Skip to main content

Xiaomi Mi 8 is official with 3D Face Unlock, dual GPS


The Xiaomi Mi 8 is official, confirming most of the rumors. The phone, celebrating the 8th anniversary of the Chinese company comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, dual cameras and dual GPS. It is also the first official Xiaomi phone with a notch on the display that can be hidden with a toggle. The cutout is used for an in-house infrared solution for 3D Face Unlock that works in a dark environment.

There is also a more exclusive version of the Mi 8, called Explore Edition. It has an underscreen fingerprint scanner and a see-through back panel that gives a peek to the internals of the device.

Xiaomi Mi 8 Explore Edition

Introduced by the CEO of the company, Lei Jun, the Xiaomi Mi 8 comes with a dual camera setup of 12 MP (f/1.8, 1.4µm) + 12 MP (f/2.4, 1.0 µm), the second being a telephoto cam. It brings AI features enhancement for over 200 scenes and does 4-in-1 pixel binning for better low-light shots. The primary sensor is IMX363 by Sony, while the secondary is S5K3M3 by Samsung.
Camera comparison between Mi 8 and competitors

The Xiaomi CEO proudly stated the phone reached a 99 points overall rating by DxOMark, more than the 97 score of Xiaomi Mi Mix 2s and the iPhone X. The photo category was rated at 105, mostly thanks to a new technology that allows shooting in extremely low-lit environments. It also has AI-enhanced portrait photography that we saw first in the iPhone X back in September 2017.
The selfie snapper is 20 MP with f/2.0 aperture and also jumps the AI hype train with AI portrait selfies and AI Beautify. The face detection sensor separate and is not being used for selfies.
AI Portrait Photography


While the Snapdragon 845 chipset was not a surprise, the Mi 8's staggering 301,472 score on Antutu sure was one. If the result is real, it will be the highest ever reached on the Chinese benchmark platform.
The screen grew to 6.21” and uses a Samsung AMOLED panel with an 18.7:9 ratio. The resolution is Full HD+ or 2248 x 1080 pixels. The 3.5 mm audio jack was ditched back in 2017 with the announcement of the predecessor Xiaomi Mi 6, but at least there is USB-C for all the connections.
The Xiaomi Mi 8 was announced as the first smartphone with Dual GPS. The phone binds the traditional L1 frequency, used in other phones with the L5 frequency, used mostly by the aeronautical industry. This should make location-based services like navigation more precise than ever.


The phone will start from CNY2,699 for the 6/64 GB version. The 6/128 GB is CNY2,999, while the most expensive 6/256 GB version is CNY3,299. These prices translate to between $420 and $515, or between €360 and €440.
The Explore Edition will have only one variant with 8 GB RAM and 128 GB storage. It will cost CNY3,799 or around $600/€500.
The market launch is scheduled for June 5 when the Xiaomi Mi 8 will appear at online and offline Mi Stores as well as retailers like Brookstone and Suning.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Renders of the Lenovo Z5 show the front-facing camera

Surprisingly, this time around the latest Lenovo Z5 info comes from a leak and not from the company's VP. All the information we have on the device so far was officially teased from the Lenovo's official, but now something extra has slipped through the cracks. The renders show the promised nearly bezel-less display with a small chin on the bottom. This is in line with the previous teasers showing nothing but screen and thankfully no notch. They also reveal how Lenovo has tackled the front-facing camera and the accompanying sensors problem. Lenovo Z5 press renders Just like the  Xiaomi Mi Mix , the upcoming Lenovo Z5 will incorporate the front-facing camera, the ambient sensor, and probably the proximity sensor, on the chin. The earpiece is missing, obviously, so we suspect some kind of tech similar to the one driving the Mi Mix with the vibrating screen replacing the speaker.

WhatsApp to Soon Get Fingerprint Authentication on Android: Report

HIGHLIGHTS Fingerprint authentication will be required for users to open WhatsApp The new WhatsApp feature is current under development It will protect the entire WhatsApp app and not specific conversations WhatsApp is reportedly working on a fingerprint authentication feature to protect its users' chats from being seen by others. The authentication, once enabled, will be required for users to open the app. The Facebook-owned instant messaging service was recently reported to bring a similar feature to iPhone as well, supporting two biometric authentication methods - both Face ID and Touch ID. It appears this won't be limited to iPhone, and users on Android will get fingerprint authentication, but no facial recognition based authentication, thanks to the lack of a widely used standard on the platform. According to WABetaInfo, a fan site that tests new  WhatsApp  features early, the feature is current under development, and disabled by default in the...

8 Ways to Download Paid Apps for Free in 2019

The highly-referred quote, “ the best things in life are free “, by French fashion designer  Coco Chanel  is often read without the part succeeding it, “ the second best are very expensive “. Looking at this from the perspective of smartphones, you’ll agree that while some of the greatest apps for both Android and iOS are the ones available for free, there are many great apps which require you to pay. For example, while games like PUBG Mobile and Fortnite are great examples for the dandy freebies, other games like Final Fantasy, Limbo, The Room Series, and more are not. If only there was a way to get paid apps for free. Well, for those of you who do not wish to (or cannot, for some reason) pay for such apps and games, we have listed some of the sources you can use to  grab paid apps for free legally . Most of the options listed here will serve Android users whereas a few apply to iOS, Windows, and macOS users as well. Get Paid Apps For Free Using ...