Chinese smartphone upstart Xiaomi has revealed its response to Apple's iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, and it looks to be the strongest yet in a long line of impressively competent phones at very low prices.
Xiaomi has a history of making phones that look, feel and are named similarly to the latest from Apple and Samsung, and that pack a surprising amount of polish and power for their price. Sold officially only in a few regions but easily importable to Australia, the company's phones run a highly customised version of Android that works a little more like iOS.
![Look familiar? Xiaomi's new Mi 5s.](/web/20161001030655im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/q/2/1/l/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.grq0yn.png/1475022717257.jpg)
Xiaomi's newly-announced Mi 5s, like the Mi 5 before it, is a dual-SIM device with a 5.15-inch screen that looks a little like an iPhone and a Galaxy merged together. Unlike its predecessor though, the Mi 5s is aiming to out-innovate Apple with new tricks and features.
Like the iPhone, the 128GB version of the Mi 5s features a pressure sensitive touchscreen that lets you press firmly to bring up additional options. Like the iPhone 7 it also features a new kind of fingerprint scanner, but Xiaomi's is very different indeed.
![The Mi 5s has a brushed metal back, unlike the glossy Mi 5.](/web/20161001030655im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/q/2/1/m/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.grq0yn.png/1475022717257.jpg)
Using an ultrasonic scanning technology, the sensor on both versions of the Mi 5s is embedded below the glass on the front of the device. At the launch event, Xiaomi's CEO Lei Jun explained that not only was the tech more tolerant of dirty fingers and less likely to get dirty itself, but it made the whole phone more durable because there was no need to cut a hole in the glass for the sensor to sit in.
The 128GB model comes with 4GB of RAM, much more than the iPhone but around standard for Android devices, while a cheaper model features 64GB of storage and 3GB of RAM. Both are powered by Qualcomm's latest processor — the Snapdragon 821 — which promises plenty of performance plus faster data and better call quality thanks to LTE network aggregation.
Both models feature a main camera very similar to that seen on last year's Nexus devices, made up of a Sony sensor that has a relatively low resolution (12 megapixels) but that uses large pixels for greater sensitivity.
Despite all the flagship guts, the cheaper Mi 5s will sell in China for 1999 Yuan, or around $390. The 128GB model will sell for the equivalent of $450.
![The larger Mi 5s Plus.](/web/20161001030655im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/q/2/8/t/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.grq0yn.png/1475022717257.jpg)
Time will tell whether the Mi 5s lives up to the lofty vision painted by its spec sheet. If history is any indication it will be an impressively powerful and flexible machine for the price with a nice design and build quality, but it will also miss out on some of the benefits that hallmark both the iPhone and good Android handsets.
Xiaomi's phones are often not as open as Androids, they lack water resistance, and of course they do not have the optimisations Apple can achieve by building its own software and most of its components in-house.
Also of potential concern is that Xiaomi does not share Apple's outspoken commitment to user privacy. The company prompted controversy when it was revealed its Cloud Messaging service, which stores user data in its Chinese Mi Cloud servers, was keeping track of call logs and contact information.
Xiaomi has since made the service strictly optional, but some have expressed concerns about allowing any information to be sent to Chinese servers (Xiaomi maintains servers outside of China for its international customers, but with no official availability in Australia it's difficult to say where your data will go if it's uploaded).
Also at the Mi 5s launch event on Tuesday night, Xiaomi unveiled the larger Mi 5s Plus. With a slightly faster processor than its little sibling, more RAM and a very interesting camera array from Sony (it's a combination of RGB and black-and-white sensors, like the Leica-enhanced shooter on Huawei's latest), the bigger and more expensive phone does not feature the pressure-sensitive screen or ultrasonic scanner.
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