In celebration of its eight anniversary (the number eight holds a special significance in Chinese cultures and is said to be the luckiest number), Xiaomi has recently conducted its biggest launch event yet. Just as promised, it officially announced the new Mi 8 lineup of handsets, consisting of the Mi 8, the Mi 8 SE, and the Mi 8 Explorer Edition. For good measure, the Chinese tech giant also took the opportunity to unveil the Mi Band 3 fitness band, the Mi VR Standalone headset, and the Mi TV 4, which Xiaomi is positioning as the largest LED TV in the face of the planet (measuring 75 inches).
Let us start with the Mi 8 flagship. This phablet rocks a 6.21 inch FHD+ active matrix organic light emitting diode (AMOLED) display offering an 18.7 to 9 aspect ratio. This screen is flanked by a 12 megapixel dual artificial intelligence (AI) camera on the glass panel rear side and a 20 megapixel selfie shooter on front side. Inside, the Mi 8 is fitted with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845, aided by an Adreno 630 graphics processing unit (GPU).
Another notable feature of the Mi 8 is its face unlocking capability, made possible by combining an infrared camera with a dedicated infrared illuminator. Xiaomi is also claiming that its newest flagship offering is the first handset in the world to make full use of dual frequency global positioning system (GPS) -- providing support for both L1 and L5 bands, making for more precise navigation.
For those who favor a version of Mi 8 that is smaller and thinner, they might want to check out the Mi 8 SE. Make no mistake though -- the Mi 8 SE’s 5.88 inch AMOLED screen is still pretty big. According to Xiaomi, the device is the first ever to utilize the Snapdragon 710 SoC, which improves upon the Snapdragon 660’s capabilities while granting 30 percent less power consumption.
And now for the Mi 8 Explorer Edition -- Xiaomi is boasting that this device is the first to use an under-screen fingerprint reading technology that is pressure sensitive. The handset is also the first in the Android mobile ecosystem to offer a 3D face unlocking feature. The Chinese phone maker pulls this off by taking full advantage of advanced structured light tech that is capable of quickly matching measurement points on the user’s face while managing to offer power efficiency by cutting down on 3D data processing.
