CES 2015, a big consumer electronics show held annually in Las Vegas, is planning on featuring a lot of new phones. We have reported on possible phones to watch out for at CES 2015 which included Huawei, ASUS, LG, HTC, Motorola, and Samsung. Another one of them may be the Xiaomi Mi5 which we have discussed in detail about its rumors and possible release in the United States. Two of these rumors are that the Xiaomi Mi5 might be available in black, and will have a fingerprint scanner.
Yesterday, on Techno Buffalo, another rumor was started as the Xiaomi flagship phone was shown off in black. Its shape is tall and thin, and there are barely any bezels on the left and right sides of the screen. Of course, it could always be some kind of Photoshop work going on.
In addition to the possibility of a black Xiaomi Mi5, there is another rumor that the phone could have another special feature: a fingerprint scanner. Phone Arena reports that there will indeed be a fingerprint scanner built in the home button on the handset, and it will be similar to the Touch ID feature used on the Apple iPhone.
Keep in mind this will be a phone that will reach "phablet" levels as the Xiaomi Mi5 will be 5.5 to 5.7 inches. Yes, that is comparable to the iPhone 6 Plus, and it will be interesting to see if the Mi5 will be hitting the United States, and what effect that will have on the smartphone market.
According to an Mi5 website (that may or may not be official), the Xiaomi company is known as the "Apple of China", and their Mi5 will feature the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 for 64 bit computing with 8 CPU cores (4 Cortex-A57 and 4 Cortex-A53 cores). It will also have an IP rating of 67, which is starting to become a new standard of water-proofing for newer smartphones. The camera will be a new ISOCELL powered camera with 20.1 Megapixels. The Mi5 is expected to come with 4 GB of RAM with three storage variants of 16 GB, 32 GB, and 64 GB.
Next week at CES 2015 might feature the Xiaomi Mi5 very prominently. I say "might" because in spite of all the rumors that surrounds the Xiaomi Mi5 being unveiled at CES 2015, the company's name does not appear on any of the featured exhibitors list. While it is not unusual for tech companies to not have any presence on the CES showfloor, it is odd to see a company this large not purchasing any showfloor space at all, even at CES with their specific Asian technologies section.
Since the rumors of the Xiaomi Mi5 doesn't seem to match information that is available online at the CES website, it is possible that the Mi5 will be quietly announced at some tradeshow after-party like Pepcom or Showstoppers. The phone is suspected to cost as high as $450, and if the rumors are true, should be available in March for China and June for America.
