Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has announced its latest flagship devices in the Mi series dubbed as the Mi 8, Mi 8 Explorer Edition and Mi 8 SE at its annual launch event to celebrate its 8th anniversary. Apart from this, the company also announced the Mi Band 3, MIUI 10, MI VR Standalone and Mi TV 4 75” at the event.
While the company announced the MIUI 10 today, the newly launched Mi series devices are currently running on MIUI 9 and are scheduled to be upgraded to MIUI 10 in the coming days. The Mi 8 and Mi 8 Explorer Edition feature similar specifications but differ in terms of design. The Mi 8 SE has been launched with the Snapdragon 710 SoC, making it the first device to be powered by the recently announced SoC.
Xiaomi Mi 8, Mi 8 Explorer Edition Specifications
As mentioned earlier, the Mi 8 and Mi 8 Explorer Edition feature similar specifications but differ in terms of design. Both the devices run on Android 8.1 Oreo with MIUI 9 skinned on top and are scheduled to receive the MIUI 10 update soon.
While the Mi 8 features a rear mounted fingerprint sensor, the Mi 8 Explorer Edition is equipped with an in-display fingerprint sensor, similar to the recently launched Vivo X21. Additionally, it has a transparent back panel, allowing you to see some of the internals of the device.
The Mi 8 and Mi 8 Explorer Edition feature a 6.21-inch full HD+ Super AMOLED display with DCI-P3 color gamut, a resolution of 2248 x 1080 pixels and an aspect ratio of 18.7:9. Both the devices sport a notch at the top which houses the front camera, proximity sensor, earpiece and infrared sensor.
In terms of performance, the Mi 8 and Mi 8 Explorer Edition are powered by the octa core Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC coupled with Adreno 630 GPU. In terms of memory, the Mi 8 will be available in three variants – 6GB + 64GB, 6GB + 128GB and 6GB + 256GB. The Mi 8 Explorer Edition has been launched with 8GB RAM and 256GB of internal storage.
Coming to the camera department, the Mi 8 and Mi 8 SE feature a dual camera setup at the back consisting of a 12MP primary camera with f/1.8 aperture, 1.4µm pixel size, 26mm wide-angle lens, 4-axis OIS, Optical zoom and a secondary 12MP camera with f/2.4 aperture, 2X zoom and 1.0µm pixel size. On the front, they sport a 20MP selfie camera with AI portrait support.
The Mi 8 and Mi 8 Explorer Edition are powered by a 3,400mAh and 3,000mAh battery respectively, with Qualcomm Quick Charge 4.0 support. While the Mi 8 features IR face unlock, the Explorer Edition supports 3D face unlock. Connectivity options on the devices include Dual 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11ac, Dual frequency GPS, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC and a USB Type-C port.
Xiaomi Mi 8 SE Specifications
In terms of performance, the Mi 8 SE is powered by the recently launched Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 SoC coupled with a Adreno 616 GPU. In terms of memory, the device has been launched in two variants – 4GB RAM + 64GB storage and 6BG RAM + 64GB storage.
The Xiaomi Mi 8 SE runs on Android 8.1 Oreo with MIUI 9 skinned on top and is scheduled to get the MIUI 10 update soon. It features a 5.88-inch full HD+ Super AMOLED display with a notch, a resolution of 2248 x 1080 pixels and an aspect ratio of 18.7:9, similar to the Mi 8.
Coming to the camera department, the Xiaomi Mi 8 SE features an AI dual camera setup at the back consisting of a 12MP primary camera with f/1.9 aperture along with a 5MP secondary camera with f/2.0 aperture. On the front, the device sports a 20MP selfie camera with AI portrait support.
The Xiaomi Mi 8 SE is powered by a 3,120mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0 support and features a rear mounted fingerprint sensor. Connectivity options on the device include Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, USB Type-C port, GPS and Bluetooth 5.0.
Pricing and Availability
The Xiaomi Mi 8 is priced at CNY 2,699 for the 64GB storage variant, CNY 2,999 for the 128GB storage variant and CNY 3,299 for the 256GB variant. The Mi 8 Explorer Edition is priced at CNY 3,699. Both the phones will be available in China from June 5 and are expected to be launched In India soon.
The Xiaomi Mi 8 SE has been priced at CNY 1,799 for the 4GB RAM variant and 1,999 for the 6GB RAM variant. It will go on sale in China starting from June 8.
