Xiaomi has unleashed a whole pack of new Redmi and Redmi Note smartphones over the past month, as the market shows no signs of slowing down. There has so far been no lack of competition for the Chinese giant, but it has managed to keep up. Buyers don't seem to mind too much, as they're getting more for their money than ever before. The Redmi 8 is the latest iteration of one of Xiaomi's most affordable models, and so it automatically has a huge potential target audience.
With the launch of the Redmi 8[1], the company has taken a few steps forward in terms of features, while also seeming to regress in one key area – the processor. Does this mark a major shift for Xiaomi[2] and a repositioning of a key product, and does it make sense to allocate more of the budget to other things like cameras and battery capacity? It's time to review the Redmi 8[3] and find out.
Redmi 8 design
Like we've already seen with the Redmi 8A[4] (Review[5]) and Redmi Note 8 Pro[6] (Review[7]), Xiaomi has given this generation of phones a pretty major design update. There's a very specific new design language that stands out from the generic iPhone-inspired look of past models[8]. The Redmi 8 also feels extremely high-quality, with loads of attention paid to small details, and no rough edges anywhere. No wonder the company has slapped a “Designed by Xiaomi” label prominently on the back.
The Redmi 8 is available in three colours – Onyx Black, Sapphire Blue, and Ruby Red. Our review unit was the latter, and we love...