Xiaomi Offline Sales Boost 2016
Xiaomi is reportedly planning to focus on boosting offline sales in 2016 in an effort double the number of smartphones sold through retailers and its own stores. Reuters/JASON LEE

Xiaomi’s next-generation flagship Mi 5 will reportedly support NFC (Near Field Communication) connectivity. This Chinese tech giant did not offer NFC support in Mi 4, quoting that just 1 percent of the predecessors Mi 3 and Mi 2A owners used this feature. However, the company is back to offer every feature it could possibly stack.

What Is New?

Based on the leaked document from China UnionPay, Gizmo China said that a total of 32 phones will support its mobile payment system dubbed “Cloud Lightening Pay.” The Xiaomi Mi 5 is also part of the list and this corroborates that the upcoming flagship will support NFC.

Meanwhile, Phone Arena said that China UnionPay is apparently the only financial establishment to offer “interbank payments” in that country. In addition, it’s infamous for not accepting Apple Pay and this is precisely why Apple has not made headway in China with its mobile payment system, which is now quite prevalent in the U.S.

Xiaomi-Mi-5-NFC-support
Leaked document from China shows NFC support for Xiaomi Mi 5. Gizmo China

Rumored Xiaomi Mi 5 Specs, Release Date, Features, Price

The Mi 5 is believed to feature a metallic exterior and will apparently come equipped with a fingerprint sensor embedded on the home button. If true, the upcoming flagship will be the first Xiaomi device to come with both home button and fingerprint scanner.

Other than the metallic chassis, previous report said that Mi 5’s corners will be rounded this time around. It is expected to carry a 5.0-inch or 5.2-inch display, along with 1080p resolution. Under the hood, a Snapdragon 820 chipset will reportedly power the device with a killer 4 GB of RAM on board.

When it comes to camera specification, the smartphone will sport a 16-megapixel main sensor and a generous 8-megapixel secondary shooter for selfies. Apart from the standard connectivity options, a USB Type-C port will also be part of the handset.

On the software front, Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS will run the device with the company’s own MIUI on top of it. The device is believed to come in three hues namely silver, gold and rose gold.

Furthermore, the Xiaomi Mi 5 release date has been rumored as Jan. 21, 2016. Speaking of price, reports quote CNY 1,999 ($309) as the cost of the base version, while the high-end model will be tied to the price tag of CNY 2,499 ($386).

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