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Xiaomi Mi 5 vs iPhone 6S comparison: apples to apples

androidpit xiaomi mi5 vs apple iphone 6s screen
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How does Xiaomi, the 'Apple of China,' match up against Apple? Xiaomi could be poised to take a bite out Apple in the smartphone market with the release of the Mi 5. But for now, we'll take a preliminary look to see how they match up. Should Apple be worried? We think so. Find out why in our Xiaomi Mi 5 vs iPhone 6S comparison.

androidpit xiaomi mi5 vs apple iphone 6s logo
Let us show you how the Xiaomi Mi 5 matches up against the iPhone 6S. / © ANDROIDPIT

Xiaomi Mi 5 vs iPhone 6S comparison: design

With past Xiaomi devices, there was uproar over the design being too derivative of iPhones, which I always considered to be unwarranted. There is nothing for iPhone diehards to complain about with the Mi 5. The design of the device looks far different to the iPhone 6S. Put simply, the Mi 5's design is more stylish.

The Mi 5 has a sleek, clean design and the body is ergonomic with a comfortable feel. Its metal frame and glass panels meet seamlessly and achieve a creative balance that you can admire.

The design of the Mi 5 is different from the iPhone 6S. If anything, the Mi 5's is better

The iPhone 6S is no doubt an attractive phone, but it has a bulky feel. Apple went too far in curving the edges and corners. Xiaomi decided to make the Mi 5 more edgy and this gives it a better look and feel.

The Mi 5 is one of the lightest flagship phones on the market at just 129 g. That's a whole 14 g lighter than the iPhone 6S. The lower weight contributes to the superiority of the Mi 5 feel. 

androidpit xiaomi mi5 vs apple iphone 6s power volume buttons 2
The Mi 5 has a seamless design that looks cleaner than the iPhone 6S. / © ANDROIDPIT

The Mi 5 camera sits inside of the frame and that makes it easy to set down flat on surfaces. The iPhone 6S has a camera that sticks out of the back of the phone; a design flaw that takes away from its functionality and aesthetic quality. 

The home button and fingerprint scanner of the Mi 5 is oval and fits with the overall design of the phone. The round home button on the iPhone 6S may fit with the overall rounded build of the phone but is bulky and unnecessarily large. 

The only design area where the iPhone 6S outshines the Xiaomi Mi 5 is the interface. The Mi 5's icons don't have any depth and look cartoonish while the 6S's have more of a shaded look and seem more three-dimensional. 

androidpit xiaomi mi5 vs apple iphone 6s back
The design of the Mi 5 outshines the iPhone 6S in all respects except the interface. / © ANDROIDPIT

Xiaomi Mi 5 vs iPhone 6S comparison: display

The Xiaomi Mi 5 comes with a crisp and bright 5.15-inch 1080p (427 ppi) HD LCD display. The screen takes up around 73 percent of the phone's front. It features a sunlight display feature that optimizes the display in bright outdoor conditions.

The iPhone 6S's display does not match up against the Mi 5's at all. The LCD screen is 750 x 1,337 pixels (326 ppi), far lower than the Mi 5. The screen is smaller, 4.7 inches, and takes up only 66 percent of the front of the body.

androidpit xiaomi mi5 vs apple iphone 6s screen
The Xiaomi Mi 5 display outperforms the iPhone 6S. / © ANDROIDPIT

Xiaomi Mi 5 vs iPhone 6S comparison: camera

We already discussed how the camera design of the Mi 5 is superior. The Mi 5 camera is housed inside of the device and allows it to lie flat on a surface while the iPhone 6S camera sticks out of the body. But it doesn't stop with the design; the entire camera system on the Mi 5 is better than on the iPhone 6S. 

The Mi 5 houses a Sony-designed 16 MP IMX 298 main camera. The iPhone 6S, on the other hand, comes with a 12 MP main camera. The Xiaomi Mi 5's camera system comes with a 4-axis camera system that makes focusing so much better than the iPhone 6S. 

androidpit xiaomi mi5 vs apple iphone 6s camera
The Mi 5 camera is housed in the body while the iPhone 6S camera is distracting. / © ANDROIDPIT

Xiaomi Mi 5 vs iPhone 6S comparison: battery

The Mi 5's battery is about twice the size of the iPhone 6S battery. The Xiaomi Mi 5 has a non-removable 3,000 mAh battery and the iPhone 6S has a 1,715-mAh battery. The 3000 mAh battery seems to be a 2016 Android flagship standard.

This complete superiority cannot be overlooked. It underlines the problems Apple has with battery life and how Android is making better and longer lasting devices in general. Something else that is noteworthy is with the Mi 5 you get greater battery capacity but still have a lighter device than the iPhone 6S.

androidpit xiaomi mi5 vs apple iphone 6s speaker usb
The Mi 5 has nearly twice the battery of the iPhone 6S. / © ANDROIDPIT

Xiaomi Mi 5 vs iPhone 6S comparison: software

The Xiaomi Mi 5 came running Android 6.0 Marshmallow right out of the box. The newest version of Android OS is a small step up from Lollipop, but it does have one new interesting feature: Doze. Doze increases the standard battery performance of the device, something smartphones on Lollipop struggle with. 

The iPhone 6S comes with iOS 9, a small upgrade from iOS 8. iOS 9 has a simplistic, minimalist and accessible feel, but if you want something with more customization possibilities Marshmallow is obviously the better choice. 

AndroidPIT xiaomi mi5 1650
iOS 9 is more simplistic but has less room for customization than Android Marshmallow. / © ANDROIDPIT

Xiaomi Mi 5 vs iPhone 6S comparison: performance

The Xiaomi Mi 5 comes with the powerful Snapdragon 820 processor running at 2.1 GHz. This is backed up by 3 GB of RAM and 32 or 64 GB of internal storage (depending on the model). The performance of the device is fast and reliable with only a few bugs.  

The Apple A9 processor runs at 1.84 GHz, a lower speed than the Mi 5. It's also supported by only 2 GB of RAM, 1 GB less than the Mi 5. While the iPhone 6S comes with a choice of 16, 64 or 128 GB internal memory, the Xiaomi Mi 5 Pro (a small upgrade in terms of price) also has 128 GB of memory.

androidpit xiaomi mi5 vs apple iphone 6s logo
he Xiaomi Mi 5 is a better all-around smartphone than the iPhone 6S. / © ANDROIDPIT

Xiaomi Mi 5 vs iPhone 6S comparison: price and conclusion

The most affordable version of the Xiaomi Mi 5 (32 GB) can be purchased for around $499. The iPhone 6S currently runs for about $649. That's pretty obnoxious when you consider we are comparing apples to apples here. 

The incredible price disparity underlines a big problem for Apple. The Xiaomi Mi 5 beats the iPhone 6S on almost all fronts. An argument could be made that a higher Mi 5 price would be justified, comparatively. 

Xiaomi's availability issues in the US have hindered its prospects of capturing an easy market opening. When Xiaomi does get its smartphones onto the US market, we could well see a sea-change happen, with customers flocking to its superior, and significantly cheaper, phones.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

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Cory Schmidt

Cory Schmidt
Editor

A Minnesota native, Cory's background is in writing and editing. He received his BA from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and his MA from the University of Kansas. He joined the Android community in 2009 and is excited to be contributing at AndroidPIT.

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  • 2
    Thomas Wong Apr 12, 2016 Link to comment

    Despite Apple's emphasis on design, the camera still juts out from the back. Xiaomi hasn't missed this fact since the Mi 4.
    Even Sony have avoided pokey camera for many revisions, unlike Apple/Samsung.
    Preference is very personal thing.


    • Romeo Izdead 2
      Romeo Izdead Dec 18, 2016 Link to comment

      Although I didn't understand that in the beginning, Apple choice to leave the camera jtting out is actually smart. This allow the Iphones to be thinner, and thus adding a cover just ad a little bit to the size. However on most phones, the camera is now in the phone, which means that when you put a case around the phone, the camera will receive less light because of the cover around it. And I guess Apple realized very few people would risk using their 1000$ phone without a cover. It's very smart from them


  • 10
    Kunal Narang Apr 12, 2016 Link to comment

    If Xiaomi comes to US, Apple will be ready with a big lawsuit.

    Cory SchmidtShubham mandovara


  • JoanMartin 2
    JoanMartin Apr 12, 2016 Link to comment

    I prefer Iphone


  • Selenanita S 3
    Selenanita S Apr 12, 2016 Link to comment

    Prefer iPHone 6S


  • GrimJimCrowley 14
    GrimJimCrowley Apr 12, 2016 Link to comment

    My wife's iPhone battery is much smaller than my Galaxy S6 battery, yet her phone will last all day while I'm constantly charging mine; and that's on stand by, not even counting on screen time. Not sure how you can say Android is making longer lasting devices, since the overwhelming theme I've seen from Android owners is that the batteries in their phones don't last long.


    • 1
      paradiseman Apr 12, 2016 Link to comment

      Maybe that's because she doesn't use her phone at all and buries it in her purse ? I have to admit the author is a bit biased, and he didn't actually perform performance tests, I would definitely say the Mi 5 is better.In fact,all new android flagships are.Oh,and one more thing, what iPhone does your wife have?😼amdtrod


  • 6
    Ahmad M. Cnx Apr 11, 2016 Link to comment

    One thing to add is that this "Xiaomi Mi 5" will probably be better than the next iPhone too because Apple evolves its products slowly so these specs will still be over-rated next to Apple's 2016 flagship product.


  • 3
    Pankaj Saini Apr 11, 2016 Link to comment

    Specsheet is not a comparison. Every geek knows it. What is your personal touch in it. ?

    paradisemanvicky


  • Eric Romero 39
    Eric Romero Apr 11, 2016 Link to comment

    Beautiful comparison, Cory!

    Cory Schmidt


  • 3
    erwin ang Mar 19, 2016 Link to comment

    waiting for in depth review-comparison... the score of performance... the length of battery usage...

    im curious about the ceramic ones... as we know ceramic in our daily-use stuff are fragile things, they broke when fallen down... want to know what kind of ceramic xiaomi used in Mi5 Pro version. waiting for durability test also

    love this articles, cos OTHER author from androidpit always mention about copycatting curved back glass panel from samsung which actually untrue, cos it was used in xiaomi mi note earlier than samsung flagships.

    paradiseman


    • Cory Schmidt 19
      Cory Schmidt Mar 20, 2016 Link to comment

      Hi erwin, thanks for your input. I am also really excited about the Xiaomi Mi 5 Pro, especially the ceramic back. Hopefully we can get it soon!


  • Claude Martinet 1
    Claude Martinet Mar 7, 2016 Link to comment

    Well, i am not very carefull with my stuff, but i would said, that xiaomi is far to be perfect. It look very nice, and the inside is also look very nice, but xiaomi phone are not very solid. (as too many other chinese product; it just look nice but you cannot use it for long...)
    2 years ago, i was big fan of xiaomi, but after breaking three xiaomi phone, i changed my option about xiaomi quality. I belive now is that iphone are way stonger, i have seen many broken iphone and still working. My xiaomi doesnt, Mi-3 got broken screen stop working (i fix it, but it got stolen), Mi-4 got broken screen, (fix it, but after it start to bug). Hong-Mi, one day just stop working, battery not charging anymore.

    I never had other smartphone appart from xiaomi one, but form what i remember, nokia and other phone i used before, were much much more solid. That can be generalized, i have seen many similiar product in China. recent Chinese products, improved a lot in design and performance, but are still very very poor quality.


    • Cory Schmidt 19
      Cory Schmidt Mar 7, 2016 Link to comment

      Hi Claude,
      Thank you for your comment. Does the ceramic back of the Mi 5 Pro entice you? Xiaomi really sold that during their presentation at MWC and I was wondering if that would persuade you.


  • Vivek Sharma 2
    Vivek Sharma Mar 6, 2016 Link to comment

    At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what brand i am holding in my hand, if it's working fine. And to say that xiaomi just works fine would be an insult to the great products they offer at such an amazing prices. Just forget the brand name and try to think as a neutral, xiaomi is juat class apart. Whenever we see the comparisons over sites we would always get some biased reviews, just look at the damn price, xiaomi costs less than half these big brands, but people would try hard to stir this fact against xiaomi. When they lower the price they lower the standards, no sir, no, if you have actually used xiaomi, you would never say that. proud owner of mi pad (better than apple i pad mini), mi4 and soon mi5 as well.

    RichadDiptangshu M.


    • 3
      Richad Apr 11, 2016 Link to comment

      Ya ur 110% ri8....ive used Xiaomi products too n neva found any issues...infact their bulid quality is far superior to dat of Samsung budget segment phones

      surya kumar


  • 2
    Hashim Jamal Mar 5, 2016 Link to comment

    Now this is one article that is not biased and true on reality. I have always seen iphone comparison reviews to be very biased toward the iphone so much so that it looks the reviewers are being paid for that.

    I've always doubted the performance figures of iphones to those of super-class, high potential and the super customisable android league phones. Iphone 6s is so heavy, its display so out of class in comparison of any league android phone and its battery sucks.

    I have seen my friends keeping the iphone display light always to a minimum to cope with the battery shortage, which clearly shows this is a stupid phone which can't even provide a good battery backup just to keep the display lighted up, and that also at an insane sale price.

    I have been a fan of Xiaomi, have got mi4 as well as mi4i, and will be having mi5 as soon as its available.

    Thanks for the review and for putting to light the hidden crap that iphone has got.

    Richad


    • 2
      Roy van den Hengel Mar 5, 2016 Link to comment

      How can you speak of not being biased when u use Xiaomi's test as a reference? While the result fits your bill? What's strange that the 6s and 6 perform about the same while the S has optical stabilization. That's a bit strange to say the least. I hope to see an independent comparison soon.


      • Cory Schmidt 19
        Cory Schmidt Mar 7, 2016 Link to comment

        Thanks for your input here Roy but I must disagree with you. The iPhone 6 is not featured in the video at all. It is the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.


    • Cory Schmidt 19
      Cory Schmidt Mar 7, 2016 Link to comment

      Thanks Hashim :)


    • 3
      Richad Apr 11, 2016 Link to comment

      Agree wid u


  • 18
    Deactivated Account Mar 4, 2016 Link to comment

    Why comparison between Android & Apple. Both are different platform. Nowadays companies are copying each others design just like VIVO Xplay5 copied Samsung's concept of curved screen and body design but when it comes to technology and R&D then things get cleared. Engaged 6GB of RAM along with Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 doesn't mean that phone will work smoothly forever. For sometime it will work hassle free but after sometime it will show it's real colors. I have witnessed so many new companies providing devices with 2GB of RAM at very low cost but when you try to use it to extreme then everything gets cleared. Starts lag, hang, overheat automatically switch off in between operation. New companies don't waste money in research & development they just copy paste. Companies provides devices at low price but somewhere quality is compromised & that's the worst part of whole deal.

    Richad


    • Cory Schmidt 19
      Cory Schmidt Mar 4, 2016 Link to comment

      Thank you for your input anshul :)


    • 3
      Richad Apr 11, 2016 Link to comment

      But Xiaomi is not one of those Cheap Companies....Xiaomi's products are much betr ....or else they wouldn't have been world's 3rd largest mobile manufacturer in just 3 years n too by exporring to just 8 countries


  • surya kumar 16
    surya kumar Mar 3, 2016 Link to comment

    Never compare android and apple.i would rather buy a 2013 flagship model than buying an iPhone.Buying an iPhone is like locking themselves in padded cell in the name of security.#ioshater

    Richad


  • Parvind Chahal 21
    Parvind Chahal Mar 3, 2016 Link to comment

    apple should learn from this......look at price apple

    Richadsurya kumar


  • Paul Warner 8
    Paul Warner Mar 3, 2016 Link to comment

    I agree with you . I have had for the past year a Xiaomi Mi 4i and it's great value for money. They just need to sort out any legal issues and set the correct LTE bands for the US market and Apple I'm sure will be running to the lawyers again as the competition heats up just as they did with Samsung when they started to hit apple's bottom line..

    Richad


    • Cory Schmidt 19
      Cory Schmidt Mar 4, 2016 Link to comment

      I think you're spot on here Paul. I'm sure Apple already has legal plans in the works for when Xiaomi finally challenges them in their backyard.


    • 3
      Richad Apr 11, 2016 Link to comment

      LTE issue is bcoz Xiaomi is not sold officially in ur region

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