Xiaomi Mi 5 vs Nexus 6P: 8 Differences between the flagships!

By Ankit

| Published: Thursday, March 17, 2016, 14:31 [IST]

Xiaomi, the world's second biggest startup firm, recently launched its flagship smartphone, the Xiaomi Mi 5. Starting at a price of just CNY 1999 or Rs. 21,000, the Mi 5 gives competition to the likes of Samsung Galaxy S7 and Huawei Nexus 6P, when it comes to specifications and overall quality..

It has specifications including the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB RAM, a Full-HD display and a 16MP camera. Here are the top 8 differences between the Xiaomi Mi 5 and the Nexus 6P.

Processor

Xiaomi Mi 5 vs Nexus 6P: 8 Differences between the flagships!

The Nexus 6P is Google's flagship smartphone for 2015 so, obviously, it had Qualcomm's 2015 flagship chipset, the Snapdragon 810. Faced with a lot of heating issues in many devices from other OEMs, the Snapdragon 810 has apparently faced very minimal issues in the Nexus 6P. On the other hand, the Xiaomi Mi 5 has the Snapdragon 820 processor of 2016. This is promised to be almost 80% faster and sharper than its predecessor, the 810.

Screen Dimensions

The Google Nexus 6P, a phablet by all means, has a 5.7-inch display, compared to the miniscule 5.15-inch display on the Xiaomi Mi 5. While the Xiaomi Mi 5 is targeted towards the mainstream audience, the Nexus 6P has a niche consumer base, as has been the case with the entire Nexus smartphone range. The Nexus 6P also has a better Quad-HD display compared to the 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution on the Full HD screen of the Mi 5.

Battery capacities

A bigger screen, a bigger form factor generally means a bigger battery and that is exactly the case between the Xiaomi Mi 5 and the Nexus 6P. The Nexus 6P has a much bigger battery unit (3,450 mAh), compared to relatively smaller 3,000 mAh battery on the Mi 5. While the comparison makes the Mi 5 look bad, another weird thing is that it is lower than even its predecessor, which had a 3,080 mAh battery unit.

Fingerprint Sensor

Both the Xiaomi Mi 5 and the Nexus 6P sport a fingerprint sensor. The Nexus 6P has a fingerprint sensor on the back panel, just under the rear camera sensor. The Xiaomi Mi 5 has the fingerprint sensor fitted right onto the home button on the front. Reviews show that both the fingerprint sensors on the phones are blazing fast and the error probability is low.

Speaker placement

The Google Nexus 6P has the latest and more effective front facing speaker system. These kinds of speaker systems are quite rare with OEMs these days, but they are extremely promising in terms of overall sound quality. The Xiaomi Mi 5, on the other hand, adopts the previous speaker sound system, fitted onto the bottom of the back panel of the smartphone.

Color variants

There is a very minute detail variation in terms of the color options offered on both these smartphones. While the Nexus 6P comes in Matte black and Gold color variants, the Xiaomi Mi 5 also adds in White and Ceramic variants this time around. More color variants translates to a wider audience, with these four colors being the most favored when it comes to picking a smartphone. Another difference is that the Nexus 6P has a matte textured back panel while the Xiaomi Mi 5 has a glossy glass back.

Software Interface

A huge difference between the Google Nexus 6P and the Xiaomi Mi 5 is the software that both of these smartphones run on. Nexus 6P, being Google's flagship, runs a pure and stock form of the latest Android 6.0 Marshmallow. This software is free of any bloatware, extra apps or altered design. On the other hand, the Xiaomi Mi 5 runs on Xiaomi's very own MIUI, which although is based on top of Android 6.0 Marshmallow, looks nothing like its stock Android version and instead has a look and feel similar to Apple's iOS. With no app drawers, heavy customization and different icon packs, MIUI offers a different take on Android than the usual.

Pricing and availability

The Nexus 6P has been made by Google - as is already known - and is sold all across the world by the company. It was priced at $499 last year and is available currently for around Rs. 39,999 in India. On the other hand, the Xiaomi Mi 5 is from China and is currently only available in Mainland China. Xiaomi is planning to bring the smartphone to India as soon as April 2016. In terms of the pricing, the base variant of the Mi 5 has a price tag of CNY 1999 or around Rs. 21,000 in its home country and Xiaomi is expected to launch it in India below the Rs. 25,000 range. This will ensure that other competitors like OnePlus 2 and Nexus 6P experience turbulence in their future sales.