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Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition vs Vivo X21: Price, Specifications, Features Compared

Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition vs Vivo X21: Price, Specifications, Features Compared

By Tasneem Akolawala | Updated: 1 June 2018 17:01 IST

Highlights

The Vivo X21 was launched in China in March
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition was introduced today
Both the smartphones come with onscreen fingerprint scanner

Xiaomi on Thursday launched the Mi 8 in three variants - the standard Xiaomi Mi 8 that comes with face unlock and fingerprint scanning, the smaller Xiaomi Mi 8 SE sibling, and the Mi 8 Explorer Edition that comes with exclusive features like the in-display fingerprint scanner, 3D face recognition, and a transparent back. The Mi 8 Explorer Edition will see direct competition from Vivo X21, a smartphone that was launched in China in March with in-display fingerprint scanning as well. The Vivo X21 was launched in India just a few days ago, for a price tag of Rs. 35,990. Let's pit the two smartphones together to see which one fares better on paper.

Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition vs Vivo X21: Price, availability

Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition comes with a price tag of CNY 3,699 (roughly Rs. 39,000). The Mi 8 Explorer Edition release date has not yet been announced. In China, the special under display fingerprint sensor-equipped 128GB variant - the Vivo X21 UD - has been priced at CNY 3,598 (roughly Rs. 37,100) and its already available to buy in the Chinese market. In India, the Chinese company decided to launch the X21 UD variant as the X21 itself. It is priced at Rs. 35,990 and is exclusive to Flipkart.

Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition vs Vivo X21 specifications

Both the smartphones sport 6.2-inch full HD+ displays. While the Mi 8 Explorer Edition has the latest Snapdragon 845 SoC, the Vivo X21 is powered by the Snapdragon 660 SoC. The Xiaomi variant sports of a mammoth 8GB RAM, while Vivo sticks with 6GB.

In terms of camera specifications, the X21 bears a vertical rear dual camera setup with a 12-megapixel primary sensor (f/1.8 aperture) and a 5-megapixel secondary sensor (f/2.4 aperture) with LED flash. The flagship Xiaomi handset sports a vertically stacked rear dual camera setup that gets two 12-megapixel sensors with 1.4-micron pixels, 4-axis OIS, dual pixel autofocus, AI portraits, AI scene detection, and video detection. The Vivo X21 has a 12-megapixel front camera, while the Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition boasts of a 20-megapixel sensor. Both the smartphones sport on board storage of 128GB.

Vivo X21 takes a slight lead with a 3200mAh battery, but the Xiaomi Mi 8 premium variant does not fall behind with its 3000mAh battery. It however weighs significantly more at 177 grams, while the Vivo X21 weighs only 156 grams. There's a transparent back on the Mi 8 Explorer Edition, while the Vivo X21 comes with Black and Gold colour options for Indian users.

The Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition has better specifications on paper than Vivo X21. In China, the price gap between the two smartphones isn't that much, and the Mi 8 Explorer Edition is an ideal buy. However, this comparison isn't based on prolonged usage of the two smartphones, so we cannot ascertain true sustainability of any of them. Also, the Xiaomi variant isn't available yet in China or in India, so if you're looking at a purchase right away, the Vivo X21 is your only option.

Check out the full Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition vs Vivo X21 specification comparison below.

Is Vivo X21 the future of smartphones or an overpriced gimmick? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

Mi 8 Explorer Edition vs Vivo X21 comparison

	Mi 8 Explorer Edition	Vivo X21
Key Specs
Display	6.21-inch	6.28-inch
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 845	Qualcomm Snapdragon 660
Front Camera	20-megapixel	12-megapixel
Rear Camera	12-megapixel	12-megapixel + 5-megapixel
RAM	8GB	6GB
Storage	128GB	128GB
Battery Capacity	3000mAh	3200mAh
OS	Android Oreo	Android 8.1
Resolution	1080x2248 pixels	1080x2280 pixels

See full Comparison »

Mi 8 Explorer Edition

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display 6.21-inch

Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 845

Front Camera 20-megapixel

Rear Camera 12-megapixel

RAM 8GB

Storage 128GB

Battery Capacity 3000mAh

OS Android Oreo

Resolution 1080x2248 pixels

More Xiaomi mobiles Xiaomi mobiles price in India

Vivo X21

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS
Variants

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Up-to-date software
Good battery life
Premium build quality

Bad
Slow fingerprint scanner
Micro-USB port

Read detailed Vivo X21 review

Display 6.28-inch

Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 660

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 12-megapixel + 5-megapixel

RAM 6GB

Storage 128GB

Battery Capacity 3200mAh

OS Android 8.1

Resolution 1080x2280 pixels

More Vivo mobiles Vivo mobiles price in India

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