Xiaomi Mi 8 SE vs Vivo NEX: bleeding-edge mid-rangers go heads on

“Both the Vivo NEX and Xiaomi Mi 8SE come with dual camera modules and Snapdragon 710 chipset”

It’s fast becoming a trend for manufacturers to launch mid-range variants of their flagships on the same date. Xiaomi did it with the Mi 8 SE, and now, Vivo has followed suit with the NEX. The new Snapdragon 710 chipset and dual rear cameras are the common features among the two As for the differences, there are plenty, but the most striking features of the NEX are, of course, its no-notch display and its pop-up camera. For those unaware, there also exists a NEX Ultimate model that comes with both these features, plus integrates an under-display fingerprint scanner and delivers top-tier specs. But today we’ll be focussing on the regular NEX model, as we compare it with Xiaomi’s Mi 8 SE.

Design and display

Both the phones score big marks in the design department, but the Vivo NEX is the undisputed winner. Instead of taking the easy route of hiding its selfie camera inside a notch and spoiling the front face, the Vivo smartphone has opted for a different approach. Its camera pops up from the top when you enter selfie mode. This has allowed the NEX to boast a 91 percent screen-to-body ratio. We must say, the front surface of this phone is gorgeous to look at. As for the rear, it houses a fingerprint scanner and a dual camera setup, just like the Mi 8 SE. The front of the Mi 8 SE is characterised by a large notched display. If this little blemish can be ignored, the phone looks pretty similar to the NEX in other aspects. The 3.5mm jack has been given a miss by Xiaomi’s handset, but the NEX has retained it.

Xiaomi has granted its phone a 5.88-inch Super AMOLED panel bearing a resolution of 1,080 x 2,244 pixels. The display on the NEX is also a Super AMOLED panel, and features a resolution of 1,080 x 2,316 pixels. So not only does the Vivo phone give you a notch-less experience, but it also offers a larger screen real estate for consuming your favourite content.

Hardware and software

Like we said before, both the phones are powered by the Snapdragon 710 chipset which features an octa-core processor and an Adreno 616 GPU. This SoC delivers significant performance and battery life improvements over the Snapdragon 660. The Mi 8 SE pairs this with 4 or 6GB of RAM, while the NEX only goes for a 6GB model. You get 64GB of storage with the Xiaomi phone, but the Vivo device gives you 128GB of space. It is to be noted that neither of the two feature a microSD card slot.

In terms of software, Android 8.1 Oreo is at the hearts of both these phones. Xiaomi’s MIUI 10 features a big design makeover, with changes having been introduced to the recent apps section, the notification shade, the volume slider and a few other areas. A neat little addition is that of nature sounds for notifications, and if there are too many notifications at a certain time, the sounds get progressively different to create a rhythm of sorts. But the most important feature of MIUI is undoubtedly the software-based portrait mode which aims to deliver Pixel 2-like bokeh effects without the need for a secondary front camera.

The Vivo NEX runs Funtouch OS 4.0 which is still strikingly similar to iOS. The latest Funtouch build features the Jovi voice assistant which can be summoned by a dedicated software button on its side. The other software additions to this version of Funtouch are mostly in the camera AI department.

Camera and battery

The dual camera setup of the Mi 8 SE includes a 12MP f/1.9 camera with gyro-EIS and a 5MP f/2.0 secondary camera. On the other hand, the Vivo NEX has adopted a 12MP f/1.8 snapper with Dual Pixel PDAF and a 5MP f/2.4 secondary shooter. This makes the camera setups on both these phones very similar, and they’re expected to click great photos and videos. Things are different when it comes to their front cameras though. Xiaomi’s device delivers high-resolution photos with its 20MP f/2.0 selfie camera, while the 8MP f/2.0 pop-up camera on the NEX has to compromise on its resolution. Both the phones deliver plenty of AI features along with their cameras.

The Vivo NEX’s design has enabled its makers to push in a large 4,000mAh battery. This means you’ll be easily able to extract an entire day’s worth of usage from the phone, while still having some juice left in it at the end of the day. The 3,120mAh cell inside the Mi 8 SE doesn’t compete well with the Vivo Nex’s battery, but it’s still enough for the phone to last a complete day with moderate usage. Both the devices feature fast charging support.

Conclusion

So the Vivo NEX wins in many departments against the Xiaomi Mi 8 SE. The NEX is definitely a better-looking device and offers a large uninterrupted display, more RAM in the base model and a strikingly large battery. The only ace up the Mi 8 SE’s sleeve is its high-resolution selfie camera which benefits from MIUI 10’s new portrait mode. You already know which one we’d pick among the two, but do tell us what’d be your choice in the comments section down below.

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