Xiaomi has announced the Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite in Chengdu, China, which aims to be a slightly more budget-oriented version of the Xiaomi Mi 8. It features the Qualcomm Snapdragon 660, a 1080p 19:9 LCD display, 4GB/6GB of RAM, and a dual camera setup on the back. Three new colors have been introduced - Aurora Blue, Sunset Gold, and Midnight Black.
The Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite Specifications
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Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite |
Specifications |
|---|---|
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Dimensions and weight |
156.4×75.8×7.5mm, 169g |
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Software |
Android 8.1 Oreo with MIUI 10 |
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CPU |
Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (4x ARM Cortex-A73 derivative @ 2.2GHz + 4x ARM Cortex-A53 derivative clocked at 1.84GHz) |
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GPU |
Adreno 512 clocked at 850MHz |
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RAM and storage |
All variants have SD card support |
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Battery |
3250mAh with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 support |
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Display |
6.26-inch Full HD+ (2280×1080) LCD 19:9 |
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Wi-Fi |
802.11 ac 2.4 GHz + 5 GHz |
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Bluetooth |
Bluetooth 5.0 |
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Connectivity |
USB Type-C port, Dual Nano SIM, IR Blaster |
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Rear camera |
12MP & 5MP dual rear cameras, Sony IMX363 primary sensor paired with a Samsung S5K5E8f/1.9 aperture, Dual Pixel PDAF |
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Front-facing camera |
24MP Sony IMX576 sensor |
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Water-repellent |
No |
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Speaker |
Bottom firing loudspeaker |
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Sensors |
Back-facing fingerprint reader, accelerometer, gyroscope, ambient light, proximity, magnetometer (e-Compass) |
First and foremost, the Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 system-on-chip (SoC) and up to 6GB of RAM. It's there for power users if they need it, as a 4GB of RAM version is also available. If you're going to be gaming on the 6.26-inch 1080p display, the Adreno 512 should push most games fine. If you're worried about battery life while doing any of that, the 3,250mAh battery coupled with the SoC should be more than adequate for most usages. It's certainly going to last you a few hours of usage, that's for sure.
In the camera department, while we obviously can't tell what we'll get from hardware alone, it looks decent. The 24MP selfie-camera is again an indicator of this phone's target demographic. Xiaomi has been showing some great results with their cameras as of late though, largely in thanks to their camera software development center that was opened up earlier this year. The dual camera setup is right beside the rear-mounted fingerprint sensor and comprised of a 12MP shooter with a 5MP depth perception sensor as well. It supports phase detection autofocus (PDAF).
In terms of other features, it appears that you'll get a single bottom-firing speaker, an IR blaster, and, sadly, no headphone jack. That's not too surprising though, given that the regular Xiaomi Mi 8 lacked a headphone jack as well. It also features a glass unibody design, though it does not appear to support wireless charging. It will launch with Android 8.1 Oreo-based MIUI 10, which has a number of cool AI-infused features. That includes AI-powered app preloading and AI portrait mode. It also features a new and improved UI over older MIUI versions.
The Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite can be picked up in China from today via pre-order, and will officially go on sale September 25th. The most basic edition (4GB of RAM 64GB of storage) is priced at 1,399 Yuan, or $204. 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage comes in at 1,699 Yuan ($248) while 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage will set you back about 1,999 Yuan ($290). It's certainly an adequate price, and you get a lot for the price.