Xiaomi has launched not one, not two, but three new smartphones in an event today. The Chinese technology giant launched the highly-anticipated Mi 8 flagship — a celebration of their 8th-year anniversary.
The Xiaomi Mi 8 arrived with two other devices as its entourage. There’s the uniquely-dressed Mi 8 Explore Edition and the one we’re taking a look now, the Xiaomi Mi 8 SE (Special Edition).
The Mi 8 SE isn’t actually as fancy as it sounds. This device is almost exactly like Apple’s iPhone SE — which sports a toned-down hardware compared to the standard Mi 8. It will definitely appeal to those who are looking for a more budget-friendly alternative to Xiaomi’s newest flagship.
With the Xiaomi Mi 8 SE, you’re getting Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 710 processor. This chipset sits between Qualcomm’s midrange 600-series and their high-end 800-line of processors which means that performance won’t be a problem on this handset.
One of the Mi 8 SE’s highlight features is its cameras. It packs a 12-megapixel and 5-megapixel dual cameras setup on the back. And unlike the telephoto shooter on the Mi 8, the secondary camera on this phone is only meant for depth-sensing for the Portrait Mode feature.
On the other hand, it has a 20-megapixel front-facing camera. And despite the thick notch on top, it lacks the 3D face unlock of the Mi 8 — it’s one of the few compromises to accommodate the price tag.
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But despite the modest hardware, Xiaomi still went all out in the design and build. The Xiaomi Mi 8 SE is constructed with an aluminum frame, which you can physically feel on the sides. It’s then sandwiched with glass in front and back.
Xiaomi also put a lot of effort on the Mi 8 SE’s display. It sports a 5.88-inch Super AMOLED screen with Full HD+ resolution. It also supports DCI-P3 color gamut and can reach up to 600-nits of brightness.
Xiaomi Mi 8 SE Specs
- Android 8.1 Oreo, MIUI 10
- Dual nano SIM, Dual standby
- 5.88-inch Super AMOLED FHD+, 2244 x 1080 resolution, ~423ppi
- DCI-P3, HDR10, Corning Gorilla Glass
- 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 octa-core processor
- Adreno 616 GPU
- 4GB / 6GB RAM
- 64GB internal storage, non-expandable
- 20-megapixel front camera
- 12-megapixel (f/1.9, dual-pixel PDAF) + 5-megapixel (f/2.0), LED flash
- Fingerprint scanner
- No headphone jack, headphone jack adapter included
- HSPA+, LTE
- WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, hotspot
- Bluetooth 5.0, Infrared
- GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, Galileo
- USB Type-C
- Dimensions: 147.3 x 73.1 x 7.5mm
- Weight: 164g
- Colors: Gold, Blue, Red, Gray
- 3120mAh non-removable battery
The Xiaomi Mi 8 SE is priced at CNY1,799 (~USD281 / Php14,800) for the 4GB model and CNY1,999 (~USD312 / Php16,400) for the 6GB variant. Official pricing and availability around the world are yet to be announced.