Xiaomi Announces Mi 8 In Three Variants Including Transparent Explorer Edition & Cheaper SE Model

Xiaomi has announced its latest flagship - the Mi 8. Xiaomi's flagship for last year was named 'Mi 6', but the company has skipped the number seven in light of its eighth year anniversary. The Mi 8 lineup comprises of three smartphones - the Mi 8 flagship, the Explorer Edition. and the SE model.

Mi 8 Flagship

As would be expected from an Android flagship for 2018, the top-tier Mi 8 boasts of a Snapdragon 845 with 6GB RAM. The phone features a 6.21" Super AMOLED FullHD+ screen from Samsung, and as was rumoured, there's a notch. The notch appears quite wide in the image renders, and it houses the 20MP selfie camera and the earpiece.

The Mi 8 runs Android 8.1 Oreo-based MIUI 10, and it has a 12MP dual camera setup at the back. The Mi 8 has received an overall score of 99 from DxOMark - 105 for photos and 88 for videos. Talking about videos, the Mi 8 can shoot 4K videos at 60 frames per second. The battery capacity is 3400mAh and it supports fast charging via QuickCharge 4.0.

The Mi 8 is the first phone in the world to include Dual GPS. The GPS sensors in traditional smartphones utilise only the L1 frequency. In the Mi 8, Xiaomi makes use of the L1 frequency along with the L2 frequency which is mostly used in aeronautical equipment. This should make satellite locations even more precise.

The Mi 8 will be available online and at offline and Mi stores starting June 5. The pricing, along with the specifications, is given below.

Device	Mi 8
Bands	GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz WCDMA: 850/900/1700/1900/2100MHz FDD-LTE: 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/17/20 TDD-LTE: 34/38/39/40/41
Display	6.21", 1080x2248 Super AMOLED, 402ppi Corning Gorilla Glass protection (unspecified version) Support for DCI-P3, HDR10
Aspect Ratio	18.7:9
Dimensions (Length x Breadth x Height)	154.9 x 74.8 x 7.6 mm
Weight	175 g
Processor	Snapdragon 845 (4x 2.8GHz Kryo 385 + 4x 1.8GHz Kryo 385) Adreno 630 GPU
RAM	6GB
Storage	64/128/256GB
Rear Camera	Primary: Sony IMX363 (12MP, 1.4μm, f/1.8), 4-axis OIS, Dual Pixel PDAF Secondary: Samsung S5K3M3, Telephoto (12MP, f/2.4), 2x optical zoom, Video: 4K 60fps Slow motion: 1080p 240fps
Front Camera	20MP (1.8μm, f/2.0), 1080p 30fps
Battery	3400mAh Non-removable
Charging	USB Type-C, QuickCharge 4.0
Security	Fingerprint sensor (rear)
Software	Android Oreo 8.1 (MIUI 10)
NFC	Yes
Headphone jack	No
Sensors	Accelerometer, Ambient Light, Gyro, Compass, Proximity, Edge, IR Blaster
Dust/Water Resistance	None
Connectivity	802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, Dual SIM
Colours	Black, Blue, Gold, White
Pricing	6GB/64GB - CNY 2699 ($420/Rs 28,300) 6GB/128GB - CNY 2999 ($468/Rs 31,500) 6GB/256GB - CNY 3299 ($515/Rs 34,700)

Mi 8 Explorer Edition

The Explorer Edition is a Mi 8 with a transparent back, 3D face unlock, and an in-display fingerprint scanner. The fingerprint scanner will work only on a particular section of the screen. When the device has to be unlocked, a small portion of the screen will light up to tell the user where the finger has to be placed. The sensor will then illuminate the finger surface with a beam of light. The light reflected from the finger will be analysed with the recorded fingerprints, and the device will be unlocked if there is a match. Xiaomi has noted that the in-display fingerprint scanner will be slower than the one at the back of the standard variant of the Mi 8.

Xiaomi's 3D face unlock is similar to the iPhone X's facial recognition in many ways. Unlike other Android phones, the Mi 8 has infrared sensors, located in the notch, which are specifically meant for face unlock. Xiaomi says that the 3D face unlock works even in dark environments. The Mi 8 also includes animated emojis which seem to have been inspired by Apple's Animoji.

Most importantly, and perhaps the sexiest feature of the Explorer Edition, is its see-through back which gives the user a complete look at the internal components of the phone. The back is translucent like in the blue version of the HTC U12+.

Just like the Mi 8, the Explorer Edition will go on sale on June 5. The specifications and pricing of the Explorer Edition are given below.

Device	Mi 8 Explorer Edition
Bands	GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz WCDMA: 850/900/1700/1900/2100MHz FDD-LTE: 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/17/20 TDD-LTE: 34/38/39/40/41
Display	6.21", 1080x2248 Super AMOLED, 402ppi Corning Gorilla Glass protection (unspecified version) Support for DCI-P3, HDR10
Aspect Ratio	18.7:9
Dimensions (Length x Breadth x Height)	154.9 x 74.8 x 7.6 mm
Weight	175 g
Processor	Snapdragon 845 (4x 2.8GHz Kryo 385 + 4x 1.8GHz Kryo 385) Adreno 630 GPU
RAM	6GB
Storage	64/128/256GB
Rear Camera	Primary: Sony IMX363 (12MP, 1.4μm, f/1.8), 4-axis OIS, Dual Pixel PDAF Secondary: Samsung S5K3M3, Telephoto (12MP, f/2.4), 2x optical zoom, Video: 4K 60fps Slow motion: 1080p 240fps
Front Camera	20MP (1.8μm, f/2.0) 1080p 30fps
Battery	3400mAh Non-removable
Charging	USB Type-C, QuickCharge 4.0
Security	Fingerprint sensor (in-display), Face unlock
Software	Android Oreo 8.1 (MIUI 10)
NFC	Yes
Headphone jack	No
Sensors	Accelerometer, Ambient Light, Gyro, Compass, Proximity, Edge, IR Blaster
Dust/Water Resistance	None
Connectivity	802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, Dual SIM
Colours	Black, Blue, Gold, White
Pricing	8GB/128GB - CNY 3799 ($593/Rs 40,000)

Mi 8 SE

Xiaomi wants to make the Mi 8 affordable for many, and that's why the company has launched a less powerful, smaller and cheaper version of the phone in the form of the Mi 8 SE. Although, the SE model has the same design as the other Mi 8 variants, it is quite different in other respects. Firstly, it has a 5.88" FullHD+ AMOLED screen. There is a 12MP+5MP setup at the back, and the primary camera sensor doesn't have 4-axis OIS which is present in the flagship Mi 8. The front camera is 20MP sensor with an aperture of f/2.0 and a large pixel size of  2.0μm. Both the front and rear cameras use the pixel binning technology for better low light shots.

The Mi 8 SE is the first handset to be powered by Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 710 processor for the mid-range. There is 4/6GB RAM along with 64GB internal storage. There is no support for storage expansion, and none of the Mi 8 variants has a headphone jack.

The launch details of the Mi 8 SE are yet to be specified. The specifications and price of the various Mi 8 SE models is given below.

Device	Mi 8 SE
Bands	GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz WCDMA: 850/900/1700/1900/2100MHz FDD-LTE:1/3/7/8/34 TDD-LTE: 38/39/40/41
Display	5.88", 1080x2244 Super AMOLED, 402ppi Corning Gorilla Glass protection (unspecified version) Support for DCI-P3, HDR10
Aspect Ratio	18.7:9
Dimensions (Length x Breadth x Height)	147.3 x 73.1 x 7.5 mm
Weight	164 g
Processor	Snapdragon 710 (8x 2.2GHz Kryo 360) Adreno 616 GPU
RAM	4/6GB
Storage	64GB
Rear Camera	Primary: 12MP (1.4μm, f/1.9), Dual Pixel PDAF Secondary: 5MP (1.12μm, f/2.6), Video: 4K 30fps
Front Camera	20MP (2.0μm, f/2.0) 1080p 30fps
Battery	3140mAh Non-removable
Charging	USB Type-C, QuickCharge 3.0
Security	Fingerprint sensor (rear)
Software	Android Oreo 8.1 (MIUI 10)
NFC	Yes
Headphone jack	No
Sensors	Accelerometer, Ambient Light, Gyro, Compass, Proximity, Edge, IR Blaster
Dust/Water Resistance	None
Connectivity	802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, Dual SIM
Colours	Black, Gold, Red, Blue
Pricing	4GB/64GB - CNY 1799 ($281/Rs 19,000) 6GB/64GB - CNY 1999 ($312/Rs 21,000)

Krittin Kalra

Krittin Kalra is a 20 year old Android freak. Striving for passions, chasing down his dreams and living a life without regrets is his sole mantra. A bit moody, he also does custom ROM reviews for AndroGuider. Currently pursuing his B.Tech, he aspires to follow his heart.