Xiaomi Mi 8 Youth Edition and the Mi 8 Screen Fingerprint Edition were made official by the Chinese phone maker on Wednesday at a launch event in China. The former is a toned down version of the flagship Mi 8 with a Snapdragon 660 SoC, downgraded rear camera setup, and almost half the price. The Mi 8 Screen Fingerprint Edition, on the other hand, is similar to the Mi 8 in terms of specifications but has a pressure-sensitive in-display fingerprint sensor instead of the rear-mounted one on the original Mi 8.
Xiaomi Mi 8 Youth Edition price in China has been set at CNY 1,399 (roughly Rs. 14,800) for the base variant that comes with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. The 6GB RAM/ 64GB storage model gets a price tag of CNY 1,699 (around Rs. 18,000), while the top-end 6GB RAM/ 128GB storage variant comes in at CNY 1,999 (approximately Rs. 21,200). The phone will be sold in three gradient colour options. It is available for pre-orders starting today and will go on sale on September 25.
The Chinese phone maker announced yet another smartphone at the event - a slightly upgraded and future-proof Xiaomi Mi 8 Screen Fingerprint Edition that gets a price tag of CNY 3,199 (around Rs. 34,000) for the 6GB RAM/ 128GB inbuilt storage variant and CNY 3,599 (roughly Rs. 38,200) for the 8GB RAM/ 128GB storage model. Like the Youth Edition model, this smartphone is also up for pre-orders starting today, but will become available for purchase a few days earlier, from September 21.
The dual-SIM Xiaomi Mi 8 Youth Edition runs MIUI atop Android out-of-the-box, and sports a 6.26-inch LCD panel with a notch on top. The smartphone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 AIE SoC, coupled with 4GB/ 6GB of RAM and 64GB/ 128GB of inbuilt storage.
In terms of optics, the Mi 8 Youth Edition sports a dual rear camera setup with a 12-megapixel primary sensor and a 5-megapixel secondary sensor, coupled with f/1.9 aperture, AI capabilities, and dual phase detection auto focus. On the front, the handset has an upgraded 24-megapixel Sony IMX576 selfie camera with certain AI capabilities. There is a 3,350mAh battery under the hood, with support for Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0. The phone comes with Face Unlock built right into the front camera, and a fingerprint sensor on the back. There is support for Bluetooth v5.0.
On the other hand, the Xiaomi Mi 8 Screen Fingerprint Edition sports an in-display fingerprint sensor, instead of the Mi 8's rear-mounted physical one. Also, it is available in the Mi 8 Explorer Edition's transparent back option as well as a regular one with gradient colour scheme. Other specifications remain the same including the Snapdragon 845 SoC, up to 128GB of internal storage, the same dual 12-megapixel camera sensor at the back, and dual-frequency GPS.
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