Xiaomi has recently confirmed that it will be holding a launch event in Shenzhen, China. The 2018 Annual Product Launch that is slated to take place at Shenzhen is speculated to be the most important product launch event of the year for the company. Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun has already revealed that a variety of new products will be announced at the event. However, the exact date of the launch event is yet to be disclosed. In the recent past, a couple of tipsters from China have claimed that Xiaomi has a product launch event at the end of this month. A leaked screenshot that has surfaced today has revealed that the company has already sold tickets for an upcoming Shenzhen event that is scheduled to take place on May 31.
The below image clearly shows the May 31 date. Also, the tickets for the forthcoming event are priced between 799 Yuan (~$125) and 1,999 Yuan (~$314). The details mentioned in the image shows that the event will be accommodating a large capacity of 5,000 people. The launch event for the Mi MIX 2S that was held in March housed 2,000 people. This indicates that the Chinese firm will launch multiple products at the launch event including the rumored Xiaomi Mi 8th Anniversary Edition smartphone.
It appears that the Xiaomi Mi 8th Anniversary smartphone exists for real as the company has it has been formally introduced in the Mi Community.
The product name was also recently spotted among other Xiaomi devices on the Chinese version of the Mi Store app.
Also, an image showing the 3D face recognition module of the phone was recently revealed by the rumor mill.
Update: Freshly leaked photos showing the box package and front panel of the alleged Xiaomi Mi 8 have also appeared.
What could be the reason Xiaomi is gearing up to launch the Xiaomi Mi 8 phone? In December 2013, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun had entered bet worth 1 billion yuan with business rival Dong Mingzhu, the President of Gree Electronics Appliances by saying that his company would outdo Gree Group in business volume in five years. After Jun and Mingzhu confirmed on the bet, Xiaomi co-founder and senior vice president Li Wanqiang had claimed on Weibo that regardless of the outcome of the bet, the company would give away 100 Xiaomi Mi 8 units.
The year 2018 happens to be the fifth year of the bet. If the company does not launch Xiaomi Mi 8 this year, Li Wanqiang could end up breaking his promise.
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Xiaomi is expected to debut Xiaomi Mi 7, Mi 8th Anniversary Edition phone and Mi Band 3 fitness tracker at the May 31 Shenzhen event. Last year, Xiaomi had launched the Mi Max 2 in May. Hence, fans are eagerly waiting for the Mi Max 3 to get unveiled with a huge 18:9 aspect ratio screen. However, there is no confirmation whether it will be unleashed on May 31.
