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Xiaomi Mi 8 review: flagship specs, excellent cameras at mid-tier price

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Art Fuentes, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/news/10/11/xiami.jpg"/></figure></div><p>MANILA -- It was easy to tell entry level and mid-tier smartphones from premium models, until development went into overdrive and high end specifications can now be found on handsets that sell for half the flagship price.</p><p>The Xiaomi Mi 8 is one such beast. At P24,000 for the base model with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, its rivals flagship phones in terms of specs while aiming squarely at the cut-throat mid-tier market.</p><div><strong>DESIGN</strong></div><p>Like a lot of 2018 phones, the Mi 8 ditched the familiar 16:9 aspect ratio for a tall display, with a notch at the top to make room for the front-facing camera.</p><p>The Mi 8 uses Gorilla Glass 5 on its front and back, which gives it the familiar premium feel for devices in this price range. The glass curves nicely on the edges. But it’s also a design that doesn’t particularly stand out . </p><p>At the back are its 2 main cameras and a fingerprint scanner. As you might expect from glass phones, the Mi 8 is slippery on the hands and gets smudged a lot. Xiaomi, thankfully included a transparent gel case that sort of covers that issue.</p><p>On the right side of the phone are the volume and power controls, while at the bottom are the speakers and a USB Type C port. The Mi 8 doesn’t have a headphone jack, but the unit comes with an adapter. The dual SIMc tray lies on the left.</p><div><strong>SPECS AND PERFORMANCE</strong></div><p>The Mi 8 features a 6.21 inch screen Super AMOLED screen, the same tech used by Samsung and Apple on their latest phones. However, Xiaomi tweaked it a bit. </p><p>Colors don’t quite pop out of the Mi 8’s screen the way they do on Samsung and Apple devices, but this wasn’t a big issue for me. The Mi 8’s screen was bright and the 1080 x 2248 resolution was more than adequate for reading text on the screen. </p><p>With a Snapdragon 845 chipset, 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, the Mi 8 is neck and neck in terms of power with other phones in this price range. This phone didn’t let me down even when I had several apps open and several Chrome tabs open. </p><p>I didn’t get to install any of the bigger games on the Mi 8 because of problematic WiFi at home, but I’m pretty sure the Mi 8’s Adreno 630 GPU would have just shrugged off the processing demands of PUBG or Tekken. </p><p>The 3400 mAh battery meanwhile is pretty average. After maybe 2.5 hours or so of screen time with the LTE on, the Mi 8 battery indicator tells you that the juice is almost half-drained. It’s not bad, but it makes you wish they had beefed up the battery. Charging, meanwhile, is fast, as long you use the Xiaomi provided cable and charger. You get slower charge times if you use chargers and cables from other phones.</p><div><strong>CAMERA</strong></div><p>What really makes the Mi 8 stand out from its peers is its camera. Xiaomi put two 12 megapixel cameras on the Mi 8’s rear: one is an f1.8 wide angle shooter, while the other is an f2.4 “tele” camera that provides 2x optical zoom. </p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/news/10/11/food.jpg"/></figure></div><p>In bright sunlight, the Mi 8 gets rich vivid colors without over-saturating the picture. In the shade, it gets very good dynamic range. The phone’s AI gets the HDR mode just right, most of the time, and doesn’t make shadows and highlights in scenes look “pushed” like in a lot of other smartphones.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/news/10/11/flower.jpg"/></figure></div><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/news/10/11/biking.jpg"/></figure></div><p>Autofocus is fast and accurate, and the bokeh is really good, with natural-looking smooth blurs. The “tele” lens on the secondary camera module allows optical zooming as well as excellent background blurring. When it comes to determining bokeh, this phone, probably has one of the best AIs on the market right now. </p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/news/10/11/cat.jpg"/></figure></div><p>But if you want the gimmicky type of blurs, you can also get that with its tilt-shift function. </p><p>Night shots aren&#x27;t bad either. You can still see details amid a bit of noise. </p><p>Selfies on the Mi 8 are also pretty good, with the AI smoothing out facial features without making the process look too artificial. </p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/news/10/11/selfie.jpg"/></figure></div><p>Video quality is also good thanks to its optical stabilization feature. The Mi 8 allows you to record 2160p at 30 frames per second and 1080p at up to 240 fps. </p><figure class="op-interactive"><div id="IVS_ABS_Body_Video_1_Container"> <ivs-player id="IVS_ABS_Body_Video_1" data-ivs-spid="3001339" data-ivs-key="e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603" data-ivs-vid="1421912" data-ivs-floating="1"></ivs-player> <script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/iframe-parent.js"></script> <script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/loader.js"></script> </div></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>The cameras on the Mi 8 are so good that DxOmark, a popular photography gear review website, gave this Xiaomi phone a score of 99, at par with the Samsung Galaxy S9+. </p><p>This also put it ahead of the Google Pixel 2 which got 98, the iPhone X with 97 and the Galaxy Note 8 with 94. Only the Galaxy Note 9, iPhone XS Max, Huawei P20 and P20 Pro got higher scores above 100. </p><p>Xiaomi cultivated an almost Apple-like cult following in China by delivering powerful, well-made gadgets at affordable price points, and the Mi 8 doesn’t depart from that tradition.</p><p>While the Mi 8’s design doesn’t stand out from the current crop, its specs and camera performance do. </p><p>For the cost of a mid-range device, the Mi 8 gives you a Super AMOLED screen, a flagship level chip set, and every good cameras. It’s a deal that other handset makers will need to top.</p>

<p>With a price just around P24,000 for the base version, which features 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, this phone is clearly aiming to capture a large chunk of the cut-throat mid-tier market.</p>

With a price just around P24,000 for the base version, which features 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, this phone is clearly aiming to capture a large chunk of the cut-throat mid-tier market.

Xiaomi Mi 8 review: flagship specs, excellent cameras at mid-tier price

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Xiaomi Mi 8 review: flagship specs, excellent cameras at mid-tier price

Art Fuentes,

ABS-CBN News

Published Oct 11, 2018 08:47 AM PHT

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