Xiaomi Mi8 6/128GB camera review: the best among the best

Set

The box has a new design again - now in black. Although, perhaps, the manufacturer only equips top-end devices with such boxes. Mid-range and budget models are still supplied in red packages. But that's not the point.

Despite the festive box, everything inside is boring and banal. USB C cable, pin for SIM card tray (Micro SD not supported), power supply (5V - 3A / 9V - 2A / 12V - 1.5A), adapter for 3.5 mm audio port, ultra-cheap silicone case and film to the screen. Yes, the one that sells for 5 cents per kilogram. I got the latter not from Xiaomi itself, but from the seller. By the way, I ordered my Mi-8 here.

Unlocking the bootloader

Each Xiaomi device is equipped with the function of blocking all kinds of system software implementations. This is done for security purposes. To install new firmware, the setting must be removed. To do this, we unlock the MiUnlock bootloader. Let's run the algorithm:

• on the website https://en.miui.com/unlock/ we fill out and send the application to the manufacturer (you will need a MI account and a phone linked to it, you need to wait a certain time (72 hours, for some phones up to 15 days);
• after receiving approval, download and install the MiUnlock program on your PC (link https://en.miui.com/unlock/download_en.html)

Next, by long and simultaneously pressing the volume (down) and power buttons, we enter the gadget into Fastboot mode. The following image should appear on the screen:

After connecting the device to the PC, launch MiUnlock on it:

Important! The procedure is only possible if the phone is linked to the MI account. To do this, in developer mode, log into your personal account, perform the linking and wait for a notification from the manufacturer from 72 hours to 2 weeks.

Design

I would like to draw the attention of those who are looking closely at the device and are still sitting on some compact Xiaomi Mi5.

Forget about miniature. Mi 8 is such a shovel!

The smartphone, firstly, is large in itself. Thanks to the huge 6.21-inch screen. Secondly, the body has noticeably elongated in height. And the reason for this is again the screen with a side geometry of 18.8 by 9.

In addition, it never has minimal frames. The Mi-8 is very similar to the Huawei P20 Pro. From the front it is generally the same smartphone. There is the same protrusion on top (can be hidden in the settings), and the top frame is slightly thicker than the side ones, just like in Huawei.

There is also a lower chin, and it is quite wide. Therefore, there can be no talk of any competition in terms of framelessness with the iPhone X.

But from the back the devices are very, very similar. Especially the white version. And for some reason it seems to me that this did not happen by chance.

Our hero is only identified by the inscription “mi” and a fingerprint scanner, which is completely unnecessary in this device. I'll tell you why later.

iPhone X

And now about the negative. I found exactly two unpleasant moments.

The first one is probably obvious - the smartphone is very slippery.

Introducing him to asphalt and tiles is easy. So buying a thicker protective case is a strictly mandatory precaution.

The second nuance is that the bezel of the rear cameras is scratched.

I've been using the smartphone for two days, and the lower part of the edge is already scratched into trash. It's scary to imagine what will happen next. In general, another argument in favor of purchasing a case for Xiaomi Mi 8 soon.

What about the colors? There are a whole bunch of colors found in living nature: black, gold, white and blue. To my taste, the last two look the most interesting. The first a la iPhone X for the poor. Personally, that's why I bought it. The second one is much more original, because it comes with a deep blue back cover. It's better to take it! Don't buy black, the most boring color.

The advanced version or Mi 8 Explorer Edition comes with a transparent cover. Everyone thought that the insides of the device were visible underneath, but it turned out that it was a simple sticker, a fake, or simply zilch. It didn't turn out very nicely.

Mi 8EE

Display

As far as I remember, this is Xiaomi’s third experiment with AMOLED screens. Previously, such matrices were installed in Xiaomi Mi Note 2 and Redmi Pro. Correct me in the comments if I missed something. And now we get a new product - Mi 8 with a Super AMOLED display.

There is little that can be said about him.

This is a top matrix in all respects, supports the DCI-P3 profile, HDR10 and all that stuff.

A huge supply of brightness (up to 600 nits), incredible contrast (60,000:1), deep blacks, no green, like in Samsung devices - what more could you want?

Is there an Always On function? And she is here. However, when the screen is turned off, only the time and date are displayed. But you can set up work according to a schedule. Apparently, in order to save energy.

Mi 8 (left) and MIX 2S (right)

What is this icon that appears in the upper left corner? This little thing allows you to instantly turn on/off the “ears” around your protruding bangs. It’s convenient and you don’t have to go into the settings every time, if specifically in this application you need to cut out your unibrow.

Face unlock

Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition is the second after the iPhone X and the world's first Android smartphone that has separate modules for recognizing a friendly face, and which does not use the front camera for this.

The Mi 8 Explorer Edition has a dot projector that puts a matrix of dots on the face, and next to it there is a sensor that reads these same dots. The result is a truly voluminous and very detailed digital cast of the face, which is almost impossible to fake.

However, I had at my disposal a regular Mi 8, which has simpler Face Unlock sensors. The smartphone uses an additional infrared camera and an infrared projector located nearby. The technology is also decent, but in comparison with the flagship chip it is not so secure.

In any case, entering a face into memory is very fast. Face unlocking is instant, and it works in any lighting conditions, including complete darkness.

You can block your face with your palm from nose to chin, cover one half of your face - the smartphone will still recognize the owner. The main thing is that at least one eye is visible and it is open.

Against this background, it is generally unclear why a fingerprint scanner is needed here. After all, Face unlock works simply amazing!

By the way, the EE version does not have a fingerprint scanner. Or rather, it is not on the back, but it is built into the display. Another killer feature that makes you want to pay extra. Well, at least I want to. Would you pay extra?

Operation of the photomodule of the Mi 8 smartphone

As befits a flagship model, it is equipped with a high-level camera. Thanks to the dual design of the main camera (12+12 megapixels), it is possible to take high-quality photographs in almost any shooting conditions. This is also achieved due to the presence of:

• Apertures f/1.8 and f/2.4;
• Advanced image focusing system Dual Pixel AF;
• 2x optical zoom;
• Dual type LED flash;
• 4-axis OIS video stabilization technologies;
• Optical sensor IMX363;
• Video recording is possible in resolutions of 2160p and 1080p.

The front camera does not lag behind in its characteristics; it has a resolution of 20 megapixels and an f/2.0 aperture.

Both cameras support algorithms that recognize surrounding terrain and, based on the data obtained, select the optimal shooting parameters.

Characteristics of Xiaomi Mi 8

It is logical to compare the current generation with the previous one. Everything is on the sign under the cut. Be sure to go through the specs to understand the current state of affairs.

⇡#Camera

Xiaomi Mi 8 has the same main camera module as Mi MIX 2S. That is, on the one hand, we are already familiar with him, on the other, our past acquaintance can hardly be called complete. What is a mobile camera without software - and in the review, our Mi MIX 2S had a “pure” beta of Android 9.0 Pie. So this acquaintance can be called the first full one.

Mi 8 uses a dual-camera rear module: a 12-megapixel main Sony IMX363 sensor (pixel size - 1.4 microns) with an ƒ/1.8 aperture lens and an optical stabilizer, plus an additional one with the same resolution, but a smaller pixel size and aperture lens already ƒ/2.4.

The "portrait" method of using a dual module is used, but it can also be used for a rudimentary 2x optical zoom. More precisely, a hybrid one - the actual focal length specified in EXIF ​​differs by a quarter, and not twice. The image is already “twisted” programmatically - this is a common method that inevitably leads to some drop in the quality of photographs when shooting in a “telephoto” position. However, it’s not so noticeable if you shoot in normal lighting - the detailing is quite good (including due to the software enhancement of contour sharpening), the color rendition is in order, as is, in principle, the dynamic range. In the dark, the situation gets much worse - primarily due to the lower aperture ratio and the lack of an optical stabilizer.

The main option for using the additional rear camera remains, of course, portrait mode - in it, in addition to a longer focal length, software background blur is added, as well as a skin smoothing system (which cannot be turned off). These software bells and whistles work a little crudely, but in general the portraits (especially women’s) look good. At the official presentation of the smartphone, Xiaomi promised special portrait modes with studio lighting simulation - similar to those we saw, for example, in the Huawei P20 Pro or Honor 10 - but they are not available in the current firmware version.

Another important feature of the camera, which appeared for the first time on the Mi 8, is artificial intelligence, without which today it’s somehow awkward to release a smartphone with a serious status. Xiaomi has avoided this awkwardness and inserted an AI icon into the camera app. When you press it, the smartphone tries to recognize the scene and adjust the picture to it. I didn’t have the opportunity to check the last statement, but most likely nothing like that will happen: the smartphone simply increases the color saturation, makes the picture a little warmer or cooler depending on the situation - and, perhaps, that’s all. “Intelligence” doesn’t work roughly, but it doesn’t add any zest to the pictures either. This is more of a fashion statement than a really useful thing.

The camera interface itself has not changed in any way compared to what we saw, for example, in Redmi Note 5. Even the list of available modes is the same: from video clip to panorama. And in manual mode, the image again does not change when changing settings - as if you were shooting on a DSLR with an optical viewfinder, and not on a smartphone, in which such a preview is more than natural. The only thing that reminds us of the special status of Mi 8 is the AI ​​icon. It should also be noted that by default the smartphone puts “watermarks” on pictures, indicating that the picture was taken specifically on Xiaomi Mi 8 - do not forget to disable this in the settings. In general, of course, you can’t do this - you want to shame the developers.

Sample photos

In general, about the quality of photography on the Xiaomi Mi 8, one can only repeat what was said about the two rear cameras: everything is good during the day, everything is not very good at night. Due to the good aperture ratio and stabilizer, it is possible to shoot a night scene without blur, even at a fairly long shutter speed (there is a scene in the gallery, shoot with a shutter speed of half a second - albeit with your hands resting), the white balance, if you do not turn on AI, is determined more or less right. But the picture is noticeably blurry - noise reduction works very actively, and there may also be problems with edge sharpness. Be that as it may, the Mi 8 performs very well as a camera – Xiaomi is gradually learning to work in this area.

With video shooting, everything is also very decent - there is support for 4K resolution with a frequency of up to 30 frames per second, slow-motion video in Full HD with a frequency of up to 240 frames per second. There is a very effective stabilization system. The sound recording quality is somewhat disappointing, but almost everything here does not shine (the only one that stands out is the HTC U12+).

The front camera is also quite decent - 20 megapixels, ƒ/2.0. And even though there is no flash or autofocus, this does not particularly affect the perception of the module. High resolution (and, accordingly, the small size of an individual pixel) does not prevent you from obtaining self-portraits of good quality, even in low light. There is, of course, a system for “improving” the face, which is customizable according to various parameters: in addition to smoothing the skin, you can change the size of the eyes or “pout” the lips. Or you can turn off the “beautifier” altogether.

Performance

This time it will be the shortest section of the Xiaomi Mi 8 review.

We have before us a very, very fast smartphone.

Applications launch at lightning speed, switch instantly, games run at maximum frequencies. World of Tanks Blitz, PUBG Mobile - the frequency simply hangs at the upper limit of 60 FPS.

In general, we have before us a real flagship of 2020 with a capital F. Without any compromises!

Weak light

Indoors or outdoors in the presence of clouds, the photo quality remains at a high level, which makes the flagship suitable for shooting in difficult conditions. The color reproduction is close to what we see in photos taken in bright light. Moreover, difficult conditions are given to Mi 8 in different ways - with natural or artificial light. White balance is usually accurate, but it can cause green or yellow tones in the background.

Autofocus in low light is also fast - the resulting photos do not have blurry areas thanks to the stabilization of the optics and accurate ISO. All this allows us to hope for decent shots under difficult shooting conditions.

Here is an example of a shot taken with the Xiaomi Mi 8 camera under difficult lighting conditions.

When zoomed in, detail is visible in the bright and dark areas of the scene. For clarity, let’s zoom in on the distant sunny area.

This is what the same scene looks like (cropped frame) on iPhone X.

As you can see, the Apple flagship camera captures details in complex scenes, but the Xiaomi is less noisy.

Software

There is no global firmware yet, so we only use the official one created for China. It has only English language and the ability to easily install Google services through the Mi Store. Synchronizing accounts, mail, calendars, contacts and installing any applications - everything works without problems.

Globalization is not yet looming on the horizon. However, the likelihood that Mi 8 will hit the international market is maximum. So you either need to be patient and wait, or order Xiaomi Mi 8 from China right now and then, if necessary, switch to the international version of the firmware yourself.

From little things.

I really liked the vibration response. He is soft, sensitive, with a pronounced noble vibration. Of course, it doesn't reach the level of the Taptic Engine in the iPhone. More reminiscent of the br-brrr in the Google Pixel 2 XL. It's great that it also works in third-party keyboards - for example, Gboard.

On my Chinese version of Xiaomi Mi 8, payments via Google Pay refused to work.

The application complained that the phone either had a root or was simply not designed for this option. Although the Yandex app read the Troika metro map without problems.

And one more thing. After the global firmware is released, it can be installed on a smartphone only with an unlocked bootloader (you need to do it yourself). Once the bootloader is unlocked, you can again forget about Google Pay. This is such a double-edged sword.

Who doesn’t want to give themselves a headache and look for an adequate solution to this problem, it’s better to wait for the release of the official international version of Xiaomi Mi 8 with working NFC and then buy it. That's the only way for now.

A month with Xiaomi Mi8

I still ordered Xiaomi Mi8 to test - this particular model. I was tempted to take the Mi8 SE, which is noticeably cheaper, but I read how they differ - no, the SE is not that interesting anymore, the Mi8 is just that.

While I’m waiting for delivery, I periodically read various reviews: mainly in order to find out what kind of mistakes have been identified there - so that I can pay attention to them myself.

Today on 4PDA I came across the article “A month with Xiaomi Mi8: expectation vs reality.” Well, I think, I’ll read it, the person tested it for a month, he probably has something to say.

I started reading and something started laughing. A certain Pavel, the author of the article, collected some horror stories on the Internet about Xiaomi smartphones and now seems to be refuting them. From the series “They say that Xiaomi smartphones eat small children, but it never ate a single child of mine.” All this is very touching.

Most often, weather widgets cause complaints from users: they do not synchronize, show outdated information, or even show the weather in another city. Once, due to a similar glitch, I got caught in the rain and got soaked to the skin, although the widget promised warm and sunny weather.

Most often, complaints are caused by weather widgets and children. You didn't know, did you? Shows outdated information. And once he got caught in the rain, although the widget promised sunny weather. But then Pavel checked everything.

MIUI has its own widget preinstalled, there are no complaints about it. But many are accustomed to custom programs, so I downloaded the solution from Yandex. The next morning, the widget showed the correct information about the situation at my location. Well, the smartphone coped flawlessly with such a seemingly ridiculous task.

Well, thank God, everything is fine here, the smartphone worked.

Now about messengers. I don’t know if this problem is relevant now, but I read that even in the previous version of MIUI (Mi8 has version 9.5 pre-installed), users were faced with the fact that Viber and WhatsApp do not issue notifications about new messages until you go into the application. I don’t communicate on Viber, but after several weeks of using WhatsApp and Telegram I haven’t noticed such errors. Moreover, notifications in Telegram came faster on Mi8 than on my regular smartphone.

In fact, in MIUI, for applications that are constantly in memory, you need to enable a special “lock” once so that the application is not unloaded. Then there will be no problems with new notifications.

I have encountered more than once the fact that the OS does not remember what permissions the user has given to certain programs. Luckily, never on my main device. However, I can imagine how annoying it would be if every time you start the same navigator asks whether to give access to the location. And nothing helps - neither the usual “OK”, nor digging into the deep layers of settings.

In general, if MIUI used to suffer from this, now the developer has fixed everything. I was not able to confuse the system: after a reboot, and even after the battery was completely discharged, all permissions (to location for the navigator and camera, to access notifications from instant messengers, and so on) were successfully saved.

Never in my life have I encountered a situation where the system did not remember what permissions the user had given to certain programs. Also, as far as I understand, this all works at the system level, not at the shell level.

I decided to check how long the Xiaomi Mi8 battery would last if I actively used it in everyday tasks. I compared it with my previous devices, but the purely Chinese-made smartphone was a dark horse for me. I wasn’t going to feel sorry for him and gave the Mi8 a tough test day.

Instead, I could run PCMark in battery test mode and get quite a clear result.

At home I even had to finish off the battery - I played a little more. But Mi8 won - I passed out before he did.

The Mi8 wins, kids, now we know how it performs on battery power.

I love the game "Make Words" and it is perfect for testing the RAM of a smartphone. Here you can ask for a hint for a word: having received it, you often want to cheat and google the definition. But when you leave the application, it’s not always possible to immediately log back in, you never know what will distract you. And when you do return, there is no hint, not even your level - start over, look where you left off. On Mi8 I tried asking for a hint and returning to the game after an hour. Everything worked out perfectly: I came back to where I left. Perhaps now there is every chance of becoming a champion.

Unloading a program from memory depends solely on the availability of free RAM. If you play “Make Words” on 2 GB, it will be unloaded in the background. Here 6 GB is a clear stump, there is a ton of memory.

At first, using MIUI was inconvenient. Even when I was interested in custom firmware, I tried to avoid this shell. After all, Xiaomi gadgets run on Android, and personally I want more similarity to the interface from Google.

Hello, garage! What’s stopping you from installing Google Start on this smartphone?!!

I even got used to the leftmost screen with a set of widgets that cannot be customized. At first this was a bit of a shock - kamon, guys, where is the notorious customization typical of Android firmware? Yes, I can add widgets, but only those that Xiaomi allows.

Kamon, Pasha, the average Android user does not care about the system shell at all. He uses the one he is used to and which he has customized to the smallest detail. It's strange that you don't know this.

I was surprised by the absence of apparently not very popular App Shortcuts: I’m used to them on my devices, and most applications support them. Losing such functionality is very unpleasant.

I was terribly surprised why he didn’t discover App Shortcuts. This feature is supported starting from MIUI 9, as far as I know, and here MIUI 9.5.

Compared to my previous device, the headphones are easy to connect: then you had to turn on the headset before activating Bluetooth on the phone, otherwise you had to do everything manually by going into the settings.

I have never encountered anything like this in my life. My BT is always turned on on all devices. You turn on the headset and it connects.

I rarely take photographs, mostly for work or as a keepsake. Therefore, I’ll tell you briefly about the camera; I’ll compare it with my previous flagships. Previously, users complained about the cameras in Xiaomi flagships, saying they took disgusting pictures. As for me, the quality of photographs taken on the Mi8 is very decent - at least at the level of the flagships that I am used to, or even better. The biggest concern was night shooting, but it turned out that there was very little noise and color rendition was excellent.

Well? Where are the photo examples? You can say anything in words. However, there was a photo. Do you know which one? That's it.

Overall, awesome review, thanks. Just five points, terribly informative. Now I know everything about Xiaomi Mi8.

PS I would ask a rhetorical question about how it is possible to publish such crap at all, but I will not do this out of respect for the serious work done by Pavel.

Sound

There is no audio output here. If you copy an iPhone, then everything will be as stupid as possible. However, the iPhone X has at least full protection against water. How do you like this, Xiaomi. Maybe it would be worth copying this?!

We are struggling with the crutch included in the kit, that is, with an adapter for a standard mini-jack. Through it, even normal ears like the AKG N30 sound excellent. Nothing else was expected.

There is only one external speaker. It is loud (above average) and of high quality - in general, it is never embarrassing. I would also like a stereo, but this feature was apparently left until the next generation - Mi9.

Autonomy

If you were waiting for something breakthrough, then forget it. The smartphone lasts for one day on a 3,300 mAh battery and nothing more. Although it all depends on the usage scenarios, the brightness setting, the number of SIM cards and a bunch of other nuances.

Based on the results of my test, I can give the following guidelines. With three hours of screen time, the device will last two full days. If you access the device more often (up to 5 hours of screen operation), then the autonomy will be reduced to one daylight hours.

Fast charging is available. The 18-watt Quick Charge 3.0 standard and even the latest QC 4.0+ are supported. It is unknown what type of power supply the included power supply supports. In any case, the charge graph with it looks like this:

• 30 minutes - 42%
• 1 hour - 82%
• 1 hour 42 minutes - 100%

Bottom line

Xiaomi Mi 8 is an exceptionally nice device! It has excellent cameras, top-end hardware, a successful design and a gorgeous AMOLED screen, devoid of any problems encountered in the Mi Note 2, with the same type of matrix.

Our hero had only a couple of offensive moments. The first is the lack of a 3.5mm audio port. Yes, I understand everything, the wireless future has arrived, there are Bluetooth headphones that support cool codecs like aptX HD and LDAC. However, the absence of a mini-jack would be justified only if in return we received IP68 water protection. But she’s not here either. And this is my second and last complaint about the device.

Otherwise, the device turned out to be extremely successful. There are far fewer questions about it than about its predecessor, Mi6. We are especially pleased with the cost, which is still more than adequate.

Personally, I bought Xiaomi Mi 8 from the Hong Kong Goldway online store. Now they sell it there for $450 for the minimum configuration - a normal price. In addition, many users already know this seller and will agree with me that this is one of the most hassle-free sellers on the entire Aliexpress platform.

In general, Xiaomi Mi 8 is the third smartphone that I will recommend in the near future to everyone who wants to get the maximum possible for adequate money. The first device in my personal rating is, of course, Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S with its unique design. It has its flaws, but the design... it's just space! The second option is OnePlus 6. And I’ll probably put our hero in third place. However, this is my personal gradation. All three devices are very, very cool. Choose according to your taste, and at the same time read their reviews on our website.

Xiaomi Xiaomi Mi8

What to choose?

When choosing, it is worth considering that the devices belong to different price categories, so they differ markedly in a number of indicators. Xiaomi Mi8 significantly wins in terms of performance; it copes well with the task of playing heavy games. It has more substantial amounts of RAM/built-in memory, which avoids slowdown. Its advantages include a 20-megapixel selfie camera and an AMOLED screen with increased brightness levels.

Its rival attracts attention due to its longer battery life, affordable price and the presence of a 3.5 mm jack on the body.