Xiaomi definitely has a ton lot going for themselves this year. With the launch of the Pocophone F1, it seems like the folks over at Xiaomi aren’t willing to slow down anytime soon. From the launch of the Pocophone F1 to the launch of their new A series of devices, Xiaomi’s absolutely killing it by butting into every price segment in the market.
After a series of teases over the past week, Xiaomi finally revealed their new Mi 8 Pro and Mi 8 Lite for the budget and high-end market. What’s interesting is how Xiaomi continues to push for a much more aggressive agenda with the lineup of devices. The Mi 8 Lite and Mi 8 Pro are supposed to sit in their respective segments as their name suggests, with the Mi 8 Pro taking it a notch further by featuring an under-display fingerprint sensor.
Let’s start off with the Mi 8 Lite. The Mi 8 Lite, as the name suggests, aims to sit beneath the Mi 8 SE. The Mi 8 packs a Snapdragon 660 AIE SoC, comes with either 4GB or 6GB of RAM, 64GB or 128GB of internal storage starting at just RMB 1399 and would come in three colors and variants. The three colors the Mi 8 Lite comes in are Aurora Blue, Sunset Gold and Midnight Black.
The Mi 8 Lite focuses on the camera experience with the help of Sony’s 24MP IMX 576 sensor serving as the selfie shooter. On the back of the device, we’re looking at a dual camera setup packing the same sensor as the much expensive Mi 8, the IMX 363 for those excellent flagship quality shots at this price range.
Here’s how the pricing for the Mi 8 Lite looks like in China, Malaysia and in the US.
- Mi 8 Lite 4GB/64GB – RMB 1399 (US $200/ MYR RM 849~)
- Mi 8 Lite 6GB/64GB – RMB 1699 (US $249/ MYR RM1030~)
- Mi 8 Lite 6GB/128GB – RMB 1999 (US $290/ MYR RM1207~)
The next device announced by Xiaomi today is the Mi 8 Pro. If the Mi 8 Explorer wasn’t your cup of tea for some reason, I’d bet this will. The Mi 8 Pro is the second device from Xiaomi to sport an under-display fingerprint sensor. However, unlike most traditional under-display fingerprint sensor displays, what’s special about Xiaomi’s approach takes it a tiny notch further. Not only are these displays much more efficient when it comes to under-display fingerprint tech but the display packed into the device is actually pressure-sensitive.
The rest of the spec sheet is also on par with its cousins. The Mi 8 Pro packs a Snapdragon 845 SoC, a 12MP f/1.8 + 12MP f/2.4 main camera and a 20MP selfie shooter.
The device is expected to come in two variants and three colors. The three colors that the Mi 8 Pro is slated to come in is Sunset Gold (like the Mi 8 Lite), Black and Transparent Titanium and would start at just RMB 3199.
- Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro – 6GB/128GB – RMB 3199 (US $466 / RM 1930~)
- Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro – 8GB/128GB – RMB 3599 (US $525 / RM 2175~)
Both of these devices are slated to be available in China by the end of this month and should be rolling out in other markets in a month or two based on how Xiaomi has practiced launch timings in the past.
