Xiaomi Mi 8 SE is the cheaper variant of the Mi 8 flagship smartphone we reviewed earlier. The Mi 8 SE was introduced during the company’s 8th-year-anniversary event in China as well. The device wasn’t left out when it comes to the trending notch, which is taking over the smartphone world.
Even though it doesn’t come with the 3D Face ID, see-through back panel or the under-screen fingerprint scanner. The Mi 8 SE is the world’s first smartphone to house the new Snapdragon 710 chip from Qualcomm. The chip is Qualcomm’s most powerful mid-range chipset yet and it brings emphasis on AR and AI.
Xiaomi Mi 8 SE Key Specs and Features
・5.88-inch Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 1080 x 2244 pixels
・Android 8.1 Oreo with 6GB/4GB RAM
・Octa-core 2.2GHz Qualcomm SDM710 Snapdragon 710
・64GB built-in storage
・12MP + 5MP rear camera and 20MP front camera
・3120mAh non-removable Li-Po Battery
Xiaomi Mi 8 SE Design
The first thing you’d notice on this device is the boxy look because its edges aren’t curved like the Mi 8. This might not be that attractive to a lot of people, but its aluminium alloy overall unibody would make you think otherwise. It’s also covered in a Corning Gorilla Glass 5, making it reflect light beautifully.
Since there’s no Face ID here, there’s a fingerprint scanner which offers fast access to the smartphone. The placement of the dual shooters and dual-LED flash is still the same with the Mi 8. It measures 7.5mm in thickness and weighs 164g overall. It’s available in Gray, Blue, Red and Gold colours.
Xiaomi Mi 8 SE Display
Even though the Xiaomi Mi 8 SE sports the trending notched screen, there’s no infrared lens and light as seen on the Mi 8. However, there’s a proximity sensor, earpiece and selfie camera. This makes the notch a little bit less thick than the one on the Mi 8.
A smaller 5.88-inch Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen dishes out stunning visuals. Thanks to its 1440 x 2244 pixels in resolution and 423 pixels per inch density for sharp visuals. Even though the screen reaches just 81.3% screen-to-body ratio, it boasts of an HDR10 complaint, DCI-P3 colour gamut and a Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on top as well.
Hardware and Software
Qualcomm’s most powerful mid-range chip, the Snapdragon 710 we reviewed earlier is in charge here. It is an 8-core processor with 64-bit CPU architecture. The octa-core processor has a clock speed of 2.2GHz with 10nm FinFET+ process technology, for fast performance. In the graphics department, the new Adreno 616 graphics processor does its job.
Two versions are available in terms of RAM, there’s one with 6GB and a cheaper variant with 4GB of RAM. The storage space is the same on both versions, which is 64GB and you can’t expand further. The Xiaomi Mi 8 SE runs on Android 8.1 Oreo with the new MIUI 10 which was unveiled at the event as well.
Xiaomi Mi 8 SE Camera
The camera prowess has been reduced as well, the 12MP shooter on top has f/1.9 aperture, 1.4µm pixel size, dual-pixel PDAF and gyro-EIS. While the pixels on the telephoto has been reduced to 5MP with f/2.0 aperture and 1.12µm pixel size. However, videos of 2160p can still be shot @60fps and 1080p up to120fps.
Features are still the same, the cameras because has dual pixel phase detection autofocus, dual-LED flash, geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, HDR, panorama, beautification, bokeh, scene recognition and other AI enhancements. The 20MP selfie camera is also AI-powered with f/2.0 aperture and 2.0µm pixel size.
Battery And Price
The Xiaomi Mi 8 SE is powered by a non-removable Li-Po 3120mAh battery with fast charging technology. Xiaomi Mi 8 SE is available on shopping stores, starting from $299 to $349, that’s about (N100,000 – N120,000).
Xiaomi Mi 8 SE Full Specifications
LAUNCH
・Announced: May 2018
・Status: Available. June 2018
NETWORK
・Network Technology: GSM / WCDMA / LTE
・3G Support: 850/1700/1900/2100
・4G Support: LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700), 17(700), 20(800), 34(2000), 38(2600), 39(1900), 40(2300), 41(2500)
・Number of SIM Card: 2 (Nano)
・Dual SIM Support: Yes
DESIGN
・Material Type: Aluminium
・Dimensions: 147.3 x 73.1 x 7.5 mm
・Colour: Gray, Blue, Red, Gold
・Weight: 164g
DISPLAY
・Screen Type: Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen
・Size: 5.88-inch
・Resolution: 1080 x 2244 pixels
・Pixel Density: 402ppi
・Screen to Body Ratio: 81.3%
SOFTWARE
・Operating system: Android 8.1 Oreo
・Processor: Octa-core 2.2GHz
・Chipset type: Qualcomm SDM710 Snapdragon 710
・Graphics Processing Unit: Adreno 616
STORAGE
・Memory Card slot: No
・Internal storage: 128GB
・RAM: 6GB/4GB
CAMERA
・Back Camera: 12MP + 5MP
・Front Camera: 20MP
・Back Flash: Yes, dual-LED
・Front Flash: No
FEATURES
・Wifi Hotspot: Yes
・Bluetooth: Yes
・Fingerprint Sensor: Yes (Rear)
・Sensors: accelerometer, proximity, ambient light, gyroscope, compass
・USB: Yes
・GPS: Yes
・3.5mm Audio Jack: No
BATTERY
・Capacity: 3120mAh
・Type: Li-Po
・Standby Time: –
・Talktime: –
・Fast Charging: Yes
