Xiaomi has finally unveiled its latest flagship devices in the Mi Series which includes the Mi 8, Mi 8 Explorer Edition and Mi 8 SE at its annual launch event to celebrate its 8th anniversary. Apart from the smartphones, the company also announced the Mi Band 3, MI VR Standalone and Mi TV 4 75″ at the event. On the software side, the company announced the MIUI 10. The newly launched Mi smartphones are currently running on MIUI 9 but will be upgraded to MIUI 10 in the coming days.
Xiaomi Mi 8 and Mi 8 Explorer Edition
The Mi 8 and Mi 8 Explorer Edition feature similar specifications but differ in terms of design and some exclusive features. The Mi 8 features a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor while the Mi 8 Explorer Edition is equipped with an in-display fingerprint sensor, similar to the recently launched Vivo X21. The Mi 8 Explorer edition also has a transparent back panel, allowing users to see some of the internals of the actual mainboard on the device.
Both the devices sport a 6.21-inch full HD+ Super AMOLED display with DCI-P3 color gamut, a resolution of 2248 x 1080 pixels with an aspect ratio of 18.7:9. Other than that, they consist of a wide notch on the top which houses the front camera, proximity sensor, earpiece and infrared sensor.
The Mi 8 and Mi 8 Explorer Edition is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC coupled with Adreno 630 GPU. In terms of memory and RAM, the Mi 8 will be available in three variants – 6GB + 64GB, 6GB + 128GB and 6GB + 256GB. The Mi 8 Explorer Edition, on the other hand, is only available in 8GB RAM and 256GB storage option.
Coming to the camera department, the Mi 8 and Mi 8 Explorer edition 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, there’s a 20MP selfie camera. The phone incorporates AI to identify scenes and apply the best settings, as well as features such as “Studio Lightning” portrait photography.
The Mi 8 and Mi 8 Explorer Edition is 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. Both the devices run on Android 8.1 Oreo with MIUI 9 skinned on top and are expected to receive the MIUI 10 update soon.
The Xiaomi Mi 8 is priced at CNY 2,699 for the 64GB storage variant, CNY 2,999 (Rs. 31,300) for the 128GB storage variant and CNY 3,299 (Rs. 34,400) for the 256GB variant. The Mi 8 Explorer Edition is priced at CNY 3,699 (Rs. 38,500). Both the devices will be available in China from June 5 and are expected to be launched In India soon.
Xiaomi Mi 8 SE
The Mi 8 SE is powered by the newly launched Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 SoC coupled with an Adreno 616 GPU. The device has been launched in two variants – 4GB RAM + 64GB storage and 6GB RAM + 64GB storage.
It features a 5.88-inch full HD+ Super AMOLED display with a notch with a resolution of 2248 x 1080 pixels and an aspect ratio of 18.7:9, similar to that of 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 a f/1.9 aperture along with a 5MP secondary camera with f/2.0 aperture. There is a 20MP selfie camera on the front. The camera also incorporates AI features as seen on the Mi 8.
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. The Xiaomi Mi 8 SE currently runs on Android 8.1 Oreo with MIUI 9 skinned on top and is expected to get the MIUI 10 update soon.
The Xiaomi Mi 8 SE has been priced at CNY 1,799 (roughly Rs. 18,800) for the 4GB RAM variant and 1,999 (roughly Rs. 20,800) for the 6GB RAM variant. It will go on sale in China starting from June 8.
Xiaomi Mi Band 3
That screen is a 0.78-inch OLED panel with a resolution of 128 x 80. The dimensions of the tracker are 17.9 x 46.9 x 12mm. The strap is interchangeable and is made of a thermoplastic elastomer. Color options currently include graphite black, hot orange and deep blue.
The whole fitness tracker is waterproof up to 50 meters. It has Bluetooth 4.2 technology inside and it’ll be able to work with both Android 4.4 and above phones as well as iOS 9.0 and above. The battery inside the Xiaomi Mi Band 3 is a 110mAh cell, which the company claims will last around 20 days from a single charge. The Mi Band 3 includes a pedometer, a heart rate sensor and a sleep tracker.
Apart from fitness features, there are a few useful features on the Mi Band 3. You’ll get to see time and limited notifications such as your incoming calls, text messages, and certain messaging apps. The Xiaomi Mi Band 2 costs CNY 169 (roughly Rs. 1900).
Mi Standalone VR
The Xiaomi Mi VR headset is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 SoC, with 3GB of RAM and a Fast Switch LCD display with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels that is capable of having a 60Hz and 72 Hz refresh rate, with the higher refresh rate helping to reduce latency.
The display comes with Fresnel lenses designed by Oculus that form part of a specially modulated diffractive optical system. There are two models available, one with 32GB of internal storage, and the other with 64GB. The 32GB version is said to be priced at 1,499 CNY (roughly Rs. 15,800), and pre-orders are already available.
The headset supports 3DoF and comes with a motion controller. The headset weighs in at 425g, without the head straps and has a built-in 360-degree sound capability. Xiaomi says that there is a library of over 100 video games and apps already available, which can be accessed through the Oculus Store.
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