Xiaomi Mi5: Launch Date Delayed, Samsung Strikes a Deal with Qualcomm, Tech-Specs Revised!

The Xiaomi Mi5 has been delayed, if rumors are to be believed. This comes as a major shocker to dedicated Xiaomi fans who were waiting to buy the flagship smartphone off the shelf this January!

A report started spreading in China, claiming that Xiaomi has postponed the official launch of their flagship smartphone. The reason stated was that the company is in no hurry to launch a defective or underperforming smartphone,and will announce a release date when the product fulfils every quality standard.

Xiaomi is concerned about the OS, and wants to offer a lag-free user experience to their customers. This is one of the primary reasons behind the company delaying the launch of the Mi5. Google is currently working on some major updates on the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, and this could be the reason behind Xiaomi deciding to postpone the launch.

Xiaomi needs to further work on the Android OS, since they offer their unique customized OS (MIUI) on all their smartphones. As a result, the entire process is time consuming and any delay in the chain, leads to additional time constraints.

Xiaomi is also focusing on manufacturing enough quantities of the device so that there is no shortage once the device hits the market. One of the major problems with Xiaomi devices is the huge demand, which outnumbers supply every time. As a result, potential customers run out of luck and have to wait for their devices to be back in stock.

Another rumor that has been doing the rounds claim that Samsung has signed a deal with Qualcomm, securing the sole ownership rights to the latest Snapdragon 820 chipset till April. The Xiaomi Mi5, which is slated to be powered by the same chipset has suffered the wrath of Samsung.

However, this is a conspiracy on the large scale and without any we do not have the requisite proof to back up the authenticity of this claim. There is a word in the market claiming that Xiaomi is under additional pressure since they failed to meet the 80 Million unit sales last year and the pressure has been mounting since rival brands such as Huawei, Lenovo, Meizu and Samsung have been launching new smartphones and strategies to outsell Xiaomi!

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor is the most important part of the Xiaomi Mi5, since the last-gen Snapdragon 810 had overheating issues, which demeaned the performance of many high-end smartphones, including the Xiaomi Mi4, Xperia Z4 and the HTC One M9 to name a few.

Xiaomi should take the time out to fix the software glitches that their smartphones encounter time and again, as well as work on the hardware and MIUI. Xiaomi has reached the stagnation point in their life cycle in the market.

This is a situation faced by most large brands that have been enjoying the popularity and blessing of the global market. The only way to break free from the situation is to work on a unique product and regain the trust, confidence and interest of the customers.

Samsung had been through this phase back in 2014, when the recently-launched flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S5 failed to impress the customers. This failure saw Samsung’s third-quarter profit of 2014 fall by 60%, which was a massive blow to the financials and reputation of the brand.

The South Korean tech giant, however, stepped up to the occasion and began working on Project Zero, which we now know as the Samsung Galaxy S6. The smartphone brought on board numerous technological and design changes to lure back the customers and the rest, like we all know, is history!