3D Face Unlock and Dual GPS confirmed for Xiaomi Mi 8

June 02, 2018 Xiaomi News Android

It is official, Xiaomi is celebrating its 8th anniversary with the release of the Xiaomi Mi 8. Mi 8 comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, dual cameras and dual GPS. This will be Xiaomi first ever phone with a notch on the display. The notch can be hidden with a toggle and it is used for an in-house infrared 3D face unlock that works even in the dark.

Xiaomi Mi 8

The more exclusive version of the Mi 8, known as the Explorer Edition has an under-screen fingerprint scanner as well as a translucent back panel that gives a peek into the internals.

Xiaomi Mi 8 dual camera setup is 12 MP (f/1.8, 1.4µm) & 12 MP (f/2.4, 1.0 µm) with the latter being a telephoto cam. It is able to perform AI enhancements for scenes and 4-in-1 pixel binning for better low-light shots. The front camera is a 20 MP with f/2.0 aperture and is also equipped with hyped AI for beautifying portrait selfies. The face detection sensor is not used for selfies.

Mi 8’s score on Antutu is a staggering 301,472; the highest ever score for a Chinese phone.

Mi 8’s screen is 6.21” and uses an 18.7:9 Samsung AMOLED panel. The resolution is Full HD+ at 2248 x 1080 pixels. The 3.5 mm audio jack will not be present as per its past 2 predecessors, instead there will be a USB-C for all the connections.

The Xiaomi Mi 8 has been announced as the first smartphone with Dual GPS. What this means is that the phone binds the traditional L1 frequency - used in phones, with the L5 frequency which is used mainly by the aeronautical industry. This is going to make the location-based services like navigation more accurate than ever.

Mi 8’s market launch is scheduled for June 5. The Explorer Edition will only be available in one variant – 8 GB RAM and 128 GB storage and will hit the shelves a month later.