The Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi following its aim of global expansion debuted the UK market with the launch of the flagship Mi 8 Pro smartphone, on Thursday, at an event held in London, UK.
The Mi 8 Pro was first launched in China, back in September, and now the device has started its global journey. Talking of the design, the device sports a 7000-series aluminium frame and comes with a transparent back which shows off highly detailed interiors, similar to what we saw with the Mi 8 Explorers edition.
Xiaomi has further offered a contrasty look with the use of red accents here and there, including the camera lens lining and power button. For protection, the phone comes with a layer of curved Corning Gorilla Glass 5, both on the back and front.
Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro: Specifications & Features
As for the specs, the Mi 8 Pro comes with a 6.21-inch AMOLED display having a Full-HD+ resolution of 2240 x 1080 pixels in an 18:7:9 aspect ratio. As you’d have already noticed, it houses a hefty notch on the top which packs in a front camera and IR sensor, aiding for a full-fledged 3D facial recognition system. The display further incorporates an In-display fingerprint scanner and supports Always-on feature.
Under the hood, the phone is being powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC, coupled with Adreno 630 GPU. The version launched here comes in a sole model with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage.
For photography, the Mi 8 Pro gets a dual camera setup at the back, comprising an optically stabilized 12-megapixel Sony IMX363 wide-angle shooter with f/1.8 aperture, 1.4um pixels and dual-pixel auto focus, clubbed with another 12-megapixel Samsung S5K3M3 telephoto sensor with f/2.4 aperture for 2X optical zoom, along with an LED flash (rated 105 by DxOmark). For selfies, the phone bears an AI-powered 20-megapixel shooter at the front, with f/2.0 aperture.
On the software terms, the handset boots MIUI 10 on top of Android 8.1 Oreo. Unfortunately, it is fueled by a small 3,000mAh battery that does support QuickCharge 4.0 for fast charging.
Connectivity options onboard include dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5, NFC and a USB Type-C port.
Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro: Pricing & Availability
The Mi 8 Pro’s sole model with 6/128GB RAM and storage configuration is priced at EUR 499 (roughly Rs. 41,300) for the European market. The device will go on sale in transparent black version alongside a Meteorite black and a Twilight Gold colour option through a number of retailers apart from the all-new Authorized Mi Store located in Westfield shopping center, London on November 18th.
In addition to the Mi 8 Pro, the company also unveiled the budget Redmi 6A phone for a price of EUR 99 (roughly Rs. 8,100), followed by Xiaomi Mi Band 3 and the Mi electric scooter priced at EUR 27 (roughly Rs. 2,200) and EUR 399 (roughly Rs. 33,00), respectively.
