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Xiaomi Mi 5 Review
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UPDATE: You can now read our Xiaomi Mi 6 Review!

Introduction
Xiaomi is a leading smartphone maker from China whose reputation for powerful, stylish and aggressively-priced gadgets stretches well beyond the Republic's borders. With its latest flagship smartphone, the Mi 5, the brand wants to offer almost everything that $700 handsets like the Samsung Galaxy S7 or iPhone 6s do, at a considerably lower price. It's an ambitious undertaking that could spark anyone's interest. Let's see if the hype is worth it – or not!

- Xiaomi Mi 5
- USB Type-C Cable
- USB Charger
- Warranty and instructions
- SIM tray ejector
Design
Nice looks and great ergonomics with just a few rough spots.
Xiaomi's flagship has a graceful, understated appearance. It's got clean lines, slim bezels, a metal frame, and a glass-covered back (unless you get the Ceramic Exclusive variant). Unaware of the Mi 5's affordable pricing, some could actually mistake it for an expensive smartphone, but its good looks are deceptive. The metal frame lightly prickles the palm at some spots, the glass back doesn't feel as nice as those of more expensive handsets, and the power and volume keys are slightly wobbly.
Still, these are minor flaws that don't offend, but merely make the Xiaomi Mi 5's price tag seem realistic, rather than too good to be true. We're fond of this sleek and elegant handset that's comfortable to hold and easily lends itself to one-handed operation. The Home button is a bit narrow for our tastes and its tactile feedback isn't very good, but the fingerprint scanner in it is top-notch – fast, accurate, and reliable. On the other hand, those capacitive navigation keys might appear dated in 2016, but they do what they are supposed to.
Compare these and other phones using our Size Comparison tool.

Display
A high-quality screen with great brightness and contrast properties.
The Mi 5 has a 5.2-inch IPS LCD display with 1080p resolution that comes off as high-quality, both in our measurements and in real-life use. The brightness levels are superb and cater to comfortable usage across all lighting conditions, while the color balance is close to ideal. This is a balanced, well-calibrated screen whose quality could stand up to that of more expensive offerings, if it weren't for the average viewing angles.
Display measurements and quality
Maximum brightness Higher is better | Minimum brightness (nits) Lower is better | Contrast Higher is better | Color temperature (Kelvins) | Gamma | Delta E rgbcmy Lower is better | Delta E grayscale Lower is better | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Xiaomi Mi 5 |
638 (Excellent) |
1 (Excellent) |
1:1400 (Excellent) |
6334 (Excellent) |
2.09 |
2.69 (Good) |
3.23 (Good) |
Samsung Galaxy S7 |
484 (Good) |
2 (Excellent) |
unmeasurable (Excellent) |
6852 (Excellent) |
2.07 |
1.26 (Excellent) |
2.09 (Good) |
HTC 10 |
432 (Good) |
7 (Good) |
1:1594 (Excellent) |
7442 (Good) |
2.13 |
2.62 (Good) |
5.11 (Average) |
Apple iPhone 6s |
554 (Excellent) |
6 (Good) |
1:1593 (Excellent) |
7056 (Good) |
2.21 |
1.47 (Excellent) |
3.23 (Good) |
The numbers below represent the amount of deviation in the respective property, observed when a display is viewed from a 45-degree angle as opposed to direct viewing.
Maximum brightness Lower is better | Minimum brightness Lower is better | Contrast Lower is better | Color temperature Lower is better | Gamma Lower is better | Delta E rgbcmy Lower is better | Delta E grayscale Lower is better | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Samsung Galaxy S7 |
55.2% |
50% |
unmeasurable |
5.2% |
0% |
254% |
109.1% |
Xiaomi Mi 5 |
78.5% |
0% |
83.8% |
11% |
13.9% |
19.3% |
71.5% |
Apple iPhone 6s |
82.9% |
83.3% |
79.8% |
5.1% |
10.9% |
56.5% |
53.9% |
HTC 10 |
84.5% |
85.7% |
71.4% |
7.4% |
6.1% |
2.3% |
27.8% |
The CIE 1931 xy color gamut chart represents the set (area) of colors that a display can reproduce, with the sRGB colorspace (the highlighted triangle) serving as reference. The chart also provides a visual representation of a display's color accuracy. The small squares across the boundaries of the triangle are the reference points for the various colors, while the small dots are the actual measurements. Ideally, each dot should be positioned on top of its respective square. The 'x: CIE31' and 'y: CIE31' values in the table below the chart indicate the position of each measurement on the chart. 'Y' shows the luminance (in nits) of each measured color, while 'Target Y' is the desired luminance level for that color. Finally, 'ΔE 2000' is the Delta E value of the measured color. Delta E values of below 2 are ideal.
These measurements are made using Portrait Displays' CalMAN calibration software.
These measurements are made using Portrait Displays' CalMAN calibration software.
The Color accuracy chart gives an idea of how close a display's measured colors are to their referential values. The first line holds the measured (actual) colors, while the second line holds the reference (target) colors. The closer the actual colors are to the target ones, the better.
These measurements are made using Portrait Displays' CalMAN calibration software.
These measurements are made using Portrait Displays' CalMAN calibration software.
The Grayscale accuracy chart shows whether a display has a correct white balance (balance between red, green and blue) across different levels of grey (from dark to bright). The closer the Actual colors are to the Target ones, the better.
These measurements are made using Portrait Displays' CalMAN calibration software.
These measurements are made using Portrait Displays' CalMAN calibration software.

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