There are rumors regarding a new rugged smartphone to be launched by Xiaomi in 2018, which will be waterproof, dustproof, and shockproof. It could either be a new smartphone or a new series altogether.
There are rumors about Redmi 5 Plus being under work as well. A leaked render of the Redmi 5 Plus, revealing its design, was shared by a Weibo user earlier today. Multiple details like the dual-camera setup on the rear of the smartphone placed vertically in the center, and the fingerprint scanner and a dual-LED flash right below them can be seen in it. It’s expected to come in a metal design along with an 18:9 aspect ratio display.
With Redmi 5 Plus, Xiaomi plans to introduce the full-screen display to mid-range phones. It will possibly be powered by the new Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset, which can power the large 18:9 aspect ratio display while maintaining the budget. It will be the second Xiaomi smartphone to sport a bezel-less design after the Mi MIX 2. The smartphone, though, will face tough competition from the likes of Huawei, Oppo, and Vivo.
With pocket-friendly devices & numerous variants, Xiaomi has maintained its position as the fastest-growing smartphone brand in India and China for quite some time now. The global smartphone shipments have touched a record 400 million unit mark in the third quarter this year. The top 10 players have 75% of the market under them. This leaves just a quarter of the remaining over 600 brands to compete in. Xiaomi has shipped 28 million smartphones, capturing 7% of the market share in Q3 2017, which is undoubtedly impressive.
