Xiaomi Launches Mi 8, Mi 8 Explorer Edition and Mi 8 SE Back Home

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Xioami Mi 8 is finally official and most of the rumors turned out to be true. As expected, it comes with a notch – the first Xiaomi phone to do so. Taking a leaf out of Apple’s book, Xiaomi has packed self-developed infrared sensors to offer face unlock feature in the MI 8.

Like OnePlus 6 and Vivo X21, the Mi 8 user will be able to toggle off the notch on the display. Like the competition (read OnePlus 6 and Honor 10),  Xiaomi also works with glass and aluminum fame in its seventh generation flagship. The phone has four-way curved glass back panel which is pierced by dual optics and fingerprint sensor.

The Mi 8 features a 6.21-inch AMOLED panel from Samsung along with 3D face unlock setup and a 20-megapixel selfie camera on the front. The screen has 2240X1080 pixels resolution with 18.7:9 aspect ratio.

Inside, the phone packs Qualcomm’s high-end Snapdragon 845 mobile processor along with 6GB RAM and 64GB/128GB/256GB internal storage.

Also Read: Top 6 MIUI 10 Features, Release Date and List of Compatible Devices

The phone comes with 12-megapixel dual camera setup which manages to score 105 on DxOMark test. Another key highlight of the phone is dual-frequency GPS, which as per Xiaomi is more accurate than regular GPS.  

Xiaomi Mi 8 Prices

  • Xiaomi Mi 8 6GB+64GB Prices CNY 2,699
  • Xiaomi Mi 8 6GB+128GB Price CNY 2,999
  • Xiaomi Mi 8 6GB+256GB Price CNY 3,299

Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition

The biggest talking point of the Mi 8 Explore Edition is a transparent back panel which certainly is a head turner. Another addition from Mi 8 to the Explorer Edition is an in-display fingerprint sensor and iPhone X like 3D face unlock which will also work in a dark room. Xiaomi packs additional 2Gigs of RAM and 128GB ROM in the Explorer edition. Rest of the specs remains the same as the Mi 8. 

Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition Price

  • Xiaomi Mi 8 Exloprer Edition 8GB+128GB Price: CNY 3,799

Also See: Lenovo Z5 Selfie Camera Will Be On The Chin Below The Display

Xiaomi Mi 8 SE 

Following Apple’s footstep, Xioami also announced trimmed down version of its flagship and named it with an SE suffix. The Mi 8 SE becomes the first phone boarded by Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 chipset. The phone is equipped with a smaller 5.88-inch AMOLED display with full HD+ resolution and 18.7:9 aspect ratio. Despite featuring a notch at the top, it doesn’t come with iPhone X style fancy 3D Face ID unlock feature. The handset includes a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor.

On the optics front, the Xiaomi Mi 8 SE has a 20MP selfie camera on the front and a dual 12MP + 5MP dual camera unit at the rear end. Xiaomi is also offering in-trend AI enhancements such as beautification, bokeh and scene recognition in the device. The 8 SE is shipped with a 3,120 mAh battery along with a USB Type-C based 18W Quick Charge 3.0 charger.

Xiaomi Mi 8 SE Prices

  • Xiaomi Mi 8 SE 4GB + 64GB version price CNY 1,799
  • Xiaomi MI 8 SE 6GB + 64GB Version price CNY 1,999

Xiaomi Mi 8 / Mi 8 Explorer Edition specifications

  • 6.21-inch Full HD+, AMOLED display, 18:7:9 Aspact Ratio; max 600 nits brightness, 60000:1 contrast ratio, DCI-P3 color gamut
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 Processor, Octa-Core, Adreno 630 GPU
  • 6GB LPDDR4x RAM / for Explorer eddtion 8GB LPDDR4x RAM
  • 64GB / 128GB  / 256GB (UFS 2.1) storage
  • Android 8.1 (Oreo) with MIUI 9, upgradable to MIUI 10
  • Dual SIM (nano + nano)
  • 12MP rear camera with 26mm wide-angle lens, 1/2.6″ Sony IMX363 sensor, f/1.8 aperture, 1.4µm pixel size, dual-tone LED flash, 4-axis OIS, Optical zoom, 4K video recording, secondary 12MP rear camera with  Samsung S5K3M3 sensor,  f/2.4 aperture, 1.0µm pixel size, 2X zoom
  • 20MP front-facing camera with real-time AI portraits
  • IR Face unlock  (Mi 8) / 3D Face unlock (Mi 8 Explorer Edition)
  • Fingerprint sensor (Mi 8) / in-display fingerprint sensor (Mi 8 Explorer Edition)
  • Dimensions: 154.9×74.8x 7.6 mm; Weight: 175g (Mi 8); 177g  (Mi 8 Explorer Edition)
  • Dual 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11ac dual-band (2×2 MU-MIMO ), Bluetooth 5, Dual-frequency (L1+L5) GPS/GLONASS/Beidou, NFC, USB Type-C
  • 3400mAh battery for (Mi 8) / 3000mAh for (Mi 8 Explorer Edition); Quick charge 4+ fast charging

Also Read: Xiaomi Mi Band 3 with Bigger Display and NFC Launched-  Features and Specifications

Xiaomi Mi 8 SE specifications

  • 5.88-inch Full HD+ AMOLED Display, 18.7:9  Aspact Ratio, max 600 nits brightness, 60000:1 contrast ratio, DCI-P3 color gamut, 2.5D curved glass
  • QualcommSnapdragon 710 Mobile Platform, Octa Core, Adreno 616 GPU
  • 4GB / 6GB LPDDR4x RAM
  • 64GB (eMMC 5.1) storage
  • Android 8.1 (Oreo) with MIUI 9, upgradable to MIUI 10
  • Dual SIM
  • 12MP rear camera with LED flash, 1.4μm pixel size, Dual PD, f/1.9 aperture, 5MP secondary camera with 1.12um pixel size, f/2.0 aperture
  • 20MP front-facing camera
  • Fingerprint sensor
  • USB Type-C Audio
  • Dimensions: 147.28×73.09 x7.5; Weight: 164g
  • Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz / 5GHz) 2×2 MIMO , Bluetooth 5 LE, GPS + GLONASS, USB Type-C
  • 3120mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0
Deepak RajawatDeepak Rajawat
Deepak Rajawat is a tech journalist and editor at Smartprix, where he reviews smartphones, laptops, TVs, and audio gear. In his 12 years in media, he has reviewed over 1,000 devices. Since joining Smartprix in 2015, his reviewing philosophy has been simple: cut through the spec sheets and tell readers how a gadget actually holds up in daily life.

Before moving to digital tech journalism, Deepak covered sports and worked for legacy print publications, including Hindustan Times and The Statesman. He holds a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from Calcutta University and is based in Noida.

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1 Comment
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Anonymous
8 years ago

thank you for sharing the details on the Xiaomi Mi 8 which seems to be really good smartphone from xiaomi with notch display.

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