Chinese smartphone firm Xiaomi has released its newest smartphone among many other products at a launch event in Shenzhen earlier today.
Xiaomi’s phones have often borne a similar appearance to the iPhone but in recent years, Xiaomi seemed to be taking a more independent path in their design. However, their new phone, the Mi 8, seems to be heavily “inspired” by the iPhone X.
Similar to the iPhone, the Mi 8 contains the characteristic notch that many other phones have also borrowed from the iPhone. The Mi 8 also houses the camera in a very similar place to the iPhone and has a glass panel back and aluminum side frames. Even the placement of the telecom signal, power bar, and WiFi signal indicator is a mirror image of the iPhone. The higher end Mi 8 even contains an Apple-like Animojis and a facial unlock feature, both of which were first released by Apple.
Even the naming of the Mi 8 follows a similar pattern of Apple of recent years. Just as Apple skipped to the iPhone X to signify its ten years as phone makers, Xiaomi skipped the Mi 7 mode and went right to Mi 8 to mark its eighth anniversary.
The Mi 8 will be making its debut in China and will be sold in three versions: the base model with 6GB of RAM and 64B of storage and will sell for ¥2,699 ($420), the 6GB/128GB model with a price tag of ¥2,999 ($470), and the 6GB/256GB option that will cost you ¥3,299 ($520). This is less than half the cost of the iPhone so if you would like a phone that looks like an iPhone X without the hefty cost, Xiaomi’s Mi 8 could be a good option.