Last week, Xiaomi introduced the Mi 8 series at a launch event in China including the flagships Mi 8, special Mi 8 Explorer edition, and the first Snapdragon 710 powered smartphone, Mi 8 SE. While Xiaomi has not announced any plans to launch the new phones in India, we have learnt from our sources in the retailer network that the phone will be coming to India by next month.
The source told Beebom that Xiaomi, which recently unveiled the Redmi Y2 for India, will launch the Mi 8 SE with a changed name. The Mi 8 SE will be launched as Mi 8i in India, with the “i” in the name signifying India. This is also evident from the URL in the link to Mi 8 SE’s official page, which refers to it as the ‘Mi8i’ instead.
Along with the smartphone, Xiaomi is also expected to release the Mi Band 3 in India. However, Xiaomi’s India chief Manu Kumar Jain declined to comment on upcoming phones, and our questions about the Mi 8 SE launch timeline.
Our source indicates that the Mi 8 SE will be priced between Rs 18,000 and Rs 20,000 which coincides with the yuan pricing in China.
For those who cannot recall, Xiaomi introduced its first “Made for India” smartphone – the Mi 4i – back in 2015. At the time, Hugo Barra – who was with Xiaomi as a Vice President – emphasized on the important role India plays for Xiaomi.
Three years later, the company has expanded speedily in India and now vies to become the leader. The credit for this success goes to its attractive pricing and online popularity. While Xiaomi has pretty much cornered the sub-Rs 15,000 segment in India, it is looking to conquer the higher-price segments as well.
As for the availability, the Mi 8 SE and Mi Band 3 could come to India in the last week of July or the beginning of August.
Meanwhile, if you’re waiting for the Mi 8 or the Explorer Edition, Xiaomi has no plans to launch the device here, or is at least not willing to give any hints.
