Xiaomi brings new Mi 8 flagship to Malaysia

• New Mi 8 is powered by Snapdragon 845 processor and has improved dual cameras
• AMOLED screen, quick charging and AI camera among improvements

XIAOMI announced that its latest flagship the Mi 8 in Malaysia with prices starting at US$390 (RM1,599).

It was announced that the new Mi 8 will come packed with state-of-the-art technologies including the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC, the 12-Megapixel Artificial Intelligence (AI) dual camera that has been rated as one of the best in the world, and dual frequency GPS for extremely accurate navigation.

Mi 8 is a unification of aesthetics, ergonomics and quality. It features a four-sided curved glass back panel, aviation-grade aluminum frame and a 2.5D glass screen.

It sports a 6.21-inch FHD+ Samsung AMOLED full screen display with an 18.7:9 aspect ratio and 86.68% screen-to-body ratio.

With the Always-On Display feature, the screen can display certain notifications during sleep mode.

Driven by Xiaomi’s bold innovative culture, Mi 8 is the first smartphone in the world to adopt dual-frequency GPS, supporting both L1 and L5 bands.

By having both the L1 and L5 bands, Mi 8 can provide super-accurate navigation, which makes it a breeze to navigate while walking, or calling a taxi in built-up areas.

Steven Shi, Xiaomi regional president of Southeast Asia and Oceania, said “We are very proud to finally unveil the Mi 8 in Malaysia. True to the Mi series, Mi 8 will surely excite consumers in Malaysia with its beautiful design and unrivalled performance coupled with amazing AI dual camera.

“We have a strong and unique bond with Malaysian consumers and Mi fans alike. Thus, we always strive to bring in more innovative products to Malaysia specifically for them.”

As mentioned earlier, the Mi 8 takes advantage of Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 845 platform. With its Artificial Intelligence Engine (AIE) and Adreno 630 graphics, Mi 8 is able to handle the most demanding applications including the latest 3D games.

The platform is said to have a 30% performance increase over the last generation but at the same time consumes 30% less power, delivering extra mileage from the 3400mAh battery, which is coupled with Qualcomm Quick Charge 4+ support for incredibly fast and safe charging.

Mi 8 also elevates the exceptional photography experience Xiaomi delivered with Mi MIX 2S, blowing the competition out of the water thanks to professional tuning from Xiaomi's camera lab.

With a 12MP AI dual camera, Mi 8 received a 105 photo score from the respected camera benchmark organisation DxOMark that ranked it as one the best smartphone cameras in the world.

On the front, Mi 8 sports a 20-Megapixel camera that uses pixel binning technology to combine information from four pixels into one large 1.8µm pixel for clearer photos in low light.

With new software features including the AI-enabled Studio Lighting function, portraits now look like they have been shot in a professional studio setting.

In addition, Xiaomi’s AI Beautify 5.0 delivers a number of facial retouching effects for beautiful portraits.

Mi 8 also features face unlocking with an infrared camera paired with a dedicated infrared illuminator, enabling rapid and accurate face unlocking in a pitch black environment.

The Mi 8 will be available in two versions: 6GB + 64GB for RM 1599 (Available on Aug 16 via Lazada and Shopee) and 6GB+128GB for RM 1899 (Available on Aug 18 via authorised Mi stores, Lazada and Shopee).

Both versions will be available in three colours: Black, Blue and White (White will be available later in September).

Related Stories:

Xiaomi introduces Mi A2 and Mi A2 Lite

Xiaomi introduces budget-friendly Redmi 6

Review: Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 5 rules the budget roost

For more technology news and the latest updates, follow us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn