14 DAY TRIAL // Xiaomi will be skipping Mobile World Congress (MWC) this year, since it just lost its global VP, Hugo Barra, who will soon join Facebook's Oculus team. That might be a major setback for the Chinese company that said numerous times that it was planning to bring its products to the United States.
Although Xiaomi hasn't admitted yet, the real reason it only sells its smartphones in China and a few other Asian countries is because the company infringes on a lot of patents.
The moment its products reach the U.S. through official channels, Xiaomi risks being slammed with lawsuits for infringing on these patents.
Nevertheless, there are plenty of third-party retailers in China that sell Xiaomi's smartphones internationally. Keep in mind, though, that even if you are offered 1-year of warranty, in many cases this is just on paper.
That being said, if you're still interested in acquiring a Xiaomi handset, here is one that seems a real monster. The Redmi Pro 2 recently emerged on Weibo, and judging by its price and specs, it will certainly become very popular among customers in China.
Larger battery than its predecessor, Qualcomm CPU instead of MediaTek
GizChina reports that Xiaomi Redmi Pro 2 will soon be released in China in two versions: 4GB RAM/64GB ROM and 6GB RAM/128GB ROM. The former will be available for the equivalent of $230, whereas the latter will cost $260.
Aside from the large amount of memory, the premium Xiaomi Redmi Pro 2 will be powered by a Qualcomm 66x processor and a humongous 4,500 mAh battery, a serious upgrade over the last year model that packs a 4,050 mAh battery inside.
As for the display, the Redmi Pro 2 will sport a 5.5-inch screen with full HD (1080p) resolution. It's also said to come with a 12-megapixel camera that features Sony IMX36 image sensor and Dual Pixel autofocus.
No word on the software, but it would be great if it ships with some sort of Android 7.0 Nougat-based UI, like MIUI 8.0 perhaps.