Xiaomi Mi 8 SE picks up a surprising MIUI 11 update

Xiaomi tends to treat its midrange smartphones well, having brought MIUI 11 to a slew of older handsets in the last few months. The Mi 8 SE did not make the cut according to Xiaomi's MIUI 11 release schedule, but it received the OS upgrade anyway in October. The device remained on Android 9.0 Pie though, the version of Android that it has been running since receiving MIUI 10.

However, Android 9.0 Pie will not be the final stop for the Mi 8 SE. Xiaomi has now started issuing Android 10-builds of MIUI 11 to the device on its China Stable branch, starting with V11.0.1.0.QEBCNXM. The 2.1 GB ROM can be downloaded now from Xiaomi's servers if it has not appeared as an OTA update, although must flash it using TWRP.

A device receiving an OS upgrade on the China Stable branch usually indicates that Xiaomi is planning to do the same on its Global and European branches too. While Xiaomi does not publish timelines about this, we anticipate Android 10 to hit the Mi 8 SE globally within the next month or so. We shall keep you updated when Xiaomi does so, at any rate.