Xiaomi Mi 5X belongs to the middle class of mobile devices, but at the same time is equipped with an almost flagship camera consisting of two 12-megapixel sensors. The photo module of the smartphone stands out from other models in the mid-price segment due to its high shooting quality, decent implementation of portrait mode and support for optical zoom. In terms of design and hardware, the Mi 5X is completely identical to the Mi A1 model, the first smartphone from Xiaomi running a “pure” version of Android, without the MIUI shell.
Equipment
Xiaomi Mi 5X comes in a regular cardboard box, with a minimal kit, which contains only the essentials:
- power supply 5V/2A (an adapter for a European socket is required);
- USB-TypeC cable;
- “needle” for removing the SIM card holder;
- user guide.
Appearance
The model is available in three color options: completely black, as well as gold and pink, with white inserts on the front panel. The smartphone has a durable all-metal body made of anodized aluminum, with a matte, pleasant-to-touch surface. The front part is covered with scratch-resistant 2.5D glass. In terms of build quality, the Mi 5X is in no way inferior to the flagship models. In addition, the manufacturer has done a great job on the ergonomics of the case, as a result of which the device fits comfortably in the hand.
The only criticism regarding the case is that the bezels are not narrow enough, judging by the standards of modern design trends. But the smartphone turned out to be quite thin – its thickness is only 7.3 mm. The top frame houses the earpiece, along with sensors and a front camera. There is also a single-color LED indicator, which serves to notify you of missed notifications.
Under the screen on the bottom frame there are touch-sensitive navigation buttons equipped with backlight. The side edge on the right side is occupied by on/off buttons and a volume control.
On the left side is a hybrid tray for SIM and external storage.
An IR port and an additional microphone for noise reduction are placed on the top edge.
The manufacturer did not abandon the standard 3.5 mm headphone jack, and placed it on the bottom edge, next to the main speaker, a symmetrical USB-TypeC 2.0 connector and a microphone. The main speaker demonstrates clear and, to a certain extent, surround sound and has a fairly high volume reserve. With high-quality headphones you can hear powerful, rich and detailed sound.
The device is equipped with a 360-degree fingerprint scanner for biometric identification of users, which is located on the back of the case. The scanner's performance can be considered flawless, thanks to the high speed and accuracy of fingerprint recognition.
Display
The smartphone has a high-quality LTPS screen with a diagonal of 5.5 inches, with FullHD resolution (1920 x 1080). The matrix has fairly wide viewing angles and conveys a bright, rich and contrasting image. The settings section allows you to adjust color temperature and other image parameters. There is also a reading mode with a blue light filter.
Thanks to an adequate range of brightness adjustment, the smartphone is convenient to use both in bright daylight and in its complete absence. In addition, the contents of the screen do not fade when exposed to direct sunlight. The touchpad is very responsive, responding quickly and accurately to touches and gestures. An oleophobic coating is applied on top of the glass, which simplifies touch control and makes it easier to clean the surface from dirt.
Performance, memory
The Xiaomi Mi 5X hardware platform is based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 chipset, which includes: eight 64-bit cores, with a maximum frequency of 2 GHz, as well as an integrated graphics accelerator Adreno 506. The SoC provides performance level of the Snapdragon 808, while, compared to the flagship solution of 2015, it has a number of advantages. Snapdragon 625 is made according to the 14-nm process technology, has better energy efficiency and heats up significantly less.
The power of the 8-core processor combined with 4 GB of RAM is enough to ensure fast operation of the smartphone, both in everyday tasks and during heavy workloads. Mi 5X handles resource-intensive games without any problems. For example, at medium graphics settings you can count on stable 30-40 FPS in the game World of Tanks Blitz. The system interface runs smoothly, without delays, running applications are not unloaded from RAM when exiting to the desktop. Depending on the configuration, the capacity of the built-in storage can be 32 or 64 GB. In addition, there is a slot for external storage that supports installing a microSD card up to 128 GB.
Cameras
Considering the cost of the device and the capabilities of its dual camera, the Xiaomi Mi 5X will be of interest primarily to those who are looking for a replacement for a regular camera with decent shooting quality. The role of the primary module is assigned to the 12 MP OmniVision OV12A10 sensor, with a pixel size of 1.25 microns, an f/2.2 aperture and an equivalent focal length of 26 mm. Video recording with a resolution of up to 4K is supported, as well as slow-motion video recording - 120 frames per second, with a resolution of 720p. The camera is complemented by phase detection autofocus (PDAF) and a two-color dual LED flash.
The auxiliary 12-megapixel OmniVision OV13880 sensor has a smaller pixel size (1.0 microns), lower aperture (f/2.6) and increased EGF to 50 mm. Thanks to the additional sensor, it is now possible to shoot with 2x optical zoom without loss of quality. The user also has access to a special mode that allows you to create spectacular portrait photos, with beautiful background blur and pleasant color rendition. The recommended distance to the subject when shooting in portrait mode is up to 2 meters. However, this is not a necessary condition; you can achieve the bokeh effect by photographing more distant objects.
In daylight, using the main camera you can get really good photos that are not inferior in quality to frames taken on Xiaomi Mi 6. Undoubtedly, in low-light conditions, the flagship in auto mode will demonstrate better results. But thanks to the extensive range of settings in the camera app, users with some photography skills will be able to achieve decent results, regardless of the shooting conditions.
The front camera is a 5-megapixel Samsung s5k5e8 sensor, supporting video recording at 1080p resolution. In daylight, the quality of the resulting photos and videos can be considered quite satisfactory.
Autonomy
By the standards of 2017, 3080 mAh is far from the most significant battery capacity for a smartphone with a 5.5” display and quite powerful hardware. However, thanks to the energy-efficient chipset and energy-saving features of MIUI, there are no problems with autonomy in the Xiaomi Mi 5X. The smartphone is capable of working for one and a half, or even two days, in moderately active operating mode. That is, even with more intense loads, the user will not have to worry about the need to recharge throughout the day.
One charge lasts approximately 8 hours. 40 min. continuous playback of FullHD video, with maximum backlight brightness level. Accordingly, if you adjust the brightness to an average level that is comfortable for watching video indoors, the device will work in this mode even longer.
Software
The reviewed copy at the time of writing this material was running Android 7.1.2, with a proprietary shell from Xiaomi - MIUI 8.5. However, when ordering through Gearbest, buyers will receive a smartphone with multilingual firmware and full Google support services. Already at this stage, there is a Developer version of MIUI 9, so a stable version of the updated software will be available for Xiaomi Mi 5X in the near future. In addition, enthusiasts ported the firmware from Mi A1 to this smartphone, which does not contain any third-party add-ons.
Wireless interfaces
Xiaomi Mi 5X is capable of working with two nanoSIM cards and is compatible with 2G, 3G and 4G mobile networks. LTE networks of the FDD standard can operate in the frequency range 1/3/5/7/8, and the TD-LTE standard is available at frequencies 34/38/39/40/41. The device is equipped with an infrared port, which is useful for remote control of household appliances, dual-band Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac), as well as a Bluetooth 4.2 LE network interface, with support for the A2DP profile responsible for wireless transmission stereo sound.
The device is compatible with GLONASS, Beidou and GPS navigation systems (with A-GPS support). The smartphone copes well with the role of a navigator. This is facilitated by a combination of several factors: stable signal reception, fast search for satellites, high location accuracy and support for a digital compass.
Advantages and disadvantages of Xiaomi Mi 5X
Pros:
- photo shooting quality;
- presence of optical zoom;
- ergonomics, assembly;
- decent autonomy;
- productivity, speed;
- high-quality screen;
- good sound;
- substantial amounts of memory;
- IrDA support;
- excellent performance of navigation systems.
Minuses:
- at the time of creation of the review there was no global firmware;
- fast charging is not supported;
- NFC is not provided.
Results
Xiaomi Mi 5X is a very successful product, which has an optimal ratio of price, quality and capabilities, as well as the absence of obvious weaknesses. It is not for nothing that this particular model was chosen as the basis for the release of Mi A1, as part of the Android One program, with the support of Google. In addition, Xiaomi has made the right move by introducing an excellent camera into a relatively affordable mid-range smartphone.
