Jan 12, 2017 08:22 AM EST By Pretty Abegail Pacilan, UniversityHerald Reporter

In August last year, Chinese company Xiaomi launched its Redmi Note 4 sporting a Helio X20 SoC, this summer fans speculated that it will release Redmi Note 5, a smartphone that is to be powered by a 2.1 GHz MediaTek Helio x25 deca-core SoC after it reportedly passed the US FCC certification. Sad to say, this Chinese smartphone will only have to see mother land China and other Asian markets.

Leaked certification provided some details about the specs and features of the smartphone. Aside from having an expandable storage via a micro SD slot that caters up to 128 GB, it is also expected to be powered by a 2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 octa-core SoC or a 2.1 GHz MediaTek Helio x25 deca-core SoC, Gadgets 360 reported.

As successor to Redmi Note 4, Note 5 is believed to be another budget winner. It can be noted that Redmi series from Xiaomi is a force to reckon with when it comes to budget smartphones not just in China, but also in markets like India - the company's second home, Android Central reviewed. As for optics, sources added Redmi Note 5 is expected to sport a 16-megapixel rear camera and an 8-megapixel selfie camera as well.

Fans speculated it will be a little lighter since it only packs a 4000mAh battery with support for Quick Charge 3.0, compared to Note 4's 4100mAh battery. It will also give various connectivity options to users like VoLTE, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi 802.11n, GPS, and USB Type-C port.

The phone is expected to run on Android 7.1 Nougat-based MIUI 9 ROM. It is expected to bring cool features of upgraded MIUI caller ID, integrated payment, Dual Space, updater calculator app, and Gallery app which now give options for video editing and cloud storage. Phones eligible to get MIUI 9, according to Xiamiadvices.com are Redmi Note 3, Mi5, Mi Note 2, Mi Mix, Mi Max, Redmi 4, Mi Pad 2, Mi 5S Plus and more.

Redmi Note 5 will only offer shades of Gold, Silver and Black to customers.

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