Xiaomi's 'new' Redmi Note 8 2021 is a lot like the old one

Except for a newer chipset, the phone is nearly identical to the two-year-old Redmi Note 8.

What you need to know

• Xiaomi has revealed the Redmi Note 8 2021.
• The phone is an upgraded version of the original Redmi Note 8 with a MediaTek Helio G85 chipset.
• The original Redmi Note 8 recently crossed the 25 million sales milestone.

Last week, Xiaomi teased the launch of an upgraded Redmi Note 8 variant for 2021. Although the company is yet to reveal a release date for the Redmi Note 8 2021, the phone's product page is now live on its official website.

Unsurprisingly, the Redmi Note 8 2021 is no different from its predecessor in terms of design. It has a 6.3-inch display with FHD+ resolution and a waterdrop notch for the 13MP selfie camera. While a leak had suggested the phone would offer the same 120Hz refresh rate as the best Android phones, it actually uses the same 60Hz panel as the Redmi Note 8. On the back of the phone is a quad-camera array with a 48MP main sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle lens, a 2MP macro camera, and a 2MP depth sensor.

While the original Redmi Note 8 features the Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 chipset, the 2021 model is powered by MediaTek's gaming-focused Helio G85 chipset. The 12nm chip has been paired with 4GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB of eMMC 5.1 storage. In most other areas, however, the Redmi Note 8 2021 is identical to the original.

The phone packs a 4,000mAh battery with support for 18W fast charging, a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, an IR blaster, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. On the software side of things, the Redmi Note 8 runs Android 11 with Xiaomi's latest MIUI 12.5 on top.