Chinese smartphone brand Xiaomi at an event in China has announced its flagship for 2018 – the Xiaomi Mi 8. The Xiaomi Mi 8 is successor to the Mi 6 that was launched last year. Well, in case you are wondering where did the Mi 7 go, here’s the answer.
The Xiaomi Mi 8 looks similar to the iPhone X – both from the front and back – thanks to the notched display and dual cameras at the back stacked vertically in the top-left corner. The back of the Mi 8 is made out of glass, and on the front, it has a 6.21-inch AMOLED display with 18.7:9 aspect ratio and a resolution of 2248 x 1080 pixels. Oh, and it also tiny bezels at the top, left and right, with bottom bezel being relatively larger. That said, the Mi 8 is also the first Xiaomi smartphone that comes with a notch.
The notch on the Mi 8 is larger than what we have seen on other recently launched Android smartphones. Well, that’s because the notch on Mi 8 not only houses the 20 MP front camera, earpiece and proximity sensor, but, it is also home to infrared lens that is used for Infrared Face Unlock feature which makes it possible to unlock the smartphone using your face in the dark.
The 20 MP front camera that resides insides the notch has f/2.0 aperture and 1.8 μm pixel size. Moreover, it also comes with AI-based features like AI Beauty and AI Portrait Mode. The former makes you look better in selfies whereas the latter blurs out the background to give Bokeh Effect to your selfies.
Moving on to the back, the Xiaomi Mi 8 features a dual camera setup which is a combination of two 12 MP snappers. And, just like the front camera, the rear cameras also support AI-based Portrait Mode, and, also come with AI-based scene detection.
That said, speaking about the innards, the Xiaomi Mi 8 comes with Qualcomm’s latest and greatest Snapdragon 845 SoC which is paired with 6 GB RAM. The Mi 8 also comes in three storage variants – 64 GB, 128 GB and 256 GB.
On the software front, the Xiaomi Mi 8 runs MIUI 9 out-of-the-box which is based on Android 8.1 Oreo. However, it is upgradeable to MIUI 10 that was also announced at today’s event in China. The Mi 8 comes in four colors – Black, White, Blue and Rose Gold – and, it ships with a 3400 mAh battery that keeps the entire package up and running.
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
Alongside launching the Mi 8, Xiaomi also launched the Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition to celebrate the 8th year anniversary of Xiaomi. The Mi 8 Explorer Edition has design and hardware that’s similar to the Mi 8, however, there are some differences.
The Mi 8 Explorer Edition comes with 8 GB RAM and 128 GB of internal storage, and, it also comes with 3D Face Unlock as well as In-display Fingerprint Scanner. Furthermore, the Mi 8 Explorer Edition also comes with a transparent back that shows off the innards of the smartphone.
Xiaomi Mi 8 Specifications
- CPU: Snapdragon 845 octa-core processor
- RAM: 6 GB (8 GB on Mi 8 Explorer Edition)
- GPU: Adreno 630
- Operating System: MIUI 9 based on Android 8.1 Oreo (upgradeable to MIUI 10)
- Display: 6.21-inch Full-HD+ (2248 x 1080 pixels) Always-On AMOLED display with 18.7:9 aspect ratio
- Rear Camera: 12 MP (f/1.8 aperture, 1.4 µm pixel size) + 12 MP (f/2.4 aperture, 1.0 µm pixel size) Dual Pixel Auto-focus with 4-axis OIS, AI Scene Detection, AI Portrait Mode, Studio Lighting and LED flash
- Front Camera: 20 MP with f/2.0 aperture, 1.8 µm pixel size, AI Beauty Mode, AI Portrait Mode
- Internal Storage: 64/128/256 GB (128 GB on Mi 8 Explorer Edition)
- Connectivity: 4G VoLTE, Dual-frequency GPS, Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi, NFC, USB Type-C
- Other: Fingerprint Scanner (on Mi 8), In-display Fingerprint Scanner (on Mi 8 Explorer Edition), Infrared Face Unlock (on Mi 8), 3D Face Unlock (on Mi 8 Explorer Edition)
- Colors: Black, White, Blue, Rose Gold
- Battery: 3400 mAh
Xiaomi Mi 8 Price and Availability
- Price of 6 GB RAM + 64 GB storage variant: ¥2699 (around $421/₹28,447)
- Price of 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage variant: ¥2999 (around $468/₹31,609)
- Price of 6 GB RAM + 256 GB storage variant: ¥3299 (around $515/₹34,771)
- Price of Mi 8 Explorer Edition (8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage): ¥3699 (around $577/₹38,987)
- Availability:Goes on sale in China from June 5. No word on availability in other markets
