Xiaomi last month announced
the Mi 8 Lite in China as a trimmed down version of the flagship Mi 8 Pro. The
company later hinted that the device will roll out for the global market
beginning with Ukraine. However, Xiaomi’s global spokesperson, Donovan Sung has
revealed on Twitter that the device is now available in Ukraine and France. He
also revealed that the Mi 8 Lite will be made available soon in other of
Xiaomi’s global markets.
Despite falling into the midrange category, the Mi 8
Lite has flagship looks, sporting a premium glass back design. The device is
available in Twilight Gold, Deep Space Gray and Dream Blue colour variants. All
three use the gradient colour hue and that makes the Mi 8 Lite the first Xiaomi
phone to utilise the Gradient Hue. The Mi 8 Lite sports a notch at the top of
its display which houses a 24MP camera with AI capabilities for selfies and
video calls. The device equally features a massive 6.26-inch FHD+ display in a
19:9 aspect ratio which ensures it fits the palm of most persons well and won’t
look too bulky.
At the rear, there is a dual camera sensor stacked
vertically at the upper left corner. The dual camera setup comprises a 12MP
main sensor and a 5MP secondary sensor with an LED flash at the side. The
device equally packs a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor at the upper middle
aspect. At its heart is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 chipset. The device comes in
4GB+64GB, 6GB+64GB and 6GB+128GB memory versions. It runs Android Oreo-based MIUI
10 out of the box and gets its juice from a 3,350mAh battery.
Xiaomi didn’t announce the pricing of the device in
Ukraine or France. However, the pricing in China starts at 1399 yuan (US$ 200)
for the 4GB +64GB memory version. The 6GB RAM + 64GB storage is priced at 1,699
Yuan (US$ 248) and the 6GB RAM + 128GB storage model costs 1,999 Yuan (US$ 292). The
global market may likely get it at slightly higher prices.