Chinese smartphone brand Xiaomi today announced the Mi 8 Lite with Snapdragon 660 SoC at an event in China. But, that’s not the only phone Xiaomi announced. Alongside the Mi 8 Lite, the company also announced Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro.
The Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro is actually the Mi 8 Explorer Edition, but with some differences. The Mi 8 Pro, like the Mi 8 Explorer Edition, comes with Snapdragon 845 SoC under the hood. But, unlike the Mi 8 Explorer Edition which only comes with 8 GB RAM, the Mi 8 Pro comes with both 6 GB and 8 GB RAM options.
The Mi 8 Pro boasts a 6.21-inch notched display that has aspect ratio of 18.7:9 and a resolution of 2248 x 1080 pixels. This is an AMOLED panel from Samsung, and it comes with our beloved Always-On Display feature.
In terms of optics, the Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro rocks two 12 MP cameras at the back – one of which has a wide-angle lens, with the other one having a telephoto lens. That said, for selfies and video calls, you get a single 20 MP camera on the front.
The Mi 8 Explorer Edition comes with an in-display fingerprint scanner, but, the Mi 8 Pro comes with a pressure-sensitive in-display fingerprint scanner, which is why it’s also called Mi 8 Screen Fingerprint Edition. Xiaomi says this pressure-sensitive in-display fingerprint scanner is 29% faster and 8.8% more accurate than the in-display fingerprint scanner on the Mi 8 Explorer Edition.
The Mi 8 Explorer Edition announced in May comes with 3D Face Unlock, but the Mi 8 Pro announced today doesn’t. Xiaomi has thrown in Infrared Face Unlock instead. This is yet another difference between the Mi 8 Explorer Edition and the Mi 8 Pro. But wait, that’s not it. The Mi 8 Explorer Edition comes with a 3400 mAh battery, whereas the Mi 8 Pro comes with a smaller 3000 mAh battery.
That said, the Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro is offered in three colors – Blue, Gold and a Transparent version that has a back panel showing off the innards of the phone, like the Snapdragon 845 SoC. But the back panel isn’t actually transparent. It’s just designed that way to give that illusion.
Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro Specifications
- CPU: 2.8 GHz Snapdragon 845 octa-core processor
- RAM: 6/8 GB LPDDR4X
- GPU: Adreno 630
- Operating System: MIUI based on Android 8.1 Oreo
- Display: 6.21-inch Full-HD+ (2248 x 1080 pixels) Always-On AMOLED display with 18.7:9 aspect ratio, HDR, 600 nits brightness and 402 ppi pixel density
- Rear Camera: 12 MP (f/1.8 aperture, wide-angle lens, 4-axis OIS) + 12 MP (f/2.4 aperture, telephoto lens) Dual Pixel Auto-focus, AI Scene Detection, AI Portrait Mode, AI Beauty Mode and LED flash
- Front Camera: 20 MP with AI Beauty Mode, AI Scene Detection, AI Portrait Mode, HDR
- Internal Storage: 128 GB UFS
- SIM: Dual SIM
- Connectivity: Dual 4G VoLTE, Dual-frequency GPS, Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, NFC, USB Type-C
- Other: Pressure-sensitive In-display Fingerprint Scanner, Infrared Face Unlock, aptX, aptX HD
- Colors: Blue, Gold, Transparent Black
- Battery: 3000 mAh with Quick Charge 4+ (bundled adapter only supports Quick Charge 3.0)
Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro Price and Availability
- Price of 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage variant: ¥3199 (around $466/₹34,000)
- Price of 8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage variant: ¥3599 (around $525/₹38,251)
- Availability:Goes on sale in China from September 21. No word on availability in other markets
