Hands-on: The controversial Xiaomi Mi 8 offers incredible value for money

Xiaomi announced the Mi 8 a couple of weeks ago, sporting some specs that would probably make you raise an eyebrow.

The Mi 8 comes in three variants: First up, the “regular” Xiaomi Mi 8, then the Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition, which is very similar to the Mi 8, but comes with a see-through glass back, pressure-sensitive in-display fingerprint scanner, and 3D face unlock. Finally, the Mi 8 SE is a cheaper, smaller variant with a 5.88-inch screen and Snapdragon 710 processor, versus the 6.21-inch/Snapdragon 845 on the larger Mi 8 and Mi 8 Explorer Edition.

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The standard edition of the Xiaomi Mi 8 comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, 6GB of RAM, up to 256GB of storage and a 3,400 mAh battery for a base price of around $420 (for the 64GB model). That is some serious bang for your buck, and comes in at a price that undercuts even the likes of OnePlus 6.

The ~$575 Explorer Edition is the model you should really be looking at though, because it adds a couple of features that you’ll only find in a handful of phones on the market right now.

Here’s what you need to know about the phone as we take a quick Xiaomi Mi 8 hands-on look.

The Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition features an in-screen fingerprint reader, which is something we’ve only seen on a the vivo X21 and one or two other devices. This fingerprint reader is pressure sensitive too, so the phone will only scan your finger when you press down on the display. Xiaomi tells me this should significantly help save on battery life, since the phone will not have to be scanning for a fingerprint constantly.

The other addition to the Explorer model is a 3D face-scanning mechanism similar to the one found in the iPhone X. It uses infrared light to make a 3D map of your face, and is able to identify the user much accurately than solutions that use the front-facing camera. Thanks to the infrared emitter, this mechanism can also be used to do portrait lighting effects and animated characters similar to the Animoji on the iPhone X.

Xiaomi Mi 8 specs

In a way, the Xiaomi Mi 8 is the ultimate iPhone clone. The notch is verysimilar, the dual 12 MP camera setup on the back is in almost the exact same placement as the iPhone X, and the standard black and white colorways look just about as close to an iPhone X as you could get.

The Mi 8 Explorer Edition has generated a significant amount of controversy over the last couple of weeks. The back of the device is transparent to seemingly show the components. As it turns out, the placement of the components shown may not be truly representative of what’s actually inside the phone. Instead, Xiaomi says it’s used a “decorative overlay” in order to showcase how artful technology can be. In other words, the components you can see under the glass are just for show. The real, less pretty ones are underneath the decorative ones.

For your reference, here’s the Mi 8 Explorer Edition next to the HTC U12 Plus, which actually shows its real components beneath its translucent back.

Controversy or not, the Xiaomi Mi 8 still looks like a great device. For just $420, it’s hard to find flagship-level specs anywhere else on the market.

What are your thoughts on the Xiaomi Mi 8? Is the Explorer Edition piquing your interest? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!

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