The Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 has left quite a mark on the budget segment, offering great features at an unbeatable price. Now, the Chinese company has decided to release a successor to the Redmi Note 4 – the Redmi Note 5, which has been revealed in a leak, along with the upcoming phone’s specifications.
The new phone will come pre-installed with the MIUI 9 based on Android Nougat and will come at a starting price of just $175. The phone, despite its price-tag, will also be powered by the very capable Snapdragon 630/660 SoC that were unveiled in May this year, and have proven itself to be a stellar performer on smartphones. Like most mid-range phones these days, the Redmi 5 will also come in multiple variants varying in RAM and storage, with one option being 3GB/32GB, a 4GB/32GB option and the other option being 4GB/64GB. Thanks to the new SoC, the GPU will also receive a bump in spec, moving on to the Adreno 508. The phone is also speculated to come with a 5.5-inch full-HD display that will offer supposedly better screen legibility and contrast ratio as well.
Reports also note that the new Redmi Note 5, thanks to the new Snapdragon 630 chipset, will feature better connectivity options such as X12 LTE connectivity, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, USB 3.1 and Quick Charge 4.0. The camera will also see a big improvement, now featuring a 16MP sensor with an f/2.0 aperture. On the front will be a 13MP camera. The battery department will however see a little bump down, since it will feature a 3,790mAh unit.
According to GSM Arena, while the leaks come in the form of slides, they still do not show which chipsets will power which variants of the phone, but it does seem likely that the more powerful of chipsets will be available on the more expensive of the three variants that will be made available. The slides also show the phone to come with a front-facing fingerprint scanner that will be embedded in the home button. This will be a major change as previous iterations have always featured the fingerprint scanner to be on the back of the phone. The phone is said to be made available by the end of this month, and as prices stand, it will be one of the cheapest mid-range offerings of the year and with a more refined design compared to its predecessor.
