Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer VS Xiaomi Mi 8 – What’s the difference? Never before has Xiaomi released three models of a smartphone. All that ended in their recent 8th-anniversary event in Shenzhen, China. The phone maker launched the Xiaomi Mi 8, Mi 8 Explorer and Mi 8 SE with the new MIUI 10 user interface. Aside from the smartphones, they also launched Xiaomi Mi band 3 fitness band, Mi VR standalone headsets and Mi TV 4 75-inch model. But obviously, it was the Mi 8-series that stole the spotlight.
The Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer is also known as Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro and its a bigger model of the Mi 8. In this article, we will find out which specs and features make the Mi 8 Explorer bigger than the Mi 8. And which model is more valuable to buy instead. Below is a detailed comparison between the Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer and the Xiaomi Mi 8.
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer VS Xiaomi Mi 8 – The Design
The design of the Xiaomi Mi 8 is very much the same with the Mi 8 Explorer. They both feature a front and rear glass with aluminum 7000 series frame. The big difference in design will be the fingerprint sensor. For the Xiaomi Mi 8 is a rear mounted fingerprint sensor. While for the Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer, the fingerprint sensor is under the display. Guess have seen too many rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, and think the fingerprint sensor in the display of the Mi 8 Explorer is actually cooler.
They both feature a long notch that houses Infrared lens (for face unlock), Infrared lighting, Earpiece, Proximity sensor and a 20MP camera sensor. The Xiaomi Mi 8 weighs 175 grams while the Mi 8 Explorer weighs 177 grams. And they both size up in the same 154.9 x 74.8 x 7.6 mm dimensions. The Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer features a cool transparent black body color, you could literally see the hardware laid out in the phone. The Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer comes in only Black body color while you get Black, Blue, White and Gold body colors on the Mi 8. I think the Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer features a better design, thanks to an in-display fingerprint sensor and transparent back.
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer VS Xiaomi Mi 8 – The Display
The Xiaomi Mi 8 and Mi 8 Explorer both features the same display specifications. They both sport a 6.21 inch Super AMOLED touchscreen with an 83.8 screen-to-body ratio. On their display is an 18.7:9 aspect ratio, 1080 x 2248 pixels resolution and 402 PPI density. And their screen is being protected by an unspecified version of Corning gorilla glass, it’s going to be either glass 4 or glass 5.
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer VS Xiaomi Mi 8 – The Camera
The camera is just the same like on the display. The Xiaomi Mi 8 and Mi 8 Explorer features a dual rear camera set-up consisting of a 12MP primary sensor with f/1.8 aperture, 26mm wide-angle lens, 4-axis OIS, optical zoom, dual-pixel PDAF, 1.4um pixel size and a 12MP secondary sensor with f/2.4 aperture, 2x optical zoom and 1.0um pixel size. Up front, they houses a 20MP sensor with f/2.0 aperture, 1.8um pixel size and AI portrait mode.
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer VS Xiaomi Mi 8 – Hardware and Software
Powering both the Xiaomi Mi 8 and Mi 8 Explorer is Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset with Adreno 630 graphics processing unit. Th Snapdragon 845 chipset carries 4-cores processor clocked at 2.8GHz and 4-cores processor clocked at 1.8GHz. The Xiaomi Mi 8 had a surprising 301,472 score on AnTuTu Benchmark. The score is said to be the highest by any smartphone, so you can expect the very best of performance from the Mi 8 and Mi 8 Explorer.
They both run on MIUI 10.0 skin, which is overlaid on top of Android 8.1 Oreo. The Xiaomi Mi 8 comes with only a 6GB memory, you’ll need to choose the Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer for a bigger memory of 8GB. The 6GB memory of the Mi 8 comes with either 64GB, 128GB or 256GB storage. While the 8GB memory of the Mi 8 Explorer comes with only a 128GB storage.
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer VS Xiaomi Mi 8 – The Battery
Now this is a rather surprising move by Xiaomi. They said the Mi 8 Explorer is a bigger model to the standard Mi 8. But the Xiaomi Mi 8 packs a non-removable Li-Po 3400 mAh battery. While the Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer comes with a reduced non-removable Li-Po 3000 mAh battery. This is a disappointment for battery fans like myself. They both support the same fast battery charging 4.0+.
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer VS Xiaomi Mi 8 – The Price
You can get the Xiaomi Mi 8 for around $515 (N180,250) and the Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer for about $582 (N203,700). I don’t think the Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer is worth the extra $67 (N23,000). Though you get a bigger memory, a transparent back and in-display fingerprint sensor. But you also get a reduced battery capacity. It would have been worth it, if the battery capacity was actually bigger.
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer VS Xiaomi Mi 8 Full Specs Comparison
| Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer | Xiaomi Mi 8 | |
| Dimensions and Weight | 154.9 x 74.8 x 7.6 mm. Weight – 177 g | 154.9 x 74.8 x 7.6 mm. Weight – 175 g |
| Display | 6.21 inch (83.8% screen-to-body ratio), 1080 x 2248 pixels with 402 PPI density and Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen | 6.21 inch (83.8% screen-to-body ratio), 1080 x 2248 pixels with 402 PPI density and Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen |
| Memory | RAM – 8GB. ROM – 128GB | RAM – 6GB. ROM – 64/128/256GB |
| Software | Android 8.1 Oreo (with MIUI 10.0) | Android 8.1 Oreo (with MIUI 10.0) |
| Hardware | Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset with Octa-core (4×2.8GHz & 4×1.8GHz) processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset with Octa-core (4×2.8GHz & 4×1.8GHz) processor |
| Camera | 20MP f/2.0 aperture front camera + Dual – 12MP f/1.8 aperture and 12MP f/2.4 aperture with dual-LED flash | 20MP f/2.0 aperture front camera + Dual – 12MP f/1.8 aperture and 12MP f/2.4 aperture with dual-LED flash |
| Connectivity | 2G/3G/4G Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, hotspot, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS | 2G/3G/4G Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, hotspot, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS |
| Battery | Non-removable Li-Po 3000 mAh battery | Non-removable Li-Po 3400 mAh battery |
| Additional Features | Fingerprint (under display), Fast battery charging (Quick Charge 4.0+), Infrared face recognition | Fingerprint (rear-mounted), Fast battery charging (Quick Charge 4.0+), Infrared face recognition |
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