Week 51 in review: Xiaomi Mi 5, Lumia and Samsung rumors

Victor, 18 December, 2015

It's been yet another busy week in the mobile realm and as has become tradition, it's time to look back once again and see what news captivated our collective attention in the past few days. We start off with Xiaomi – the Chinese OEM that seems to be on a never-ending winning streak lately. It just recently launched an updated version of its Redmi Note handset – the Redmi Note Prime, which somehow manages to pack even more value within the modest $125 price tag. With a Snapdragon 410 SoC, 2GB of RAM, a 5.5-inch HD display and a 13MP main camera, the device is meant to push the boundaries of budget-level offers yet again.

But the real treat everybody is actually looking forward to is the next flagship offer, courtesy of Xiaomi. The Mi 5 is definitely shaping up as a true-next flagship, boasting a 5.5-inch QHD display, 4GB of RAM, a 20MP shooter and Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 820 chipset. Initial leaks, however, also hint at a flagship price for the handset at $599 – still quite reasonable, considering its specs.

Microsoft has also been gathering a lot of attention lately and the Lumia 850 in particular. Codenamed Honjo, it is apparently Microsoft's upper mid-range offer and is pending release shortly. Specs are still open to debate, but could include a 5.7-inch FullHD display and Snapdragon 617 SoC – quite an upgrade from previous rumors. Then there is also the 5.0-inch Lumia 650 to look forward to.

Of course, no week can go without mentioning Samsung. The Korean giant is keeping fans on its toes with more than one eagerly-anticipated devices. We recently got out hands on some exclusive renders and measurements of the upcoming Galaxy A9, which, along with subsequent leaks and rumors, definitely suggest a huge 6.0-inch display, inside a thin metal shell. Powering the device should be the new Snapdragon 620 SoC, which despite its mid-range nature, actually packs quite a lot of power. The A9 is definitely interesting, especially in the context of the upcoming Galaxy S7 flagship line. It has been popping up all over the place, but sadly, Samsung will apparently make us wait for the announcement a bit longer, as the S7 will likely be skipping CES 2016 in January.

In other news, the Yu Yutopia was officially announced in India this week, we caught a few early glimpses of the HTC One X9, as well as the new Motorola Moto X (4th Gen) and the invitation-free sales of the OnePlus 2 have finally kicked off, with rumors on a OnePlus mini in the works.