Xiaomi launched the Mi 8 to celebrate its 8th anniversary at an event in China. At the same event, the company also unveiled a special edition of the Mi 8, the Xiaomi Mi 8 SE. Up until a few days ago, there was hardly any chatter of Xiaomi launching two version of the Mi 8. However, the leaks started pouring just few days before the launch and the company confirmed all the rumours at its May 31st launch.
The Xiaomi Mi 8 SE resembles the nomenclature Apple went with when it launched smaller version of a flagship iPhone. Apple launched the iPhone SE and just like the iPhone SE, the Mi 8 SE is a smaller version of the flagship Mi 8. This hardly comes as a surprise as Xiaomi has historically taken “inspiration” from Apple in terms of design, nomenclature and software as well. Shades of iOS are still are evident in MIUI.
The Xiaomi Mi 8 SE is priced at CNY 1,799 (Rs 19000 approx.) for the 4GB RAM variant and CNY 1999 (Rs 21000) for the 6GB RAM variant. The design of the Mi 8 SE remains similar to the Mi 8. It has a big notch on the display, similar to the iPhone X and a vertically placed dual-camera setup on the back. The notch on the Mi 8 SE is disappointing to say the least. Unlike the Mi 8, the SE does not have the technology for 3D facial recognition. This means that the company could have done away with the notch for this ‘Special Edition’ variant.
The Mi 8 SE has a 5.88 inch Super AMOLED display with a 2248 x 1080 px resolution. The aspect ratio is 18.7:9, which is the same as the Mi 8. The Mi 8 SE retains the glass back panel and the aluminium frame, which means that even though it has downgraded hardware, the design and build quality is as good as the flagship Mi 8.
Under the hood, the smartphone runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 chipset. It is worth noting that the Xiaomi Mi 8 SE is the first-ever smartphone to be powered by Qualcomm’s new mid-range chipset. The Mi 8 SE will be available in two variants, one with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage and the other one with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage. Powering the smartphone will be a 3120 mAh battery with QuickCharge 3.0.
To the back of the smartphone is a 12MP RGB sensor with an f/1.9 aperture mated with a 5MP depth sensor with an f/2.0 aperture. To the front is a 20MP camera with a 2-micron pixel size and and f/2.0 aperture. Just like the Mi 8, the Mi 8 SE also has AI features like scene detection for better photography in the auto mode.
The Xiaomi Mi 8 SE has a great price and design. It is to be seen, however, how the Snapdragon 710 performs in the real world since no other smartphone has been launched with this SoC before. Will it make its way to other countries like India? Only time will tell. c
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