After weeks of leaks and sneak previews, Xiaomi on Wednesday finally took the wraps off its latest budget smartphones in China: The Redmi 5 and Redmi 5 Plus. They're the successors to last year’s Redmi 4 and Redmi 4X, and they pack a few major improvements over predecessor while retaining their budget-friendly appeal.

The phones are identical to each other in terms of design and both run Xiaomi's Android 7.1.2 Nougat-based MIUI 9 skin, but they differ in terms of under-the-hood hardware — namely, the chipset, battery, and memory. Here's everything you need to know.

Xiaomi Redmi 5

Both the Redmi 5 and its big brother, the 5 Plus, have a taller-than-average aspect ratio -- a first for Xiaomi’s budget lineup -- which lends them premium, modern aesthetics not dissimilar to OnePlus 5T and LG V30.

The Redmi 5, for its part, packs a 5.7-inch HD+ LCD display with a resolution of 1440 x 720 and an aspect ratio of 18:9. On the inside, it's powered by the Qualcomm 450 octa-core system-on-a-chip (SoC), which features two clusters of 4x Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 1.8GHz frequency coupled with Adreno 506 GPU.

In the camera department, the Redmi 5 has a 12MP f/2.2 shooter with a 1.25-micron pixel size, phase detection autofocus, and an LED flash module. Meanwhile, the front camera's a 5MP sensor with a front flash that helps users capture selfies in low-light conditions.

redmi 5
Source: Xiaomi

To power all those components, the handset packs a 3,300mAh capacity battery, a slight step down from the Redmi 4's 4,100mAh battery. But thanks to the power-efficient Snapdragon 450 chipset (built on Samsung's 14nm FinFET process) and software optimizations, Xiaomi says the phone lasts up to two days on a single charge.

The Redmi 5 comes in three color options, Rose Gold, Black, and Blue, and will go on sale in China starting December 12. It starts at ¥799 ($120) for 2GB RAM and 16GB of storage, and ¥ 899 ($135). for 3GB RAM and 32GB of storage.

Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus

redmi 5
Source: Xiaomi

For those willing to pay a premium, there's the Plus. The Redmi 5 Plus is identical to the Redmi 5 Plus except for its larger 5.99-inch Full HD+ display, more powerful Snapdragon 625 octa-core chipset, and denser 4000mAh battery. Otherwise, you're looking at a bigger Redmi 5.

The Plus is available in two models: A base model with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage for ¥ 999 ($150), and a 4GB of RAM with 64GB of storage priced at ¥ 1,299 ($196). It will go on sale in China alongside the Redmi 5 on December 12.

Both smartphones run Android Nougat out of the box with Xiaomi's latest MIUI 9 skin on top. Other highlights include a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, Bluetooth 4.2, a hybrid dual SIM/microSD slot, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a micro USB port.


Source: MIUI forums