Xiaomi Mi 5S Full Review: The beast from Asia

   Xiaomi is here again to surprise we high-tech lovers.  Lunched in September 2016, the Mi 5s is built on a new hardware, it now has a new smart camera module, a USB Type-C connector and ultrasonic fingerprint scanner, which is usable even with dirty or wet fingers.
It is powered by the latest Snapdragon 821 Processor clocked at 2.15GHz and the battery life is very impressive with other key features, together with a very affordable price.

   This is definitely the best flagship affordable smartphone you can buy today made by Xiaomi. The Xiaomi Mi 5S comes in two variant with the same hardware but difference in the ROM and RAM. There is the 3GB RAM and 64 GB ROM version and the 6GB RAM and the 128GB ROM Version with 3D Touch Display. But for our review today we are making use of the (3/64 GB) version all thanks to Gearbest.com for making this smartphone available to us for review.

 Buy the Xiaomi Mi5s Plus (6GB RAM AND 128GB ROM) VERSION
HERE
 
OR

Buy the Xiaomi Mi5s 4G (4GB RAM AND 64GB ROM) VERSION
HERE

Specifications Xiaomi Mi 5S (3/64 GB):

•     Screen: IPS 5,15 “1080h1920
•     Processor: quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 2.15 GHz
•     Graphic accelerator: Adreno 530
•     Operating system: Android 6.0 + MIUI 8.0
•     RAM: 3 GB
•     Internal memory: 64 GB
•     Memory card support: No
•     Communication: GSM 850/900/1800/1900) || UMTS 850/900/1900/2100 || LTE 3, 7
•     SIM: 2 nano-SIM
•     Wireless Interfaces: Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi 802.11a / b / g / n / ac, NFC
•     Navigation: GPS, GLONASS
•     Cameras: Home – 12MP (flash, autofocus), front – 4 M
•     Sensors: lighting, proximity, accelerometer, microgyro, digital compass,    fingerprint reader
•     Battery: 3200 mAh
•     Dimensions: 70,3×145,6×8,25 mm
•     Weight: 145 grams

Boxing and Packaging Equipment: 

   Inside the compact card box we have the 2 A Adapter, USB Type-C cable, Sim-card removal pin and a user manual. 

Design:

   The Mi 5s might look similar in appearance to the first released Mi 5 by the same company, but in reality they are very different smartphones with a little difference in appearance and design. 

   It now has an alloy metal rear housing body frame, the Infrared blaster at the top has been removed, the optical image stabilization is gone too, due to the fact the Mi 5S uses a new 12MP sensor camera hardware. The curved shape of the rear panel remain the same and the camera location is still in the upper left corner.

   The Snapdragon Sense ID ultrasonic integrated fingerprint reader hardware in the front is the best and worth giving a little credit. It works really well and flawlessly, it doesn’t matter if your fingers are dirty or wet the new ultrasonic fingerprint reader in the Mi5s is capable of detecting and reading your fingers and unlocking the screen without any problems.

   The curved 2,5D-glass edges front panel really looks nice on this device. We also have the front camera and the earpiece located at the top.

    Located at the left side is the card slot and the sim cards tray which can be easily ejected using a needle clip. You can either choose to use two nano sim cards or one nano sim card and an SD-card only. On the right side we have the power button and the volume up/down rocker only.

A mono speaker with two grids is located at the bottom with the USB Type-C.

Ergonomics and Usability:

   This device has a 5.15-inch screen which allows the user to use the smartphone with one hand. The fingerprint reader is also directly located under the screen which is very convenient. It also works accurately and quickly, you don’t need to press anything a gentle touch is enough.

   But despite the rounded shape back cover, Mi5s still feels uncomfortable in the hand due to its little bit of thickness and sharp edges. The alloy metal case is also slippery, so users might need to spend an additional money buying a protective cover case for this phone.

Screen:

   The Mi5s screen looks narrower than the Mi 5, most especially when you are looking at it from a locked position it seems frame-less in appearance. 

   The quality of the screen itself is very impressive, the maximum value brightness has been increased. It is stunning clear at 1080h 1920, Full HD, 427 ppi and with ideal viewing angles.

   Unfortunately, only the 128GB ROM variant has the 3D Touch Display technology the 64GB ROM variant doesn’t support it. So it is not possible for us to test this feature right now. 

   Inside the screen settings you can activate the double tap to wake feature and the reading mode. The reading mode is useful for reading in low light environment without straining your eyes, you can even assign applications that will activate reading mode automatically.

 Interface:

   It is Running on Android 6.0 marshmallow with the latest MIUI 8 firmware. This firmware has a lot of pre-loaded tools and apps most of them are in Chinese language but you can change them to English. You can also download google play and services to replace the Xiaomi Chinese App store.

    One of the unique feature of the MIUI firmware is the “DUAL APPS” which gives users the ability to use two accounts with the same application. You can use this feature with your social networks and instant messengers. You can easily configure your desired App in the setting and a new icon will appear in your launcher. The privacy settings can also be used to lock installed applications using a password.

Processor and Performance:

   It is equipped with the new Snapdragon 821 processor and Adreno 530 GPU. Two versions of the device is available – a version with 64 GB of storage and 3GB of RAM (our review test version), and the more expensive 128 GB and 4GB of RAM, which also features the presence of 3D Touch Display technology. The memory available to the user in the 64GB edition is about 46GB. 


   In term of performance the device is very fast as expected: you can download and install Application in seconds. No Lag, no delays and no problem with video playback was noticed when using the smartphone.

   In our gaming performance test we used a few games, such as the World of Tanks Blitz which is a very graphics intensive game. At maximum graphics settings Xiaomi Mi 5S maintain a stable 50-60 fps, that means the performance of this smartphone is more than enough for a comfortable game play.


The benchmarks result is also very high

Camera:

   The camera module in the new Xiaomi Mi 5S is 12-megapixel, Sony IMX378 sensor with an aperture f / 2.0 and a pixel size of 1.55 microns. There are other features in the camera including phase detection auto-focus, but there is no optical image stabilization. The camera manage to avoid typical problems with mobile camera like  distortion, colors and noise. In addition, the camera is very fast – does not slow down after taking a picture, and even HDR works well. 

 By default, videos is recorded in HD resolution, but 4K record mode is also available, as well as Time lapse, Slow-motion recording at 120 frames per second.

Connectivity:

   There is no problems with the quality of connection and voice transmission, the sound of the earpiece is loud enough for conversation in a noisy environment. Two nano SIM-cards with support for LTE networks with decent speed, navigation and GPS works flawlessly too.
Other wireless connectivity support include Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi 802.11a / b / g / n / ac and NFC.

 Battery:

   The battery capacity has been increased to 3200mAh by Xiaomi in this our review device. The smartphone also support the Fast Charge Quick Charge 3.0 technology, that means you can charge your phone to 83% battery in just an hour.

   In terms of daily battery usage in the Mi 5S you will get about Nine continuous hours of video playback in full HD and about Seven hours thirty minutes of continuous heavy usage.

 Pricing And Availability:

The Xiaomi Mi 5S Smartphone is available for worldwide use, you can buy at GEARBEST.com  Online store.
For Xiaomi Mi5s Plus 4G Phablet (6GB RAM + 128GB ROM) HERE $478.99
Or
For Xiaomi Mi5s 4G Phablet (4GBRAM + 64GB ROM) HERE $329.99

They are one of the best and trusted online store and they can ship /send your purchase items to anywhere in the world, shipping is also free Via Flat Rate Shipping. 

Pros And Cons:

Pros: (What we really like about this Smartphone)

•     Clear screen;
•     Fast charge;
•     Excellent camera with lots of shooting modes;
•     Ultrasound scanner detects fingerprints wet and dirty fingers.

Cons: (What we don’t Like)

•     Uncomfortable grip, slippery body;
•     Velocity processing technology found only in the older version;
•     No support for memory cards.