Since introducing Android Pie to MIUI 10 in October, Xiaomi has diligently been rolling out updates for its flagship Mi 8 series. The latest MIUI 10.1.2.0 Global Stable update brings some long-awaited features including 960fps super slow-mo video recording, Night scene (like Google’s Night Sight), and Google Lens support.
If you own a Mi 8, Mi 8 Explorer Edition, or Mi 8 SE, you should already have been pushed this 288MB update.
The Mi 8 previously supported 120fps and 240fps slow-motion video recording but now gains 960fps slow-mo capture with the latest update. This slow-mo capability is similar to the ones found on the Samsung Galaxy S9, Galaxy Note9, Huawei Mate 20 series and Sony Xperia XZ.
Xiaomi’s rendition isn’t quite as good though. Apparently, Xiaomi’s slow-mo is actually shot at 240fps but extrapolated via software.
In the case of the Galaxy S9 (and S9+), the phone captures 0.2 seconds of 960fps footage at HD resolution that’s then extended over six seconds of playback.
Besides 960fps slow-mo video recording, the latest OTA update also brings Night scene, a “super night mode” that’s akin to Google’s impressive Night Sight first seen on the Pixel 3. Like Night Sight, MIUI’s Night scene captures several shots over several seconds then combines them into a final brightly-lit image. It’s really HDR in every sense, enhanced by artificial intelligence (AI). We’ve seen some incredible results from the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, which uses similar wizardry.
Lastly, the latest firmware update also brings Google Lens support to the the Mi 8. Empowered by AI, Google Lens can scan objects and retrieve relevant information from Google’s databases.
The Mi 8 boasts a 12MP dual-camera system (f/1.8 + f/2.4 lens), the same setup that powers the new Mi MIX 3 and Mi MIX 2S. The previous generation Mi MIX 2S scored an impressive 105 points in the photo score on DxOMark. The camera system features 4-axis OIS and 2X optical zoom.
The selfie camera is pretty impressive too – a 20MP unit with pixel binning technology and enhanced with AI.
Read more about the Mi 8 here.
