The Xiaomi Mi 8 has been slated to launch by the end of this month, and the phone has been given the title of ‘flagship killer’. The device which will advance the Mi series by Xioami will be the successor to Mi 6 which the company launched previously. The flagship killer title has long been held by another Chinese company, OnePlus. The brand has been known to compete with the likes of premium phones from brands like Samsung. However, another entrant to this race is the recently announced Asus ZenFone 5Z which will start selling on Flipkart on July 9th. Asus and OnePlus have both taken the lead in this race by launching ahead of Mi 8. However, Xiaomi with its attractive price point and a more enhanced brand image might bring fierce competition to this segment.
Below we present five reasons as to how the Xiaomi Mi 8 can be a threat to Asus Zenfone 5Z and OnePlus 6.
Camera
When it comes to the front camera, the Xiaomi Mi 8 is going to live up to its expectations by featuring a 20MP front shooter. While the front camera on OnePlus is a 16MP lens and the one on the Asus ZenFone 5Z remains another underwhelming performer by just featuring an 8MP shooter, the Xiaomi Mi 8 is going to blaze past these two phones concerning image quality of the front camera. To add to the image quality, the front camera of the Mi 8 comes with AI image enhancement to deliver crisper images.
Right now, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 is the leading SoC when it comes to powering flagship phones; the Xiaomi Mi 8 is also making its entry as one of the few phones sporting this popular top-end chipset. For graphics, there is the Adreno 630 octa-core processor. Combined with the 6GB RAM, the phone matches the level of OnePlus 6 and the Asus ZenFone 5Z. Given its specifications, the device is going to be almost identical in terms of performance when compared with its close competitors.
Design
This is another area where the Xiaomi Mi 8 will compete with similarity by sporting the 6.21-inch Full HD+ display. It is going to resemble the screen of Asus Zenfone 5Z which offers a 6.20-inch Full HD+ display. On the same lines, OnePlus 6 is going to sport a 6.28-inch Full HD+ display. All the three displays will feature a 19:9 aspect ratio screen which will come with a notch, thus pushing all the three phones to the same competing segment.
Battery
This is one area where the Xiaomi Mi 8 will beat its competitor to dirt by sporting a larger battery than both OnePlus 6 and Asus ZenFone 5Z. While the OnePlus 6 and Asus ZenFone 5Z will be limited to 3,300mAh of power, the Mi 8 will remain ahead of the two with its 3,400mAh battery. The only downside is that the Mi 8 does not support wireless charging, but then the usability of the technology is also questionable.
Pricing
The 6GB/64GB variant of the Mi 8 will debut at a price of Rs 24,500 which is less than the cost of Asus Zenfone 5Z, which comes in at the price point of Rs 29,999 for the same variant. The OnePlus 6 is costlier in this comparison with a price tag of Rs 34,999 for the same RAM and storage.
Undoubtedly, the Mi 8 is going to compete fiercely in the flagship killer segment of smartphones between the price range of Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000. The phone offers everything from the notch design, impressive battery to top-end specifications. There is a fingerprint sensor at the back along with a dual rear camera paired with LED flash. The front camera of 20MP comes equipped with AI-enhancement for better quality images. The phone will start retailing at the price of Rs 24,500 by the end of July.
