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News - Manny Pham
November 13, 2018
Xiaomi will open its very own store in Westfield Shopping centre in White City, London on November 19. Smartphones go on sale tomorrow (Nov 9)
Chinese vendor Xiaomi has finally launched itself in the UK spearheading a three-device strong charge with its flagship Mi 8 Pro smartphone for £499.
Xiaomi president of global business and SVP Wang Xiang (below second), and director of product and marketing Donovan Sung (bottom first) unveiled a slew of products to an audience of 250 at the Barbican Centre in London today (Nov 8).
Alongside the Mi 8 Pro was the Mi 8 and Redmi 6A (£99) smartphones. Also unveiled was the Mi Electric Scooter (£399) and Xiaomi Band 3 wearable (£26.99). Over a hundred technology products will be available in the UK such as electric toothbrushes, kettles, earphones and TV boxes.
Most products will be sold with major retail partners and the ‘Mi Store’ located in Westfield Shopping Centre in White City, London, from November 19.
The vendor went live with its UK official ‘Mi’ e-commerce website for consumers to purchase its products. Xiaomi claims to have 207 million active users of its products globally.
According to analyst firm Canalys, Xiaomi is a top five shipping manufacturer in 30 countries for Q3 2018, five more quarter-to-quarter. Revenue for 2017 was $15 billion.
Three CEO Dave Dyson (third) and sales and marketing director Wilkin Lee (fourth) joined the stage
Mi 8 Pro
The Mi 8 Pro comes in transparent titanium with one memory option, 128GB. Confirmed retailers of the Mi 8 Pro includes: Three, Amazon, Argos, John Lewis, Carphone Warehouse, Currys PC World, Very, gomobile, Mobile Phones Direct and Katana.
The smartphone boasts top-tier specs and features such as: artificial intelligence powered camera, face unlock and in-screen fingerprint sensor.
Bolted on the back is the dual 12MP and 12MP main camera infused with artificial intelligence. Industry benchmarking website DxOmark has rated given the camera 105, placing it in second place equal with the iPhone XS Max and behind the Huawei Mate 20 Pro (109). The front camera is 20MP and has HDR, portrait and beauty mode assisted by AI.
Powering the device is the octa-core 2.8GHz Snapdragon 845 processor supported by 8GB of RAM to run demanding apps smoothly.
The full HD plus screen measures at 6.21-inches and uses Samsung’s AMOLED technology for richer colour contrasts.
It weighs only 177 grams and measures at 154.9 x 74.8 x 7.6mm in a transparent glass body. Other features include: a 3,000mAh battery, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC and USB-C connector.
Mi 8 Lite
The mid-range device (above) will be available in blue, gold and black upon release.
Under the hood is the 2.2GHz Snapdragon 660 processor coupled with 4GB RAM or 64GB RAM. Internal memory stands at either 64GB or 128GB. Both versions can be expandable via micro SD up to 256GB.
Fashioned from glass with a gradient finish, the slim device measures at 156.4 x 75.8 x 7.5mm and weighs only 169 grams.
The snapper is also dual camera with 12MP and 5MP assisted by AI and is capable of extreme close up shots with clarity and will detect scenes adjust settings accordingly. The front-camera is 24MP and features HDR, portrait mode and a beautify mode also when recording video.
Other features include: 3,350mAh battery, Bluetooth 5.0, dual-SIM slot and USB-C connector.
Redmi 6A
The £99 entry-level smartphone (above) is available exclusively from Three. For a limited time customers will receive a free Xiaomi Band 3 with purchase.
The smartphone is powered by 2.0GHz quad-core MediaTek Helio A22 processor. The 3000mAh battery allows the phone to stay in standby mode for up to 19 days, according to Xiaomi.
It has a 5.45-inch IPS 720p screen capable of multi-touch. A dual SIM tray is also included.
The Redmi 6A has a 13MP rear camera featuring phase detection autofocus and a 5MP front camera.
