The Xiaomi Mi 5 release date is nearing, and with that comes a new alleged Xiaomi Mi 5 leaked render which shows the device having a physical home button, which according to Phone Arena, is a first for the company.

The reported Xiaomi Mi 5 leaked render comes via Weibo. The new report is certainly plausible since it echoes previous rumors which cited analyst Pan Jiutang.

According to previous Xiaomi Mi 5 rumors in October, the Xiaomi Mi 5 will not be the first phone equipped with Qualcomm's ultrasound fingerprint scanner, and with the alleged physical home button on the phone, it appears that Jiutang was right.

According to Android Authority, being equipped with the physical home button could make the Xiaomi Mi 5 the first among the company's devices to steer clear of their traditional "standard 3 capacitive buttons arrangement."

According to Jiutang's statement, Xiaomi found out that Qualcomm's fingerprint scanner isn't as reliable and stable as they had hoped. This could reportedly lead the company to use a traditional print reader, which if it so happens, could have the reader embedded under the rumored physical home button.

Another Xiaomi Mi 5 rumor has come out revealing a release date. The Xiaomi Mi 5 release will reportedly take place on January 21, 2016, and that the actual launch of the device will take place the month after that.

Meanwhile, the Xiaomi Mi 5 specs and features has long been rumored. These include a 5.2-inch display with a Force Touch version, Quad HD display, a Snapdragon 820 SoC chipset, MIUI v7, 4GB RAM, 16MP rear camera, a pre-installed Android 6.0 and 3000mAh battery capacity.

As of writing, none of the Xiaomi Mi 5 rumors have yet to be confirmed.

The recent report on Weibo also claimed that there will be two versions of the Xiaomi Mi 5, one of which will be priced at $311 USD, while the other version is priced at $389 USD.