Redmi 8 with 'flagship' Sony camera sensor to launch Oct 9

Manu Kumar Jain, Xiaomi’s global vice president and its India unit’s managing director, confirmed in a tweet that the Redmi 8 will debut in India October 9. He says it will come with a “flagship” Sony camera sensor usually seen in ₹20,000 (around P14,604 or $282) phones.

Jain didn’t say what sensor it will be, but speculation is it will have the 12-megapixel Sony IMX363 also found in the Redmi 8A. A Redmi 8 Pro variant is also expected to launch, which could come equipped with a 48-megapixel Sony IMX586 sensor found in the Redmi Note 7 Pro.

The teaser hints at a large battery, which is rumored to be a 5,000mAh battery with fast-charging support and a USB Type-C port.

I *accidentally* showed you a glimpse of our next launch ????????

But it's no accident that #Redmi8 comes packed with Flagship #Sony Camera sensor that is usually only seen in ₹20K+ mobiles! ????

Arriving on 9th Oct. Are you ready for some #BatteryCameraAction?#Xiaomi ♥️ #Redmi pic.twitter.com/I0hKEuhCX2
— #MiFan Manu Kumar Jain (@manukumarjain) October 4, 2019

Redmi 8 teaser

A leaked Google Play Console listing reveals other rumored specs of the phone, including a Qualcomm Snapdragon 439 chipset (which also powers the Redmi 8A), Adreno 505 GPU, 6.21-inch display with 1,520 x 720 resolution, 3GB or 4GB of RAM, 32GB or 64GB internal, and Android 9 Pie with Xiaomi’s MIUI 10 user interface.

The Redmi 8 is said to get a polycarbonate build, dual-camera setup on the back (12MP + 2MP configuration), 8MP front-facing camera, 3.5mm headphone jack, and fingerprint scanner. The handset could come in red, green, and blue colors.

Reports are going around that the 3GB/32GB model could be priced at ₹8,999 (P6,566 or $127), while a China Telecom listing says the 4GB/64GB variant costs ¥1,599 (P11,568 or $224). The latter is probably a placeholder amount.

Pricing and the configurations are speculations at this point, so it’s important to take these with a grain of salt. And because of taxes and other dues, these phone prices could also be higher once they reach the Philippines.

Feature image via Weibo

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Nicole Batac

Contributor: Nicole Batac spent the last 10 years as a consumer tech and lifestyle journalist and editor for print publications like Speed Magazine and 2nd Opinion Magazine and has had her work appear in other local publications. She now braves the world of freelance writing. In her free time, she obsessively listens to music, binge-watches shows on Netflix, eats well, and sleeps in.