[News] Xiaomi launches Mi 8 Lite and Mi 8 Pro

Mi 8 Lite inherits the powerful photography and gaming experience from Mi 8, and Mi 8 Pro takes it up a notch with in-display fingerprint technology.

CHENGDU, China, 19 September 2018—Global technology leader Xiaomi today unveiled Mi 8 Lite and Mi 8 Pro, giving users more ways to enjoy the best features from the Mi 8 series.

With a 24MP Sony IMX576 sensor on the front, and powered by the Qualcomm® SnapdragonTM 660 AIE SoC with state-of-the-art gaming enhancements, Mi 8 Lite is perfect for those seeking both a powerful photography and gaming experience on their smartphones. Meanwhile, Mi 8 Pro elevates the experience of Mi 8 with the addition of pressure-sensitive in-display fingerprint technology. Inspired by the works of famous French impressionist Claude Monet, whose paintings are renowned for bringing out the effect of light on natural colors, Mi 8 Lite and Mi 8 Pro feature a new glass finishing that has a mirror-like gradient finish.

Mi 8 Lite for an amazing photography and gaming experience

With 24 megapixels, the front-facing Sony IMX576 sensor on Mi 8 Lite is able to capture more details than ever before. In low light conditions, the sensor uses Super Pixel technology to combine the information of four pixels into one large pixel, resulting in improved clarity especially in indoor scenarios. As with Mi 8, the rear AI dual camera uses the Sony IMX363 as its main sensor, which comes with 1.4µm large pixels for images with less noise, along with Dual Pixel Autofocus to dramatically improve focusing speeds so you won’t miss your shot.

The high-performance camera hardware is paired with Xiaomi’s advanced AI features, including a new option that applies retouches to your eyebrows, pupils, chin and lips to achieve a nude makeup look. Meanwhile, the Mi 8 Lite display can light up in different colors to suit different scenarios when taking selfies, intelligently illuminating the face with the right color temperature for great-looking selfies.

Mi 8 Lite is powered by the Qualcomm® SnapdragonTM 660 SoC with the powerful Qualcomm® Artificial Intelligence Engine (AIE). It is the first 660-powered device capable of running the Chinese version of Arena of Valor with Vulkan API support, giving it a massive boost in graphics and performance. This is the result of cooperation between Xiaomi and Tencent Games on game optimization after the two sides launched a research lab in July 2018. In addition, Xiaomi also worked with Epic Games to improve the performance, graphics and power efficiency of games based on the Unreal Engine. Mi 8 Lite also adopts Xiaomi’s new Mi Sound feature with an upgraded DSP (digital signal processing) algorithm for all-around audio improvement.

Mi 8 Lite will hit shelves across the Chinese Mainland on 25 September in Aurora Blue, Sunset Gold and Midnight Black, in three versions: 4GB+64GB for RMB 1399, 6GB+64GB for RMB 1699 and 6GB+128GB for RMB 1999.

Mi 8 Pro adds futuristic pressure-sensitive in-display fingerprint unlock

On top of the flagship Mi 8 features, Mi 8 Pro takes it one step further with a pressure-sensitive in-display fingerprint sensor. Unlike other in-display fingerprint technologies that waste energy by constantly pinging the screen to see if a finger is present, the dedicated pressure sensor only activates the unlocking process once you place your finger on the screen, which is faster and more power-efficient. Mi 8 Pro will also have a Transparent Titanium version with the same transparent design as Mi 8 Explorer Edition.



Mi 8 Pro, available in Sunset Gold, Black and Transparent Titanium, will be on sale starting 21 September in two versions: 6GB+128GB for RMB 3199 and 8GB+128GB for RMB 3599.