Xiaomi was never conservative when it came to the hardware side of things, but the Mi 9 takes things to a whole new level. The phone features an all-new gradient pattern at the back, and Xiaomi is also selling a version with a transparent back.
Then there's the hardware itself: the Mi 9 is one of the first devices to be powered by the Snapdragon 855, and there are three cameras at the back. The main 48MP f/1.75 camera is joined by a 16MP wide-angle shooter and a 12MP zoom lens that offers 2x optical zoom. With an overall DxOMark score of 107, the Mi 9 edges out the likes of the Pixel 3 and the Galaxy Note 9.
The Mi 9 also has wireless charging that goes up to 20W, as well as a 27W wired charging option. The 6.39-inch FHD+ AMOLED panel is sourced from Samsung, and there's an in-display fingerprint sensor under the panel.
There really isn't any area where the Mi 9 is found lacking, and the retail price of $445 makes it an absolute steal. Here's the breakdown of the internal hardware:
Xiaomi Mi 9 specs
| Category | Features |
|---|---|
| Operating System | MIUI 10 based on Android 9.0 Pie |
| Display | 6.39-inch 19:9 AMOLED 2280x1080 Gorilla Glass 6 395ppi pixel density |
| Chipset | Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Two 2.84GHz Kryo 385 cores Two 2.42GHz Kryo 385 cores Four 1.80GHz Kryo 385 cores 7nm |
| GPU | Adreno 640 |
| RAM | 6GB/8GB/12GB LPDDR4X |
| Storage | 128GB/256GB UFS 2.1 |
| Expandable | No |
| Battery | 3300mAh |
| Charging | USB-C 20W Wireless charging 27W wired charging |
| Water resistance | No |
| Rear Camera | 48MP f/1.75 (Sony IMX586) 16MP f/2.2 wide-angle (Sony IMX481) 12MP f/2.2 telephoto (Samsung S5K3M5) |
| Front Camera | 20MP |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11 ac 4x4 MIMO NFC, LTE with VoLTE, Bluetooth 5.0 GPS/AGPS/GLONASS/BeiDou |
| Security | In-display fingerprint sensor (optical) |
| SIM | Dual Nano SIM |
| Dimensions | 155 x 75 x 7.6mm |
| Colors | Ocean Blue, Lavender Violet |
The Mi 9 is set to go on sale in China over the coming weeks, and with Xiaomi aggressively targeting the UK and other Western markets, it should make its way to other regions shortly. With the base variant retailing for just $455 and the 12GB edition with 256GB of storage sold for under $600, the Mi 9 could just be the deal of the year.
Everything you need to know about the Xiaomi Mi 9
