Rumors are widespread that Samsung intends to unbox the Galaxy S7 earlier than expected, its release date likely to happen in the immediate weeks following the 2016 CES in January. And to launch afterwards is the Xiaomi Mi5 that the latest reports indicate will be revealed via the 2016 MWC in February. If true, it's going to be an epic battle of Android flagship titans.
And Android fans are left to ask: Which smartphone to get? Or the better question is - which is the better device?
Specs concerns
According to GizmoChina, the Mi5 is believed to come out boasting of a 5.3-inch screen profile with Quad HD technology firing up its 2K or 2560 x 1440 display resolution. The same device window will be the viewfinder to the Mi5's 16-megapixel main camera. Juicing up the gizmo is a decent 3000mAh battery.
The Galaxy S7, on the other hand, will touchdown with a 5.2-inch display for the regular version (there will be a phablet edition to be called as the S7 Edge at 5.7-inch) and the front panel as expected will sport Samsung's signature Super AMOLED. The chance is high that the S7 will be the first Samsung mobile phone to debut in 4K resolution.
On the camera side, the GS7 will most likely match the Mi5 rear shooting prowess with a 16MP main shooter that is rumored to be equipped with dual-lens technology among its killer features. The S7 battery pack should be no more than 3500mAh.
Processing chip
The power under the hood of the Mi5 is the mighty Snapdragon 820 that iDigitalTimes said will be paired with up to 4GB of RAM, which translates to speedy and snappy mobile computing performance.
As the first 2016 flagship of Samsung, the S7 will also get the SD 820, which reports said Qualcomm has co-developed with the South Korean tech giant. However, the S7 is also the recipient of Samsung's behemoth chip - the Exynos 8890 M1 chip. Per MobiPicker, the chip scored a mindboggling 103692 points in a recent AnTuTu benchmark test and it is the highest score recorded so far. Any of the S7 chips are also forecasted to be supported by over 4GB of RAM.
Platform
The Xiaomi Mi5 is an Android flagship, which ensures that the device mobile operating system is a custom version of the Google mobile OS. The same applies to the Galaxy S7 - it will run on the latest TouchWiz that essentially is a skinned Android - but if recent reports will prove accurate, that Google will help Samsung in optimizing TouchWiz, then the chance is high that the S7 will debut with a near native version of Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
Price
In this aspect, Samsung's usual high pricing template for its flagships could prove as a deal-breaker for the Galaxy S7, which should start at no less than $700, SIM-free.
For most buyers, the reported $400 starting price of the Xiaomi Mi5 on release date is too tempting to pass us considering that its features and functionalities mostly measure up with that of the Samsung Galaxy S7.