There are dozens of Android vendors that take design cues from iPhones or copy some of the iPhone’s features. But no company is as good at shamelessly ripping off the flagship iPhones as China’s Xiaomi. With its latest Mi 8 flagship, Xiaomi once again proved that it’s incredibly good at copying the premium iPhones. The Mi 8 is a blatant copy of the iPhone X. Let’s dive into a detailed Xiaomi Mi 8 vs iPhone X comparison to see how they are similar and how they differ from each other.
Xiaomi Mi 8 vs iPhone X: Design
Many Android OEMs such as LG, OnePlus, Asus, and Huawei have borrowed the display notch from the iPhone X. But they maintained their own design traits and identity to some level. Xiaomi Mi 8 shouts from the top of Mount Everest: To hell with our unique design traits, we want our phone to look exactly like iPhone X. Even Mi 8 ads will make you wonder whether you are looking at an iPhone X or Mi 8 ad.
The Mi 8 sports a proven design – the design that was proven by Apple after taking a huge risk. It has a premium build quality similar to the iPhone X. On the front, the Mi 8 has a display notch. But unlike Apple, Xiaomi wasn’t able to get rid of the bottom chin. It means the Mi 8 still has bezels at the bottom. The Chinese company has used an aluminum frame on its phone instead of stainless steel.
The Mi 8’s rear panel has an iPhone X-like vertically-aligned dual camera system. The regular Mi 8 has a rear-mounted circular fingerprint reader while the more expensive Mi 8 Explorer Edition has integrated the fingerprint reader under the display. The Explorer Edition also has a transparent glass on the back, though it doesn’t support wireless charging. The Mi 8 measures 154.9 x 74.8 x 7.6mm and weighs 175g compared to the iPhone X’s 143.6 x 70.9 x 7.7mm and 174g.
Xiaomi Mi 8 vs iPhone X: Display
The iPhone X has a gorgeous 5.8-inch OLED Super Retina display with 2,436 x 1,125 resolution and 458ppi pixel density. The Mi 8 gets a giant 6.21-inch AMOLED display with Full HD 2,248 x 1,080 resolution and 402ppi pixel density. Both Xiaomi and Apple source OLED screens for their flagship devices from Samsung Display. Both phones have a notch at the top. The Mi 8’s notch is similar in size to that of the iPhone X cutout.
Xiaomi Mi 8 vs iPhone X: Hardware specs
The Mi 8 is powered by Qualcomm’s octa-core Snapdragon 845 chipset, the best processor available to Android vendors. By comparison, the iPhone X runs Apple’s custom hexa-core A11 Bionic chipset, which has outperformed most Snapdragon 845-powered devices in benchmark tests. Apple’s flagship iPhone packs only 3GB RAM, but that’s sufficient to deliver top-notch performance because Apple tightly integrates its software and hardware. The iPhone X comes in 64GB and 256GB storage options.
The Mi 8 comes with 6GB RAM and 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB storage options. The Explorer Edition packs a higher 8GB RAM. The hardware in the Explorer Edition is visible to the naked eye, thanks to its transparent glass. Both the Mi 8 and iPhone X lack a microSD card slot and 3.5mm headphone jack. The Mi 8 features a giant 3,400mAh battery compared to the iPhone X’s 2,716mAh.
Xiaomi Mi 8 vs iPhone X: Camera
The Chinese vendor has significantly improved its camera game in the last few years. The Mi 8 retains the camera hardware of the Mi Mix 2S with some improvements. The Mi 8 features a 12MP primary sensor with an f/1.8 aperture and OIS, and a 12MP secondary lens with an f/2.4 aperture. Both the sensors support Dual Pixel PDAF and 2x optical zoom. On the front, it includes a 20MP selfie camera that uses “pixel-binning” technology that combines four pixels into one large pixel to take better selfies in low-light conditions.
The iPhone X comes with a 12MP wide-angle lens with an f/1.8 aperture and a 12MP telephoto lens with an f/2.4 aperture. It also offers 2x optical zoom and autofocus. The iPhone X gets a 7MP selfie camera with an f/2.2 aperture. The premium iPhone can record 4K videos at up to 60fps. In contrast, the Mi 8 is capable of recording 2160p videos at 60fps and 1080p videos at 30fps.
According to camera testing firm DxOMark, the Mi 8 camera received a score of 99, surpassing the iPhone X’s 97 points. Xiaomi claims its phone has a new AI-supported beauty mode that analyzes your face and enhances your overall facial profile.
Xiaomi Mi 8 vs iPhone X: Security
Xiaomi has followed Apple in introducing a 3D facial recognition system called Face ID. Most other Android vendors still rely on the not-so-secure 2D facial recognition. However, Xiaomi has kept the 3D face detection technology exclusive to the more expensive Explorer Edition. The regular Mi 8 comes with a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner. The Explorer Edition also gets an in-display fingerprint reader as a secondary unlock method.
Xiaomi claims its 3D facial recognition technology is secure enough to authenticate financial transactions. If it performs well, it would be a big win for the company. It uses “structured light” technology, which projects multiple measurement points on your face. It works similar to Face ID on the iPhone X. Apple’s Face ID projects more than 30,000 infrared dots to create a 3D map of your face for authentication. The iPhone X relies solely on Face ID. It doesn’t have a fingerprint sensor.
Xiaomi Mi 8 vs iPhone X: Software
The iPhone X runs Apple’s in-house iOS 11 software. Apple introduced gesture navigation with its 10th-anniversary iPhone. The Mi 8 runs Xiaomi’s new MIUI 10 custom skin on top of Android Oreo. Unsurprisingly, the MIUI 10 brings gesture navigation that eliminates the need for the three button setup you see on most Android phones. Xiaomi’s software also has a new driving mode that relies on the company’s own Xiao Ai digital assistant.
Xiaomi Mi 8 vs iPhone X: Price
The iPhone X is incredibly expensive but the Mi 8 offers premium specs at mid-range prices. The iPhone X costs $999 for the 64GB storage model while the 256GB variant is priced at $1,149. The Mi 8 will go on sale in China on June 5 at starting price of 2,699 yuan (roughly $420) for the 64GB model. The 128GB variant will set you back by 2,999 yuan ($468), and the 256GB model would cost 3,299 yuan ($514).
The Explorer Edition will launch later, though Xiaomi didn’t provide a specific date. The Explorer Edition is going to cost 3,699 yuan.
