, I think this is a test model for the manufacturer. But this doesn’t mean its features yield other devices from this family. Vice versa, the Xiaomi Mi 5X sports many top-end features and it also looks stylish. But it’ll be naïve to call it a high-end smartphone. So, what a handset we are dealing with? This is the biggest question we’ll try to answer in this Xiaomi Mi 5X review.
When talking about the fifth-gen Mi phones, many think they should look and act identically. But all models from this line differ from each other. The Mi 5X is no exception. When it was rumored, many people were thinking the Xiaomi Mi 5X will sport Xiaomi’s own-made S2 chip like its sibling, the Mi 5C that came with the S1 SoC. But let’s not forget the mission of this handset – showing and testing the most features of MIUI9. Thus it should have a more powerful filling. But we’ll come to it later.
As for appearance, the Xiaomi Mi 5X has nothing common with the Mi 5C. Generally, the Mi 5X design is one of those features that confuse us making to think we are dealing with a top-notch model. In comparison to the Xiaomi Mi 5C this phone is larger. But this is not the best word to describe this handset. It’s better to use Lei Jun’s words said at the conference – this is a trend design.
This device belongs to the category of mid-range smartphones, so the material its housing is made can’t be glass or ceramic. As you guess, it comes with a metal body using sandblasting process. The latter provides very appreciating feeling and no fingerprint can be left on it. Thanks to a 2.5D arc glass curvature and the rounded edges the Mi 5X can be held in hands for a long time and you’ll not get tired even at the long-term single-hand operations. However, this phone can’t be called thin and very light. It comes at 7.3mm thickness and weighs 165 grams.
Read: Xiaomi Mi 5X Unboxing and Hands-on Review
The Xiaomi Mi 5X sports a 5.5-inch Full HD screen made by Pegasus like the Xiaomi Mi Max 2. This is not the best screen we have ever seen on the Mi phones, but it still provides great viewing experience due to a pixel density of 403ppi, 450nit adjustable up to 1nit, and tons of customization options. Say, you can adjust the screen color temperature, effects, eye-protecting mode, and so on.
The proximity sensor, 5MP front shooter, and a speaker are located above the screen.
The standard three Android buttons are placed below the screen. They are backlight.
The rear of the phone showcases the Xiaomi Mi 5X comes with a one-piece metal back panel. There are three color-options including rose gold, champagne gold, and black. But thanks to a great design and build quality the antenna ribbons are almost unnoticeable. By the way, the Xiaomi Mi 5X uses dual-U-shaped antenna design.
The dual-camera accompanied with dual-LED flash lights is placed on the left upper corner. The camera lens is a bit higher than the body. But thanks to a polished metal ring they are protected when the phone lies face-up. The fingerprint scanner is on the rear as well. But I am not going to discuss whether it’s better to place on front or back because it’s matter of taste and use habits.
Though the camera placement looks identical to the Xiaomi Mi 6, the rest of design elements differ from the last flagship of the company. Say, the Xiaomi Mi 5X comes with the standard 3.5mm audio jack. It’s on the bottom along with a noise cancellation microphone, USB Type-C port, and a speaker.
Another microphone is on the top along with an infrared sensor allowing users to use the phone as a remote control of home appliances.
At last, the power button and the volume rocker are on the right, while the SIM card slot is on the left.
As I said, this is not a Surge-powered device. The Xiaomi Mi 5X sports a Snapdragon 625 chip, which is known as the most powerful SoC among mid-range smartphones. Wait for the Surge S2 to appear on the Xiaomi Mi 6C.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 chip uses an octa-core A53 architecture that runs on 14nm technology process. This means we are dealing with an optimized SoC in terms of power consumption, heat and life. The first bunch of larger cores clock at 2.0GHz frequency. It supports fast charger and 4K video recording. The graphics card carries a model number of Adreno 506. Of course, many can wonder why Xiaomi has chosen this chip instead of Snapdragon 660. But the latter is in the exclusive period due to phones such as the Oppo R11 and Oppo R11 Plus. Moreover, the higher variant of this phone is rumored to come with the SND660 in the nearest future. So the SND625 is the best offer in the market currently. The Xiaomi Mi 5X is also packed with a 4GB of RAM and 64GB of ROM.
Read: Oppo R11 Review
The aforementioned hardware helps the device to showcase respectable results in terms of performance. It scores over 60k at AnTuTu. This result can’t be compared with phones running on the Snapdragon 835. But in comparison to other chips from the same category, the SND625 is the absolute champion.
Read: Xiaomi Surge S1 vs Snapdragon 625 vs Helio P25 vs Huawei HiSilicon Kirin 655
Read: Snapdragon 835 vs Exynos 8895 vs Kirin 960
As for game testing, the Xiaomi Mi 5X was able to provide 28-30fps gaming experience at the most scenes when playing the King of Glory. The latter was played at the highest quality conditions. The same happened for the other games.
The phone is packed with a large capacity battery of 3080mAh. But it was disappointing when we saw a regular 5V2A (10W) power adapter inside the box. Though many smartphones still come with this adapter, in comparison to 15W adapters it seems a bit weaker. On one hand, theoretically the Mi 5X should support higher power charging head, but no one from Xiaomi confirms this.
Anyway, when we were testing the device, there was remaining only 3% of power. After half an hour it reached to 26%. And the phone was fully charged in 123 minutes only.
As for power consumption, we held a regular test when doing different actions on the phone during 30 minutes. As a result, there was remaining 56% of power after 4 hours of testing.
It’s difficult to say what feature of the Xiaomi Mi 5X is the absolute selling point, but there is no doubts about the camera. This is the second phone after the Xiaomi Mi 6’s dual-camera concept. Like its sibling, this handset uses ‘wide-angle + telephoto’ dual 12MP camera configuration with dual-zoom function. However, the camera sensors are not the same (Millet 6: IMX 386 + S5K3M3; millet 5X: OV12A10 + OV13880).
The OV12A10 is OV’s new sensor with a f/2.2 aperture, 26mm focal length, 1/2.8 inches area, and a single pixel area of 1.25?m. The next sensor is the OV13880 with a focal length of 50mm. Thanks to this configuration the camera supports double optical zoom, portrait blur function, up to 4K30fps video capture, etc.
Honestly, we have been waiting for the Mi 5X to come with a dual-camera, because this is a trend nowadays. Though most of them support only one function (bokeh effect), it’s not a problem to find a dual-camera smartphone for a song. In this sense, the manufacturer has had to come in with something better. And it did.
Read: Dual-Camera Chinese Smartphone: Buyer’s Guide 2017
Check out the photo samples below to find out how the Mi 5X shots. Personally, I think this is one of the best offers in the mid-range market in terms of camera performance.
Daytime photos
Macro Shots
Also, check out the double optical zoom effect.
One of the best functions of the Xiaomi Mi 5X camera is the portrait mode with its optimized algorithm. The recognition of details is too accurate. And though there are some rough blurred details, generally, it shows very good DOF effect.
As for the night shots, it’s difficult to say the sensors do what required. In low-light condition shots the camera noise reduction capability is acceptable, but in the complex scenes, a visible noise will appear. But the white balance is accurate in the night shots.
Currently, the Xiaomi Mi 5X still runs on MIUI8 based on Android 7.1. But the good news is that the MIUI9 will become for download on August 11. That’s why it’s useless to talk about the UI we are already familiar with.
According to the statements, there will be tons of innovations in the MIUI9. They will mainly refer to the photo search, smart assistant, and portal.
Photo search: This feature is based on the previous face recognition technology combined with the system learning ability. A user can enter the keyword in the search bar of the photo album. Those keywords can concern pictures, shooting time, people, time period, screenshots, etc. Therefore, the search process will be faster than now.
Smart Assistant: This feature will help you search through apps, notes, images, and more to find…
