Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite Review

• Overview
• Design and Build Quality
• Display
• Performance
• Software and User Interface
• Camera
• Battery Life
• Connectivity and Networking
• Additional Features
• Comparison with Other Related Phones
• Pros and Cons
• Conclusion

Overview

The Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite is a mid-range smartphone that offers a compelling combination of style, performance, and affordability. With its sleek glass design and metal frame, this device exudes a premium feel without breaking the bank. The 6.26-inch FHD+ display provides vibrant visuals and an immersive viewing experience. Powered by the Snapdragon 660 chipset and with options for 4GB or 6GB of RAM, the Mi 8 Lite delivers smooth performance and seamless multitasking. The camera setup impresses with a 12MP primary sensor and a 5MP depth sensor, capturing stunning photos. With its competitive price point and impressive features, the Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite is an enticing choice for budget-conscious consumers.

Design and Build Quality

The Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite boasts a sleek and premium design that immediately catches the eye. With its metal frame and glass construction, the phone exudes a high-end feel. The device comes in vibrant colors, including a striking gradient purple to aquamarine-tinged blue option, as well as a classic black variant. The slim profile of just 7.5mm adds to its aesthetic appeal.

In terms of physical appearance, the Mi 8 Lite features slim screen borders and a display notch, giving it a modern and trendy look. The 6.26-inch screen provides ample real estate for immersive viewing experiences. The build quality of the phone is impressive, with metal side buttons and a solid construction that exudes robustness and sturdiness.

The phone's dimensions and weight contribute to its overall portability without compromising on screen size. The Mi 8 Lite feels comfortable to hold, thanks to its ergonomic design and well-placed buttons and controls. The bezels surrounding the display are minimal, maximizing the screen-to-body ratio and enhancing the immersive experience.

The back panel of the Mi 8 Lite features a glossy glass finish that adds a touch of elegance. The texture of the glass provides a premium tactile experience. The finishing touches on the phone's design are meticulous, giving it a polished and refined look.

Overall, the Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite impresses with its sleek design, premium look and feel, and solid build quality. Its aesthetics and construction make it a device that stands out in its price range, offering a combination of style and durability. The phone's form factor and ergonomics ensure comfortable one-handed usability, making it a pleasure to use on a daily basis.

Display

The Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite features a 6.26-inch IPS LCD display, providing an immersive visual experience. With a resolution of 2280 x 1080 pixels, the screen offers sharp and detailed images. The aspect ratio of the display is 19:9, giving users ample screen real estate for their multimedia and gaming needs. The LCD technology ensures accurate color reproduction, while the screen's vibrancy adds to the overall visual appeal.

The Mi 8 Lite offers good brightness levels, making it easily readable in various lighting conditions. The outdoor visibility is decent, allowing users to use the device comfortably even in bright sunlight. The touch responsiveness of the display is excellent, providing smooth and fluid interactions.

To protect the display from scratches and accidental damage, the Mi 8 Lite is equipped with Corning Gorilla Glass. This ensures durability and peace of mind for users. The pixel density of the display is also worth noting, as it enhances the clarity and sharpness of text and visuals.

The Mi 8 Lite does not feature OLED technology, which means it does not offer the deep blacks and vibrant colors that OLED displays are known for. However, the LCD display on the Mi 8 Lite still delivers a visually pleasing experience with good color accuracy and vibrancy. The viewing angles are wide, allowing for comfortable viewing from different angles.

The Mi 8 Lite also offers additional features such as an anti-reflective coating, which reduces glare and improves visibility in bright environments. It also has a blue light filter and adaptive brightness, which help reduce eye strain and optimize the display for different lighting conditions. Users can also calibrate the screen to their preference for color accuracy.

Overall, the display on the Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite is impressive, offering a large and vibrant screen with good color reproduction and sharpness. It provides an enjoyable viewing experience for multimedia consumption and gaming.

Performance

The Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite showcases impressive performance thanks to its Snapdragon 660 chipset. This powerful processor ensures smooth multitasking capabilities and lag-free performance. The device's CPU benchmarks reflect its efficiency, delivering fast app loading speeds and a seamless user experience. In terms of graphics, the Mi 8 Lite's GPU benchmarks demonstrate its gaming capabilities, providing an immersive gaming experience with high graphics scores. The device's thermal management and system optimization contribute to its overall performance, ensuring efficient processor and GPU efficiency. Although specific benchmark scores were not provided, the Mi 8 Lite's performance analysis suggests that it is a reliable mid-range smartphone in terms of processing power and gaming performance. Whether you're running multiple apps simultaneously or engaging in resource-intensive gaming sessions, the Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite delivers a smooth and enjoyable user experience.

Software and User Interface

The Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite runs on the Android 8.1 Oreo operating system with Xiaomi's MIUI 10 customization on top. The combination of Android Oreo and MIUI 10 brings a user-friendly interface with a range of customization options. The MIUI 10 interface offers a clean and intuitive design, making it easy for users to navigate through the phone's features and settings.

One notable aspect of the software is the lack of an app drawer option, which means all the apps are displayed on the home screen. Some users may prefer this layout, while others may find it cluttered. Additionally, MIUI 10 has some pre-installed apps, including Xiaomi's own suite of apps like Mi Browser, Mi Music, and Mi Video. While these apps can be useful, some users may consider them as bloatware and prefer to use their preferred alternatives.

Overall, the software experience on the Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite is smooth and responsive. The combination of Android 8.1 Oreo and MIUI 10 brings a good balance of functionality and customization options. The interface is user-friendly, and the phone offers a range of features and settings to personalize the user experience.

Camera

The Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite comes with a dual camera setup on the rear, consisting of a 12MP primary sensor and a 5MP depth sensor. The primary sensor has an aperture of f/1.9 and a focal length of 1.4µm, allowing for good low-light sensitivity and the ability to capture sharp images even in challenging lighting conditions. The camera also features image stabilization, which helps in reducing blur caused by hand movements, resulting in clearer and more stable photos and videos.

In terms of image quality, the Mi 8 Lite performs well in both daylight and indoor photography. It captures images with natural colors and good sharpness, and the dynamic range is decent, preserving details in both highlights and shadows. The low-light performance is also commendable, with the camera producing relatively noise-free images in darker environments. The night mode further enhances low-light sensitivity, reducing noise and improving overall image quality.

The camera of the Mi 8 Lite offers various features, including portrait mode, HDR, panorama mode, pro mode for manual adjustments, and AI scene recognition, which automatically adjusts settings based on the subject being photographed. It also supports video recording in 4K resolution and provides video stabilization to minimize shakiness. Slow-motion video and time-lapse features are also available, allowing for creative video capture. The Mi 8 Lite supports multiple video formats, providing flexibility in recording and sharing videos.

Overall, the camera of the Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite performs admirably in various photography scenarios, delivering good image quality, especially in low-light conditions, and offering a range of useful features for both photography and videography enthusiasts.

Battery Life

The Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite comes with a 3,350mAh battery, which provides decent battery life. The phone offers a good balance between power efficiency and performance, allowing users to enjoy extended screen-on time. It also supports quick charging with QuickCharge 3.0 technology, which enables fast charging capabilities. However, the Mi 8 Lite does not offer wireless charging options. The device comes with battery optimization features, allowing users to manage their battery usage and maximize battery life. The battery performance of the Mi 8 Lite is reliable, providing enough power to get through a full day of moderate usage. Overall, the Mi 8 Lite offers a satisfactory battery backup, and its battery capacity is adequate for most users' needs.

Connectivity and Networking

The Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite offers a wide range of connectivity options to ensure that users can stay connected wherever they go. It supports dual SIM functionality, allowing users to easily switch between two different phone numbers or plans. The device is also compatible with various network carriers, ensuring that users can enjoy fast LTE data speeds.

In terms of wireless connectivity, the Mi 8 Lite supports Wi-Fi standards such as 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, ensuring fast and reliable internet access. It also supports Bluetooth version 5.0, which offers improved range and faster data transfer compared to previous versions. NFC (Near Field Communication) is also available, allowing users to make contactless payments or transfer files between compatible devices with a simple tap.

The Mi 8 Lite features a USB-C port, which provides fast charging and data transfer speeds. However, it does not support wireless charging, so users will need to rely on the USB-C port for charging the device.

For navigation purposes, the Mi 8 Lite is equipped with GPS, enabling accurate location tracking. It also supports mobile hotspot functionality, allowing users to share their internet connection with other devices.

Overall, the Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite offers a range of connectivity options, including dual SIM support, fast LTE data speeds, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth compatibility, NFC, and GPS. While it lacks wireless charging, the inclusion of a USB-C port ensures fast charging and data transfer capabilities.

Additional Features

Comparison with Other Related Phones

When comparing the Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite with related gadgets in the market, it becomes clear that this mid-range smartphone offers a great value for its price. Let's take a look at how it stacks up against some of its competitors.

In terms of design, the Mi 8 Lite features a sleek glass body with a metal frame, giving it a premium look and feel. It is comparable to other mid-range smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy A50 and the Huawei P30 Lite, both of which also offer a glass design with metal frames.

When it comes to display, the Mi 8 Lite sports a 6.26-inch IPS LCD screen with a resolution of 1080 x 2280 pixels. This is in line with other mid-range devices like the Google Pixel 3a and the Nokia 7.1, which also offer similar display sizes and resolutions.

In terms of performance, the Mi 8 Lite is powered by a Snapdragon 660 chipset, which provides smooth and responsive performance. It competes with devices like the Motorola Moto G7 Plus and the Sony Xperia 10, both of which also feature the Snapdragon 660 chipset.

When it comes to camera capabilities, the Mi 8 Lite impresses with its 12MP + 5MP dual rear camera setup and a 24MP front camera. This is comparable to other mid-range devices like the Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 and the Honor 10 Lite, both of which offer similar camera setups.

In terms of pricing, the Mi 8 Lite offers excellent value for money. It is priced competitively against other mid-range smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy A40 and the OnePlus 6T, both of which offer similar features at similar price points.

Overall, the Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite holds its own in the competitive mid-range smartphone market. With its sleek design, solid performance, impressive camera capabilities, and affordable price, it is a strong contender against its competitors.

Pros and Cons

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite is a mid-range smartphone that offers exceptional value for its price. With its sleek glass design, vibrant display, and solid performance, it stands out as a worthy contender in its category. The camera capabilities, although not the absolute best, still deliver impressive results. The battery life is decent, and the inclusion of fast charging is a convenient feature. While the lack of a headphone jack may be a downside for some, it's a small compromise given the overall package. If you're in the market for a budget-friendly smartphone with premium features, the Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite is definitely worth considering.