Xiaomi just unveiled the Mi 8, its first-ever flagship phone with a notch, adding to the growing list of Android devices that have copied Apple's infamous and highly contentious iPhone X design.
The Mi 8 has a 6.21-inch 2,248 x 1,080 OLED display made by Samsung, which means it's got one of the best screens there is. On the bottom is a thick chin, and the notch atop houses a 20-megapixel selfie shooter.
Xiaomi Mi 8
The phone looks and feels luxurious, with an aluminum frame and a four-way curved glass back panel to prove it. In terms of guts, the phone has the whole nine yards: Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chip, Adreno 630 GPU, 6 GB of RAM, and up to 256 GB of non-expandable local storage. The display is HDR10-compatible and also supports DCI-P3, which means users will get rich, vivid colors. In terms of software, it runs on Android 8.1 on top of Xiaomi's MIUI 10 skin.
The dual cameras on the back, both 12 megapixels, got an overall score of 99 on camera benchmark testing site DxOMark, the same as the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus, and just a few points behind Huawei P20.
What's more, Xiaomi says the Mi 8 is the first phone to ever use dual-frequency GPS, which apparently gives more accurate location data.
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
Aside from the standard Mi 8, there's also an Explorer Edition with an in-display fingerprint sensor that uses pressure sensitivity. It also has 3D facial recognition technology similar to Face ID, and even features Xiaomi's own take on Animoji. Most strikingly, the Explorer Edition features a transparent back panel that gives a glimpse of the phone's internals.
Xiaomi Mi 8 SE
Finally, there's also the Mi 8 SE variant, a smaller, cheaper, and less powerful version of the Mi 8. It has a 5.88-inch OLED display and is one of the first phones to come with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 processor. Yes — it also has a notch like its two larger siblings.
The Mi 8 is priced at CNY 2,699 — about $421 — while the Explorer Edition is priced a bit higher at CNY 3,699 — about $577. The Mi 8 SE is, of course, much cheaper at CNY 1,799 — about $281. As one would expect from Xiaomi, these are highly competitive prices. Unfortunately for U.S. customers, Xiaomi phones rarely get proper release dates stateside, so don't expect these phones to arrive here anytime soon.
The Mi 8 comes out June 5 in China, with the Mi 8 SE following on June 8. The Explorer Edition will arrive much later, though it's unclear when exactly. International pricing remains to be announced.
