Xiaomi Mi 5X review: Popularity contest

Telephony

The dialer and the phonebook share a single app, but two shortcuts bring you straight to the tab you need. The app has a pleasant flat look which feels somewhat fresh. It uses a tabbed interface - recents and dialer on the first and the contact list on the second.

Call recording is available - the files can be saved either on your device or on your MiCloud.

The Phonebook

The dialer may look rather familiar, but it's quite capable. Unfortunately, most of the new smart features are only available in the few markets where Xiaomi has an official presence.

It can automatically recognize business numbers, as well as scan contacts thanks to the Xiaomi's Caller ID database.

The Dialer

Loudspeaker test

The speaker on the Xiaomi Mi 5X scored an Excellent mark in our loudness test, the same as the Mi Max 2. The sound is rich and crisp, with good bass and clean high notes.

Notable apps

The Mi 5X offers an excellent file managing app called Explorer, which lets you browse the files in its internal storage and group them by type.

Explorer

MIUI v9 also offers a Security app. It can scan your phone for malware, manage your blacklist, manage or restrict your data usage, configure battery behavior, and free up some RAM. It can also manage the permissions of your installed apps.

The Security app also allows you to define the battery behavior of selected apps and applies restrictions only to the apps you choose.

Security app • Cleaner • Battery management • Managing a single app • Battery Saver

The Mi Remote uses the IR blaster to control anything from TVs (including the Mi TV, of course) to digital cameras. The setup process is relatively straightforward, and a handy option shares the remotes you've set up with others on the same Wi-Fi network. You'd have to go through the setup only once per home, assuming everybody else uses a Xiaomi phone as well.

MiRemote app

We liked the Compass app. It has a clean interface, shows the magnetic directions, and doubles as a level meter. If you lift the phone up, then you'll get a nice augmented reality view with a real-time overlay of East/West/North/South.

Compass • level • VR directions

The Calculator app supports advanced calculations and conversions. Finally, the Notes app offers templates and checklists support.

Notes • Notes • Calculator • Conversions Menu • Conversions

Finally, the Mi Browser is a very powerful web browser with integrated download manager, night mode, reading mode, ad blocker, pop-up blocker, among other useful features. It's fast and lightweight, and we like it.

Mi Browser