Mi 8 Lite Review: Strong Midrange Phone
by mitch002
There is simply no stoping Xiaomi after a successful launch of the Mi 8 Series as they added 2 new members to the original 3 in the family. Now, the Mi 8 series is composed of Mi 8, Mi 8 SE, Mi 8 EE, Mi 8 Pro and Mi 8 Lite. Lets just say this series is probably the most in any series by Xiaomi as of what I can recall as the Mi 4 Series has 4 members: Mi 4, Mi 4i, Mi 4c, Mi 4s. Like they say the more the merrier, this will give you a wide range of variation to choose from in this year's flagship series by Xiaomi.
Tech Specs of Mi 8 Lite
Whats in the Box
The first rainbow gradient colored box by Xiaomi, looks refreshing
Protection case, Manual, USB C to 3.5mm Audio Converter, Type C Cable, QC 2 Charger, and Mi 8 Lite to complete the contents
Gotta Catch Em All, I got all three, how many do you got?
Design
I honestly like the color of the Mi 8 Lite, the space gray is a little off my list but its still good, but the gold and blue variant does create a lot of attention. With its mirror like finish on a gradient pinkish color, the blue is light blue to royal blue gradient finish, it is probably one of the more modern and attractive phone in the market at the moment. Im probably in love with the blue variant for this series.
Good things always comes in three, Im here to show off all three variants of the Mi 8 Lite, are you ready? Hang on tight!
Gold
Space Gray
Blue
All together now
We have the Hybrid Sim Slot on the left (Nano + Nano/Micro SD)
Nothing here on top except the noise cancellation mic
Power button and volume rocker on the right
24 MP Selfie Cam! Yummy!
USB C, Mic in and Louspeaker to round out the bottom
Dual Camera plus LED Flash and the Ceramic Fingerprint Scanner at the flashy back
So Shinny
Say Cheese!
Display and Audio
Even tho this is not an AMOLED Screen, but the display was pretty outstanding. We placed it side by side with my Mi 8 Explorer and it can produce excellent display despite being an IPS Display, good job on that Xiaomi. The 82.5% Screen to body ratio on this unit is much better than the other units, I didnt really felt that the bezel are that big, in fact I felt its pretty small to begin with. Plus the notch is smaller than any other notched phone by Xiaomi, therefore fully maximizing the surface of the screen. We watched several movies and I can say that I enjoyed watching it on the 6.26 inch display. The sound is good enough but I got accustomed to the louder loudspeaker from Mi 8 EE, but on average its already good enough to fill in a small room with music. Bluetooth connectivity on wireless headset is also no problem on this unit.
Here are the supported audio and video file format by the Mi 8 Lite
Supports video formats such as H.265 / HEVC (Main profile), H.264 (Baseline/Main/High profile), MPEG4 (Simple profile/ASP), VC-1 (Simple/Main/Advanced profile), and supports PCM and AAC. /AAC+/eAAC+, MP3, AMR – NB and WB, FLAC, WAV and other audio formats
Playing games like PUBG and NBA2k18 was easy on this unit and didnt even had to break a sweat, I didnt feel any lags yet after playing 2 full games of basketball.
Snapdragon 660
Probably the 2nd smartphone Xiaomi deployed the Snapdragon 660 after the Mi Note 3. This SoC is still one of the more powerful ones in the 6 Series, probably thats why Xiaomi reserved it for the better phones to released this one with. Many were hoping the Mi Max 3 would come with a SD 660 but it came out using a 636 which left many fans dismayed of the decision Xiaomi has made. Nevertheless, this flagship series deserves one of the best thats why 660 was deployed on this one, well at the price point that you see, whats so bad right? Its probably an instant deal breaker if you asked me.
The Mi 8 Lite scored a 143,643 points on AnTuTu out of the box, this test is done right out of the box and its already a good score of a midranger of this specs and price.
Connectivity
The Mi 8 Lite supports 10 different LTE bands, B20 is not part of the list sad to say. It's pretty easy to switch to LTE network inside the settings, and it also supports Dual 4G mode as well so both of my signals are running on 4G, I can even use mobile data during volte calls on the 2nd sim. You can freely choose which sim you want to use your LTE data, since this is a Dual LTE, Dual standby smartphone. This unit also has the 4G+ equipped, and also supports multiple carrier aggregation technology (should your network provider have this feature), you can take advantage of it. Wireless connectivity via Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac is also smooth and it also supports Wi-Fi Direct. Wireless screen mirroring is also available via the Miracast protocol, tethering data is also working perfectly. Bluetooth 5.0,GPS, and GLONASS are all present. Transferring data from older phones using Mi Mover was also a breeze as well.
Camera
Everytime we get our hands on a new phone, its always boils down to the camera. This probably is the most important part of the phone, how good it will capture the memories for you? The camera on the Mi 8 Lite took the shots quite better than we expected it to perform.
The camera takes pretty good photos in daylight and in low light areas it is quite better than the Mi 8 SE in terms of performance. The manual mode from the camera has control over Shutter Speed 32s and ISO 3200. You cant use the Zoom and Wide Angle lens manually. Thats the limitation I saw in this phone. Watermarks is also present on this camera. Video can perform up to UHD and can utilize 120fps which is quite a deal breaker! The 24 Megapixel front camera performed quite good and I believe this one blown me away with the quality of the shots I was able to take.
Actual Shots
AI OFF
AI ON
Selfie Camera 24 Megapixel
Battery Performance
We were able to achieve a good battery rating for this unit since its a Snapdragon (Qualcomm is known for their battery efficiency), we latest probably 3/4 of the day without needing to hit the charging station. PC Mark Battery Stress Test rated it at 11 hours 50 minute SOT, which is not quite bad for the size and weight. Now we have tested the charging time, we were able to charge from 20% to 100% within 1 hour and 9 minutes as we monitored it closely while charging. The maximum ampere that we have achieved is 2450mAh on a QC 3.0 Charger from my Mi 8 Explorer Edition.
More Benchmarks
Conclusion
After playing this unit for a few days, I was really quite amazed with this unit. The camera, the processor was really impressive, as well as the performance of the 24 Megapixel selfie camera. Overall I can really say that Xiaomi has done a pretty good job packing all the good stuffs inside a midrange budget smartphone of this caliber. Overall if you want a flagship level like performance without being too heavy on the pocket, the Mi 8 Lite is definitely a game changer for you.
4/64GB retails for 1399 RMB
6/64GB retails for 1699 RMB
6/128GB retails for 1999 RMB
Mi 8 Lite
by mitch002
There is simply no stoping Xiaomi after a successful launch of the Mi 8 Series as they added 2 new members to the original 3 in the family. Now, the Mi 8 series is composed of Mi 8, Mi 8 SE, Mi 8 EE, Mi 8 Pro and Mi 8 Lite. Lets just say this series is probably the most in any series by Xiaomi as of what I can recall as the Mi 4 Series has 4 members: Mi 4, Mi 4i, Mi 4c, Mi 4s. Like they say the more the merrier, this will give you a wide range of variation to choose from in this year's flagship series by Xiaomi.
Tech Specs of Mi 8 Lite
- · Qualcomm SDM660 Snapdragon 660 Octa-core processor (4x2.2GHz Kryo 260 and 4x1.8GHz Kryo 260)
- · Adreno 512 GPU, 650Mhz
- · 4/6 GB of RAM LPDDR4X
- · 6.26-inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen display, (~82.5% screen-to-body ratio)
- · 1080 x 2280 pixels FHD+ (~403 ppi pixel density), 19:9 Ratio, 1500:1 Contrast
- · DCI-P3 color gamut, high color saturation, 430nit
- · Gold, Blue and Space Gray (Trend Mirror Gradient)
- · 64/128GB of storage EMMC 5.1
- · 12 MP, f/1.9, 1.4µm, AI, Dark Light Enhancement, Dual PD, Dual-LED flash, Sony IMX 363
- 5 MP, telephoto lens, portrait lens, f/2.0, 1.12µm, AI, Samsung S5K5E8
- · 24 MP front camera, f/2.0, 1.8µm, 3D Beauty, Mirror Function, Portrait Mode, Front HDR, Sony IMX 576
- · Dual SIM (nano sim size)
- · 3G, LTE, 4G+ Carrier Aggregation, VoLTE Calls
- · Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, A-GPS
- · 3350mAh battery, Quick Charge 3.0 Supported
- · 2x2 MIMO Technology to support MU-MIMO
- · Sensors: distance sensor, Ambient Light sensor, Gyro, Vibration Motor, Accelerometer, Barometer, Electronic Compass
- · Android Oreo 8.1
- · USB-C port
- · 156.4 mm x 75.8 mm x 7.5 mm
- · 169 Grams
Whats in the Box
The first rainbow gradient colored box by Xiaomi, looks refreshing
Protection case, Manual, USB C to 3.5mm Audio Converter, Type C Cable, QC 2 Charger, and Mi 8 Lite to complete the contents
Gotta Catch Em All, I got all three, how many do you got?
Design
I honestly like the color of the Mi 8 Lite, the space gray is a little off my list but its still good, but the gold and blue variant does create a lot of attention. With its mirror like finish on a gradient pinkish color, the blue is light blue to royal blue gradient finish, it is probably one of the more modern and attractive phone in the market at the moment. Im probably in love with the blue variant for this series.
Good things always comes in three, Im here to show off all three variants of the Mi 8 Lite, are you ready? Hang on tight!
Gold
Space Gray
Blue
All together now
We have the Hybrid Sim Slot on the left (Nano + Nano/Micro SD)
Nothing here on top except the noise cancellation mic
Power button and volume rocker on the right
24 MP Selfie Cam! Yummy!
USB C, Mic in and Louspeaker to round out the bottom
Dual Camera plus LED Flash and the Ceramic Fingerprint Scanner at the flashy back
So Shinny
Say Cheese!
Display and Audio
Even tho this is not an AMOLED Screen, but the display was pretty outstanding. We placed it side by side with my Mi 8 Explorer and it can produce excellent display despite being an IPS Display, good job on that Xiaomi. The 82.5% Screen to body ratio on this unit is much better than the other units, I didnt really felt that the bezel are that big, in fact I felt its pretty small to begin with. Plus the notch is smaller than any other notched phone by Xiaomi, therefore fully maximizing the surface of the screen. We watched several movies and I can say that I enjoyed watching it on the 6.26 inch display. The sound is good enough but I got accustomed to the louder loudspeaker from Mi 8 EE, but on average its already good enough to fill in a small room with music. Bluetooth connectivity on wireless headset is also no problem on this unit.
Here are the supported audio and video file format by the Mi 8 Lite
- MP4
- M4V
- MKV
- XVID
- WAV
- AAC
- MP3
- AMR
- FLAC
Supports video formats such as H.265 / HEVC (Main profile), H.264 (Baseline/Main/High profile), MPEG4 (Simple profile/ASP), VC-1 (Simple/Main/Advanced profile), and supports PCM and AAC. /AAC+/eAAC+, MP3, AMR – NB and WB, FLAC, WAV and other audio formats
Playing games like PUBG and NBA2k18 was easy on this unit and didnt even had to break a sweat, I didnt feel any lags yet after playing 2 full games of basketball.
Snapdragon 660
Probably the 2nd smartphone Xiaomi deployed the Snapdragon 660 after the Mi Note 3. This SoC is still one of the more powerful ones in the 6 Series, probably thats why Xiaomi reserved it for the better phones to released this one with. Many were hoping the Mi Max 3 would come with a SD 660 but it came out using a 636 which left many fans dismayed of the decision Xiaomi has made. Nevertheless, this flagship series deserves one of the best thats why 660 was deployed on this one, well at the price point that you see, whats so bad right? Its probably an instant deal breaker if you asked me.
The Mi 8 Lite scored a 143,643 points on AnTuTu out of the box, this test is done right out of the box and its already a good score of a midranger of this specs and price.
Connectivity
The Mi 8 Lite supports 10 different LTE bands, B20 is not part of the list sad to say. It's pretty easy to switch to LTE network inside the settings, and it also supports Dual 4G mode as well so both of my signals are running on 4G, I can even use mobile data during volte calls on the 2nd sim. You can freely choose which sim you want to use your LTE data, since this is a Dual LTE, Dual standby smartphone. This unit also has the 4G+ equipped, and also supports multiple carrier aggregation technology (should your network provider have this feature), you can take advantage of it. Wireless connectivity via Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac is also smooth and it also supports Wi-Fi Direct. Wireless screen mirroring is also available via the Miracast protocol, tethering data is also working perfectly. Bluetooth 5.0,GPS, and GLONASS are all present. Transferring data from older phones using Mi Mover was also a breeze as well.
Camera
Everytime we get our hands on a new phone, its always boils down to the camera. This probably is the most important part of the phone, how good it will capture the memories for you? The camera on the Mi 8 Lite took the shots quite better than we expected it to perform.
The camera takes pretty good photos in daylight and in low light areas it is quite better than the Mi 8 SE in terms of performance. The manual mode from the camera has control over Shutter Speed 32s and ISO 3200. You cant use the Zoom and Wide Angle lens manually. Thats the limitation I saw in this phone. Watermarks is also present on this camera. Video can perform up to UHD and can utilize 120fps which is quite a deal breaker! The 24 Megapixel front camera performed quite good and I believe this one blown me away with the quality of the shots I was able to take.
Actual Shots
AI OFF
AI ON
Selfie Camera 24 Megapixel
Battery Performance
We were able to achieve a good battery rating for this unit since its a Snapdragon (Qualcomm is known for their battery efficiency), we latest probably 3/4 of the day without needing to hit the charging station. PC Mark Battery Stress Test rated it at 11 hours 50 minute SOT, which is not quite bad for the size and weight. Now we have tested the charging time, we were able to charge from 20% to 100% within 1 hour and 9 minutes as we monitored it closely while charging. The maximum ampere that we have achieved is 2450mAh on a QC 3.0 Charger from my Mi 8 Explorer Edition.
More Benchmarks
Conclusion
After playing this unit for a few days, I was really quite amazed with this unit. The camera, the processor was really impressive, as well as the performance of the 24 Megapixel selfie camera. Overall I can really say that Xiaomi has done a pretty good job packing all the good stuffs inside a midrange budget smartphone of this caliber. Overall if you want a flagship level like performance without being too heavy on the pocket, the Mi 8 Lite is definitely a game changer for you.
4/64GB retails for 1399 RMB
6/64GB retails for 1699 RMB
6/128GB retails for 1999 RMB
Mi 8 Lite
