Xiaomi's Mi 5s and Mi 5s Plus laugh at your flagship's specs

Xiaomi, the Chinese company that makes phones with specs that top Samsung and Apple flagships, and then sells them at half the price, is at it again. 

The company just launched two new phones in China: The Mi 5s and the Mi 5s Plus. The phones are an obvious answer to the iPhone — both are very, very powerful devices, but the 5s Plus is bigger and has a dual camera. 

SEE ALSO: Xiaomi Mi 5 is a flagship smartphone with a really low price

As you might imagine, the specs on these things are top notch. The Xiaomi Mi 5s has a 5.15-inch, Full HD screen, a 2.15GHz Snapdragon 821 chip, 3/4GB of RAM and 64/128GB of storage. 

It also has a fingerprint scanner has a 12-megapixel rear camera, and a 4-megapixel selfie cam with an f/2.0 aperture and 2-micron pixels. 

The price is RMB 1,999 or $300 for the 3GB/64GB variant, while the 4GB/128GB version costs RMB 2,299 or $345. 

5s Plus currently the most powerful out there

As for the Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus, it is, on paper, currently the most powerful smartphone out there. It has a 5.7-inch, Full HD screen, a 2.35GHz Snapdragon 821 chip, 4/6GB of RAM, 64/128GB of storage, and a fingerprint scanner. 

It also has a Sony-made, dual, 13-megapixel camera on the back, the setup being similar to the dual-camera setup on the Huawei P9 — one camera takes color snaps and the other monochrome for increased sharpness. The selfie cam on the front is also a 4-megapixel one.  

The price for the 4GB/64GB variant is RMB 2299 ($345), while the 6GB/128GB version costs RMB 2,599 ($390). 

While the spec sheet for both devices reads great (especially considering the price), there's more technical wizardry going on there that's not immediately apparent. 

For example, the fingerprint sensor on the Mi 5s is ultrasonic and placed under glass, which should theoretically mean it will not wear out with use. And the dual camera on the Mi 5s Plus sits flush with the phone's back, unlike the one on the iPhone 7 Plus. Interestingly, the sensor on the Mi 5s — Sony's IMX378 1/2.3" CMOS sensor with 1.55um pixels — is more advanced than the 13-megapixel sensors on the Mi 5s Plus.

Design-wise, the phones aren't far off their predecessor, the Mi 5. Both have an aluminum body and a curvy back; the Plus has a round fingerprint sensor nested below the dual rear camera, while the Mi 5s's back is clean save for the camera sensor and the antenna lines. 

There's no jet black (or any sort of black) option, however — an odd omission from Xiaomi which takes pride in following in Apple's footsteps (and sometimes being a step ahead, as well). 

The phones will be available in four colors: gold, rose gold, silver and white, and will go on sale starting Sept. 29. There's no word on international availability.