Xiaomi is bringing back its two-year-old Redmi Note 8 with a new processor. The smartphone maker had launched the Redmi Note 8 in 2019 and the smartphone was well-received in India. It came with a quad rear camera setup, a Snapdragon 665 processor, and a lot of other impressive features for the price. We knew that the company is planning a 2021 model of the phone because of multiple leaks and rumours.
Xiaomi has now officially launched a 2021 version of the smartphone. The only major change is that Xiaomi has replaced the Snapdragon 665 SoC with a MediaTek Helio G85 processor, which it had used on last year’s Redmi Note 9. This year’s Redmi Note 10 had launched with a Snapdragon 678 processor.
That’s the only thing that has changed. All the other specifications and features of the phone remain the same. The Redmi Note 8 2021 comes with a 6.3-inch 1080×2340 LCD touchscreen with Gorilla Glass 5 on top. It will be available in two storage variants 64GB or 128GB storage, both available with 4GB of RAM. The smartphone will be available in three colour options – Neptune Blue, Moonlight White, and Space Black.
The Redmi Note 8 features a quad rear camera setup including a 48-megapixel main sensor, 8-megapixel ultrawide sensor, 2-megapixel macro sensor and 2-megapixel depth sensor. On the front, you get a 13-megapixel selfie shooter. The 2021 model of Redmi Note 8 will continue to pack a 4,000 mAh battery with 18W charging.
Was this phone needed?
Xiaomi recently announced that it has sold more than 25 million units of the original Redmi Note 8. The new model might be its way to celebrate the success. From that point of view, it makes sense. Different smartphone brands have different ways to celebrate the achievement of their devices.
However, the smartphone market has evolved a lot in the last two years. The Redmi Note 10 series comes with AMOLED panels with high refresh rate, bigger battery, better cameras and faster charging. All of these make it difficult for the 2021 model to replicate the success of the original Redmi Note 8.
