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What if I told you that you could get a phone that's as stylish and powerful as the Samsung Galaxy S7, but for a fraction of the price? You'd probably think I was the guy who creates those web ads that say 'This stay-at-home mum earns £3 billion every week using Google' or something similar.
But here's the thing: the Xiaomi Mi5 is exactly that Android phone – a powerful, beautifully designed handset that costs around £300 (US$450, AU$515).
Price and availability are something of a moveable feast, however, because while the Xiaomi Mi5 is available in the UK through some retailers, it's never going to be sold on a carrier.
This is one of those phones that you have to track down yourself, buy upfront and plug your own SIM card into, although for experienced users this is hardly a challenge. The question is, is the Mi5 is worth seeking out?
Spoiler alert: yes it is. At least that's my opinion, although there are some caveats with this phone too, and we'll get to those as we take a closer look at this interesting little device.
This is one of those phones that you have to track down yourself, buy upfront and plug your own SIM card into, although for experienced users this is hardly a challenge. The question is, is the Mi5 is worth seeking out?
Design
There are two variants of the Mi5. I've been testing the basic version, which has what Xiaomi calls a '3D Glass' back, and comes in 32GB or 64GB storage options coupled with 3GB of RAM. There's also a Pro model that has a ceramic back, and comes with 128GB of storage and 4GB of RAM.
"Glass?" I hear you say. Don't panic though, because this glass is tough. How do I know? Because the Mi5 has slid off my desk twice since I received it. This is because the glass rear offers very little friction, and on both occasions I'd placed it either on top of another phone or on another low-friction surface. But those mishaps did at least demonstrate that this phone is far from fragile.
At its reasonably modest price – depending on which model you buy – the Xiaomi Mi5 is nothing short of staggering value for money. This is a phone that offers the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 820, 3GB (or 4GB in the high-end model) of RAM and 32GB, 64GB or 128GB of storage.
Add in a decent camera, solid battery life and stunning design, and far from being a phone of compromises, this is a phone of winning and awesomeness.
Quite how Xiaomi has achieved all this for a bargain price I don't know. It's also made this phone incredibly light, courtesy of a super-light aluminium frame and thin but strong Gorilla Glass 4.
All in all, there's a lot to like with this phone, and not much to grumble about – and for a grumpy phone reviewer to say that is really quite something.Spoiler alert: yes it is. At least that's my opinion, although there are some caveats with this phone too, and we'll get to those as we take a closer look at this interesting little device.
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