Xiaomi Mi 5s unveiled, comes with an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner

Xiaomi Mi 5s price and release date

Xiaomi unveiled the Xiaomi Mi 5s today, September 27, at the China Nation Convention Center in Beijing. The company also presented the Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus alongside it. The release is set for this Thursday, September 29.

This Xiaomi Mi 5s looks more powerful than its predecessor, but that doesn't seem to be reflected in the price. Xiaomi devices usually come in lower than other flagships with similar specs. The newcomer was released nearly the same time as the Samsung Galaxy S7 and came in at around $250 less. You can see pricing for the Xiaomi 5s and 5s Plus below.

• The Xiaomi Mi 5s 4 GB / 64 GB will be priced at 2,000 Yuan (about $300)
• The Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus 4 GB / 64 GB version comes in at 2,299 Yuan (around $350)
• The Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus 6 GB / 128 GB version will cost 2,599 Yuan (about $400)

US availability is still unknown but soon we'll know more, so keep checking back for more release details. We can however safely assume that it will have to be ordered from outside the US. The colors available will be gray, silver, pink and gold.

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Cory Schmidt

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What the Xiaomi Mi 5s will look like / © Xiaomi

Xiaomi Mi 5s specs

The Xiaomi Mi 5s comes with some powerful specs. The Snapdragon 821 chipset could be backed with 4 GB RAM. And though this is lower than the 6 GB version we hoped for, it's still impressive. If you want a 6 GB version you can always pick up the premium model of the Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus, which also comes with 128 GB internal memory.

The battery is slightly larger than the Xiaomi Mi 5. The Mi 5s comes with a 3,490 mAh battery, 490 mAh bigger than the Mi 5. The Mi 5s Plus comes with a 3,800 mAh battery.

Xiaomi Mi 5s special features

The Xiaomi Mi 5s is set to come with fast charging Quick Charge 3.0, USB Type C and NFC technology. Perhaps the most impressive feature on this new device is the new fingerprint reader, which comes with ultrasonic technology. This identifies the fingerprint through glass, which is optimal for the integrity of the body; like with waterproofing.

The Xiaomi Mi 5 camera - nothing to write home about / © Xiaomi

The camera of the Xiaomi Mi 5s is not anything too impressive – at least from what we can see so far. For instance, there is no dual camera technology. But if you want something more powerful you can opt for the Plus version which has two 13 MP cameras. We'll need to get our hands on a device before we can really test the camera and other features of this newest smartphone.

What do you think of the Xiaomi Mi 5s? Is this a phone you would potentially buy? Let us know in the comments.