Xiaomi Mi 5c announced, sporting in-house octa-core CPU

Not wanting to be left of out this week’s announcements, Xiaomi has just launched two new smartphones for the Chinese market. The new Redmi 4X is looking to bring premium build quality to the low cost market, while the Mi 5c is the company’s chance to show off what its newly unveiled in-house octa-core Surge S1 processor can do.

Starting with the Mi 5c, this launch marks a major milestone for Xiaomi, as this is the first smartphone to launch featuring the company’s in house mobile application processor – the Surge S1. Although not the highest end chip on the market, the Surge S1 shows that Xiaomi is looking to compete with Samsung and HUAWEI with the development of its own in-house SoCs, and sets up some exciting prospects going forward.

Other hardware inside the Mi 5c breaks down to a 5.15-inch 1080p display, 3GB of LPDDR3 RAM, 64GB of eMMC 5.0 internal storage, and a 12MP rear camera that boasts larger than average pixels for better light capture. The company has also thrown in a fingerprint scanner located in the home button, fast charging, and dual-nano SIM slots. So there are plenty of nice extras to play with, and all at a 1,499 Yuan ($220 USD) price point. The 5c’s release date is set for March 3rd.

• Surge S1, octa-core 64-bit processor (4x 2.2GHz A53 + 4x 1.4GHz A53)
• 5.15-inch 1080p display, 550-nit brightness
• 3GB RAM + 64GB storage, dual-channel LPDDR3 + eMMC5.0
• 2860mAh battery; 9V/2A fast charging
• 12MP f/2.2 rear camera camera with 1.25 micron pixel size
• 8MP f/2.0 front facing camera
• Front fingerprint sensor
• 132g, 144.38 x 69.68 x 7.09mm

Xiaomi’s second announcement is the Remdi 4X, a more budget oriented smartphone that boasts a swanky all-metal body, fingerprint scanner, and a large 4,100mAh battery. Proving that low cost handsets don’t have to skimp on features.

There are one or two compromises with this phone though. The Snapdragon 435 isn’t the fastest chip on the market and the 5-inch panel only offers a 720p resolution. However, the inclusion of a 13MP rear camera, battery life that Xiaomi boasts will last 2 whole days, and hybrid microSD / dual SIM support, make up for it. Here’s the spec rundown:

• Octa-core Snapdragon 435 @ 1.4 GHz, Adreno 505
• 5-inch 720p display
• 2GB RAM + 16GB storage / 3GB RAM + 32GB storage
• 4100 mAh battery
• 13MP f/2.0 rear camera with PDAF
• 5MP f/2.2 front camera
• Rear fingerprint scanner
• 150g, 139.2 x 69.6 x 8.6mm

The Redmix 4X will retail at two price points, 699 Yuan ($100) for the 2GB/16GB model and 899 Yuan ($130) for the 3GB/32GB version. The handset will be available in Cherry Pink, Champagne Gold, and Matte Black colour options, but we don’t have a release date just yet.

What do you think about Xiaomi’s latest offerings?