Xiaomi Mi 5s and Mi 5s Plus don’t disappoint: high specs, low prices

At its press event in Beijing, Xiaomi released the latest generation of its flagship family, and keeping up with a long and storied tradition, the new Mi 5s and Mi 5s Plus deliver excellent specs at very reasonable prices.

Don’t miss: Xiaomi Mi 5 review

Despite their “s” designation, the Xiaomi Mi 5s and Mi 5s Plus feature a different design when compared to the Mi 5, which was released earlier this year. The Mi 5s is the smaller, lower-spec’ed device, at 5.15 inches, while the 5s Plus boasts a 5.7-inch display and a feature set that can compete with any device out there.

Both phones are made of aluminum, with a couple of cosmetic and functional differences: namely, the Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus lacks the antenna lines of the Mi 5s, and features a rear mounted fingerprint sensor, instead of a frontal one.

Xiaomi Mi 5s specs

• 5.15-inch Full HD, 600 nits, 95% NTSC
• Snapdragon 821, 2.15 GHz
• 3GB RAM/64GB storage or 4GB RAM/128GB storage (LPDDR4/UFS 2.0)
• 12MP rear camera (Sony IMX 378, PDAF, OIS, dual LED flash)
• 4MP front camera (f/2.0 aperture, 80-degree viewing angle)
• 3,200 mAh battery
• LTE with 3-carrier aggregation
• USB Type-C
• Under-glass fingerprint sensor
• Android 6.0 Marshmallow, MIUI 8

Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus specs

• 5.7-inch Full HD, 600 nits, 95% NTSC
• Snapdragon 821, 2.35 GHz
• 4GB RAM/64GB storage or 6GB RAM/128GB storage (LPDDR4/UFS 2.0)
• Dual 13MP rear cameras (Sony IMX 258, RGB and BW sensors, PDAF, OIS, dual LED flash)
• 4MP front camera (f/2.0 aperture, 80-degree viewing angle)
• 3,800 mAh battery
• LTE with 3-carrier aggregation
• USB Type-C
• Rear mounted fingerprint sensor
• Android 6.0 Marshmallow, MIUI 8

The fingerprint sensor on the Xiaomi Mi 5s is one of the highlights of the device, as this is one of the first examples of an under-glass fingerprint solution on a smartphone. The device still features an indentation in the glass to give users tactile feedback about the position of the reader, but the reader itself is placed beneath the cover glass.

We’re looking at Qualcomm’s ultrasonic fingerprint reader, dubbed Sense ID. LG, Synaptics, and other component makers have their own under-glass sensor solutions.

The prices of the Xiaomi Mi 5s and Mi 5s Plus are in line with previous devices in the series. While the Chinese prices are often lower than the prices of Xiaomi devices in India and other markets, they’re still a good indicator of what to expect. Here’s the breakdown:

• Xiaomi Mi 5s 64GB/3GB: 1,999 yuan (~$300)
• Xiaomi Mi 5s 128GB/4GB: 2,299 yuan (~$345)
• Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus 64GB/4GB: 2,299 yuan (~$345)
• Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus 128GB/6GB: 2,299 yuan (~$395)

The Xiaomi Mi 5s and Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus will be available in China from Thursday, September 29, in dark grey (brushed metal), gold (brushed metal), silver (matte), or pink (matte). No word yet on the eventual availability of the two devices in other markets, but we expect separate announcements in the close future.

What do you think of the new Xiaomi Mi 5s and Mi 5s Plus?