Xiaomi Mi 8 SE is world's 1st phone with Snapdragon 710

Xiaomi ends the month of May with a bang. Besides the Xiaomi Mi 8 and Mi 8 Explorer Edition, the world’s fastest-growing smartphone brand also launched the Xiaomi Mi 8 SE.

There’s a lot to get excited about the device, the chief of which is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 inside it. The chip was announced just a week ago, about the same time the MediaTek Helio P22 became official. This makes the Mi 8 SE the first officially launched handset to use the 710.

The processor packs two cores of Kryo 360 Cortex A75 clocked at 2.2GHz and six cores of Kryo 360 Cortex A55 with a 1.7GHz processing speed and brings premium features to the mid-tier category. Its Antutu Benchmark score of 174,333 crushes that of the Snapdragon 660, which can be found in phones like the OPPO R15 Pro or Dream Mirror Edition and the Vivo X21 and X21 UD.

Xiaomi Mi 8 SE Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 Antutu benchmark score vs Snapdragon 660 on Revu Philippines

Antutu benchmark scores: Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 660

Let’s just say that the Xiaomi Mi 8 SE is a toned-down Mi 8. It features a smaller notched screen at 5.88 inches. It has only two memory configurations: either 4GB or 6GB of RAM paired with 64GB of native memory. The main 12-megapixel sensor of the dual-rear-camera system is paired with a secondary one that has a lower megapixel count of 5. The SE’s battery is rated at 3,120mAh. And it doesn’t have the iPhone X-like face-scanning technology used by its bigger sibling.

Of course, with slightly downgraded specs come a price tag that is so attractive to ignore. The base model will go on sale for ¥1,799 (roughly P14,761 or $281), while the other version will retail at ¥1,999 (P16,401 or $312) — putting the Mi 8 SE right where the likes of the OPPO F7, Vivo V9, Huawei P20 Lite, and ASUS ZenFone 5Q are lumped. It will be available in black, gold, red, and blue.

No word yet on when the smartphone is going to arrive in the Philippines, but we’ll update you as soon as we get a launch or release date.

5.88-inch Super AMOLED display, 1,080 x 2,244 resolution, 18.7:9, 86 percent screen-to-bezel ratio
Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 processor
4GB/6GB RAM
64GB expandable storage
Dual: 12 megapixels (f/1.9, 1.4µm, dual-pixel PDAF) + 5 megapixels (f/2.0, 1.12µm), dual-pixel phase-detection auto-focus, LED flash
20 megapixels (f/2.0, 2.0µm), 1080p
Fingerprint sensor (rear-mounted)
3,120mAh battery, Li-Po, non-removable
18W Quick Charge 3.0
USB-C port
Android 8.1 Oreo

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Alora Uy Guerrero

Editor-in-chief: Alora Uy Guerrero has 22 years of experience as an editor for print and digital publications such as Yahoo. She took time off journalism to manage OPPO’s digital-marketing campaigns. When not busy with her babies, she’s working on Revü, a passion project — or probably traveling or obsessing over her favorite bands, movies, TV shows, and basketball teams.

Xiaomi Mi 8 SE specs

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Alora Uy Guerrero