Xiaomi is headed to Mobile World Congress with a showcase for the first time this year. The company has announced that it will be holding an invitation-only preview of the upcoming Xiaomi Mi 5 smartphone on 24 February. the kicker to this announcement is that it will happen on the same day as the official launch of the Mi 5 in Beijing.
Admittedly, it may not be an exactly simultaneous preview and launch event at both locations; timezone differences will make that rather difficult to coordinate. However, this is a milestone in Xiaomi’s expansion plans and may indicate what the company has in store for 2016. Xiaomi has traditionally stayed away from large consumer technology conventions.
While this news is rather exciting for fans of the brand, Xiaomi does not appear to be on the list of exhibitors at the Spanish convention. We’ve reached out to Xiaomi for more information, but it is likely that the Chinese company is holding the preview in a location near the event and does not intend to be on the show floor. Which is likely considering Xiaomi VP Hugo Barra held a similar private event in Barcelona last year. [Update: we have confirmation that the Mi 5 preview will take place in a location separate from the main MWC hall.]
The Xiaomi Mi 5 is the next highly anticipated flagship smartphone from the Chinese manufacturer. It is set to feature Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 820 processor, and is rumoured to be split into four variations of RAM and internal storage.
To be honest, there is little that hasn’t been leaked about the Mi 5; and all we can do is wait for 24 February to roll around to see for ourselves if the rumours are true. More importantly, the event in Barcelona could mark the beginning of more ambitious global expansion plans for Xiaomi.
[Source: Hugo Barra (Facebook)]
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