Here’s Everything We Know About Xiaomi Mi 8 and Mi 8 SE So Far

Xiaomi is set to launch Mi 8, the company’s upcoming premium flagship, on 31st of May. We previously expected it to be named Mi 7, as its predecessor is the Mi 6, but Xiaomi skipped to 8 because it’s celebrating its 8th Anniversary in the smartphone business.

So what can we expect? We already know that it’s coming with the Snapdragon 845 and at least 6 GB RAM. In addition, the Mi 8 will also run the company’s latest MIUI 10 that has not been seen in any other Xiaomi devices so far. It’s also said to come with some sort of 3D facial recognition, that uses front-mounted sensors.

Latest rumors suggest the company will unveil the Mi8 alongside an SE (Special Edition) variant which might house slightly different specifications.

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Let’s see what else the rumors say about the upcoming Mi 8.

Leaked Images

As it nears its launch date, the company is already readying promotional material such as photos, adverts, and other posters. Unsurprisingly, it has a cutout on the front that houses the earpiece, selfie camera, various sensors, and the facial recognition technology.

The company was the first to kick-start the bezel-less display trend. The Mi 8 is expected to follow that trend albeit with a notch and a thicker bottom chin, at least on one variant of the Mi 8. The notch seems much wider than other smartphones, such as the OnePlus 6, that were launched recently. For now, we don’t know what kind of display it will come with, if Xiaomi uses an OLED then you will be able to completely hide the notch by turning the status bar black.

Take a look for yourself,

As you can see, there’s a fingerprint sensor on the rear – this will give the Mi 8 two robust authentication systems so users will be able to switch between its facial recognition or fingerprint scanner in different situations. The company’s CEO has also confirmed that its next flagship will feature in-screen fingerprint scanner as well so its possible that the phone will come with two fingerprint readers.

An unofficial video also showed that a Xiaomi phone was using an in-display fingerprint sensor, check it out here.

Translucent Back & Quick Charge 4+

If you don’t know what a translucent back looks like, you should check out HTC’s recent U12+. There are not many companies that offer this option, Xiaomi might be looking to become one and according to a hands-on video, the Mi 8 also has a translucent back. Check it out in the video below,

While the video above doesn’t belong to a working model (Qualcomm logo confirms its not a working phone), it is possible that the company might offer a translucent back.

It might not be available in all Mi 8 variants, the company might offer it alongside some color options just like HTC.

As Qualcomm is upping its fast charging game with Quick Charge 4+, newer Snapdragon 845 powered flagships will come with this feature for an added boost in charging prowess. Official figures promise up to 50% battery with a 30-minute charge. This was confirmed by Qualcomm on its website.

Camera & Animojis

On the rear, a dark vertical array houses the dual cameras with the LED flash in the middle. As of now, Xiaomi’s best camera phone is the Mi Mix 2S that uses a Sony sensor paired with a Samsung sensor.

Reports claim that Mi 8 will use better lenses so we can expect significant differences in the photography experience once it launches. We can’t say what combination the Mi 8 will house, the Mi Mix 2S had a standard-telephoto combo. Leaked specs say that one of Mi 8’s sensors will be 20 MP.

Leaks suggest the company will use a 20MP main camera along with a 16MP secondary camera for telephoto and optical zoom.

Moreover, its face scanning hardware will also be used for 3D AR based emoji (called animoji in iPhone X) seen previously in the iPhone X and the Samsung Galaxy S9 duo.

A video has surfaced on YouTube, which shows Xiaomi’s take on this feature,

No Headphone Jack & Dual GPS

Photos of an official retail box were leaked earlier and surfaced on various social networks. The retail box disclosed some of the specs, including a Snapdragon 845, 6 GB of RAM, and 64 GB storage – another leak suggests that it will also come in a 128 GB variant.

As expected, it will use a USB Type-C connector according to the retail box but if we look closely, it also says that it has a “USB-C to Audio” connector. This means that it won’t have a 3.5 mm headphone jack, and will instead utilize its Type-C port for audio connectivity. The Mi 6 didn’t have a headphone jack either, so it’s not that surprising.

In addition, the Mi 8 will also pack a “dual-GPS” feature. Xiaomi is making a big deal of it. Broadcom announced the new chip a few months ago. The dual GPS will be used for more accuracy, allowing for an accuracy of 30cm instead of the current 5m.

Price & Availability

Xiaomi is known to provide expensive hardware for cheap. As we covered before, the Mi 8 will come in two price groups of CNY 2799 (~Rs. 51,000) for the 6/64 GB variant and CNY 3199 (~Rs. 59,000) for the 128 GB one.

It is set to launch on 31 May at Xiaomi’s Shenzen event in China, alongside other new smartphones including Mi 8SE and Mi A2.

Watch this space for more updates on the Xiaomi Mi 8.