The Mi 8 SE has a metallic centre-piece that joins the front and back.
Xiaomi launched the Mi 8 anniversary edition phone alongside the futuristic Mi 8 Explorer Edition phone in China on Thursday. But both of them are pretty expensive phones. Xiaomi also had a third option, that it launched at the same high-profile event, that it’s calling the Mi 8 SE. The Mi 8 SE has more or less the same looks as the premiere Mi 8, but tones down on hardware specs as well as pricing, for those looking for a more affordable option.
The Mi 8 SE uses more or less the same materials in construction as the Mi 8 meaning the Mi 8 SE is also carved out of a significant chunk of glass. The Mi 8 SE has a metallic centre-piece that joins the front and back. And it’s bezel-less. And it has a notch. The Mi 8 SE, like the Mi 8, looks a lot like the Mi 8. From the front as well as from the back. Although there have been many Android copycats, all of them have had a notch smaller in comparison. The Mi 8 SE, however, has a notch that’s almost the same size and also it houses some fancy hardware for face unlock.
Although not as secure as Face ID, Xiaomi’s Infrared-based face unlock uses IR (and the front camera) for biometric authentication. Xiaomi says that the system works even when in the dark, unlike conventional systems that don’t. Elsewhere, the Mi 8 SE has a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner.
The Mi 8 SE has a 5.88-inch full-screen full-HD+ AMOLED display with an 18.7:9 aspect ratio and always-on support. The Mi 8 SE marks the global debut of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 processor. It comes with up to 6GB of RAM and 64GB storage. The dual-SIM phone runs Android Oreo-based MIUI 10. There is no 3.5mm headphone jack which means the same connectivity port — USB Type-C — will be used for audio out, charging and data syncing. The phone is backed by a 3,120mAh battery.
In terms of optics, the Mi 8 SE comes with a dual camera system on the rear consisting of one 12-megapixel sensor and another 5-megapixel sensor for depth sensing. On the front, the Mi 8 SE comes with a 20-megapixel camera that’s also capable of shooting AI-based portrait selfies.
Xiaomi has launched the Mi 8 SE at a starting price of CNY 1,799 (roughly Rs 18,955) for the base 4GB RAM and 64GB storage version going all the way to CNY 1,999 (roughly Rs 21,062) for the top-end version with 6GB RAM and 64GB storage.
