The $280 Xiaomi Mi 8 SE is the world's first phone with a Snapdragon 710

The Mi 8 SE is designed to maximize value.

Xiaomi has unveiled two phones at its launch event in Shenzhen: the Mi 8 and a Mi 8 Explorer Edition, which has an in-display fingerprint reader and a transparent back.

The Chinese manufacturer is rolling out a third variant dubbed the Mi 8 SE that's aimed at a lower price point. The standard Mi 8 starts off at the equivalent of $420, but the Mi 8 SE will cost just $280. The phone shares a similar aesthetic as the standard Mi 8, but the highlight is that it marks the global debut of the Snapdragon 710, Qualcomm's latest mid-tier chipset.

The Snapdragon 710 is aimed at delivering flagship-class performance at the mid-range segment, with the chipset offering eight Kryo cores in a 4x4 configuration. The four performance cores go up to 2.2GHz, and the four energy-efficient cores are clocked at 1.7GHz. The chipset also enables AI capabilities similar to that of the Snapdragon 845.

As for the device itself, the Mi 8 SE comes with a 5.8-inch AMOLED panel, dual 12MP + 5MP cameras at the back, 20MP front shooter, and a 3120mAh battery. All three devices Xiaomi unveiled today run MIUI 10 out of the box, which is based on Android 8.0 Oreo.

The Mi 8 SE will go up for sale in China next month for ¥1,799, or $280. There's no information regarding global availability yet, but we should know more in the coming weeks.