Xiaomi’s Mi 8 Android flagship will debut with its own take on augmented reality face filters similar to Apple’s Animoji and Samsung’s AR Emoji, according to a new teaser shared by the Chinese phone maker earlier today. The feature is expected to be more versatile than AR Emoji that debuted with the Galaxy S9 lineup by virtue of the fact that the Mi 8 should boast a 3D camera setup embedded into its display notch, allowing for accurate depth mapping and face tracking in real time. Due to that state of affairs, the AR functionality of the device is likely to be much more similar to Animoji supported by the iPhone X in terms of capabilities.
Xiaomi’s bunny mascot will be one of the supported AR face filters on the Mi 8, as per the same teaser which claims “a large wave of cuteness is coming.” The depth-sensing front camera of the device is expected to utilize structured light techniques to track faces and possibly be even more advanced than the module found on the iPhone X, still the only commercially available handset equipped with such a solution. While the 2017 Mi 6 was the last addition to the Android flagship family, Xiaomi is understood to be skipping the number seven so as to commemorate its eight full years in business celebrated early last month. The full official name of the upcoming smartphone is said to be “Mi 8 Anniversary Edition.”
The device has already been confirmed as featuring Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 chip and Quick Charge 845 support, with its most affordable model likely sporting 6GB of RAM and being rumored to start at the equivalent of $440 in the company’s home country. The Mi 8 will be officially announced this Thursday, May 31, as part of a product launch event that should also see the introduction of the Mi Band 3 wearable, Mi Router 4, and a number of other gadgets from the Beijing-based startup.