Xiaomi is finally embracing the notch as they reveal their newest flagship smartphone, the Mi 8.
After resisting the design trend for a while, Xiaomi officially joined the bandwagon. Popularized by the iPhone X, the screen notch is a small cut out on the top portion of the display to house all the necessary sensors and front-facing camera. With this, Xiaomi was able to achieve an impressive 88.5% screen-to-body ratio.
The Xiaomi Mi 8 has a 6.21-inch Samsung AMOLED screen that comes with Always-on functionality and 2248 x 1080 pixel resolution. Running the show behind the curtains is the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, Adreno 630 graphics, and 6GB of RAM. There’s no microSD card expansion option but there’s already plenty of storage with its 256GB capacity.
UPDATE: Mi 8 price in the Philippines
- 6GB/64GB: Php25,990
- 6GB/128GB: Php27,990
Related: Xiaomi products price list Philippines
In terms of camera, the Xiaomi Mi 8 has a 12-megapixel dual camera system which scored 105 points on DxOMark. In front, there’s a 20-megapixel selfie camera. The company also claims that it’s the first in the world to use a dual-frequency GPS which can help in giving a far more accurate location information.
Xiaomi Mi 8 Specs
- Android 8.0 Oreo, MIUI 10
- Dual SIM, Dual Standby (nano)
- 6.21-inch AMOLED 18.7:9 Display, 2248 x 1080 pixel resolution, ~402ppi
- Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 64-bit 10nm processor
- Adreno 630 GPU
- 6GB RAM
- 256GB internal storage
- Dual-band WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, WiFi hotspot
- HSPA+, LTE
- 12-megapixel (f/1.8, 1.4 μm) + 12-megapixel (f/2.4) rear cameras, OIS, PDAF, LED flash
- 20-megapixel front-facing camera
- Bluetooth 5.0, NFC
- GPS, A-GPS, Beidou, Glonass
- Dimensions: 154.9 x 74.8 x 7.6 mm
- Weight: 175 g
- Colors: Gold, Black, White, Blue
- 3,400mAh non-removable battery, fast charging
Aside from the standard Mi 8, there’s also a Mi 8 Explorer Edition that has more innovations built-in. Xiaomi equipped it with an in-display fingerprint scanner which is also pressure sensitive. Another highlight is the 3D face recognition technology and Animoji-like feature borrowed from the iPhone.
But despite all that, probably the most interesting feature of the Mi 8 Explorer Edition is its transparent back panel that looks gorgeous and extremely attractive.
The Xiaomi Mi 8 has an official price of CNY 2,699 (~USD421 / Php22,200) in China. Meanwhile, the Mi 8 Explorer Edition costs CNY 3,699 (~USD577 / Php30,400). The standard Mi 8 will be available beginning the 5th of June while the Explorer Edition will be released a few months after. Xiaomi is yet to reveal the pricing and availability of the Mi 8 for the international market as of the moment.
is mi 8 available in xiaomi stores, trinoma?