Last week at the Mobile World Congress, Xiaomi unveiled its much anticipated flagship handset: the Mi 5. Like other handsets from Xiaomi, the Mi 5 packs top-notch internals at a price that is more than half of what other flagship phones like the Galaxy S7 and LG G5 cost. The handset is all set to go on its first flash sale in China on March 1, and if the pre-registrations for the sale are anything to go by, demand for the Mi 5 seems to be off the roof. 

Since the registrations for the phone started last week and until it closed earlier today, more than 16.8 million people had registered for the first flash sale of the handset. This was achieved in just 5 days, and the number is far higher than what Xiaomi has ever received for any of its handsets before.

The first flash sale of the Mi 5 on March 1 will see two variants of the handset going on sale: 3GB/32GB variant and 4GB/64GB RAM variant. Xiaomi, however, will only be selling the white variant of the Mi 5 tomorrow, with other colors going up for sale in future flash sales. The 128GB variant of the Mi 5 that comes with a ceramic back will also not be available for purchase in the first flash sale.

Xiaomi has already made it clear that the Mi 5 will only be going on sale in China, India and other key markets for its business and that it will not be available globally. With its combination of a beautiful design, powerful specs and a very attractive price, it really is a shame to that Xiaomi has no plans of launching the Mi 5 in other parts of the world.