Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro – Battery Life

At launch Xiaomi made mention of the fact that the phone technically supports Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 4+ standard; a truth it shares with almost every other phone rocking an 845 chipset but a feature that nobody has yet implemented. If Xiaomi actually releases a Quick Charge 4+ fast charger for the Mi 8 Pro, it could land an industry first.

Hypothetical fast-charging aside, the phone does support older iterations of Quick Charge, which is useful considering its 3000mAh non-removable battery doesn’t offer the level of longevity I was hoping for. It’ll get your through a full day’s use, but an extended gaming session or streaming might well kill the Mi 8 Pro before you make it to your bed at the end of the day.

In my testing the phone managed an average 4.5 hours of screen-on time and 15 hours between unplugging and replugging to a power supply at each end of the day.

Why buy the Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro?

Xiaomi has made an aggressive play for its UK debut with a sub-£500 phone as powerful and as capable as devices twice its price. The biggest question is whether consumers will embrace the brand wholeheartedly or whether Xiaomi will have to fight the likes of OnePlus, Huawei, Samsung and Apple to win them over.

If you look past the brand though, this is an impressively well-rounded flagship-class phone with everything you could want, save for perhaps wireless charging.

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The camera is a surprise highlight, offering greater competency than rival devices around this price point. Where it falls down, however, is the poor optimisation and underwhelming battery life – factors that can at least be addressed and improved upon via updates, provided Xiaomi puts time aside to do so.

Verdict

The Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro packs an undeniable punch and provided you can look past the fact that the brand is still an unknown quantity in markets like the UK, it’s wholly worth considering.

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