What you need to know
- Xiaomi's Mi CC9 and CC9e are budget phones aimed at a younger audience in China .
- The Mi CC9 comes with a Snapdragon 710 and has a 48MP rear camera and 32MP front shooter.
- Both phones will likely be limited to the Chinese market.
Xiaomi acquired Meitu at the tail end of 2018, and the Chinese manufacturer is doing what it does best and introducing a new series. The Mi CC9 and Mi CC9e are now live in China, and the CC in the branding allegedly stands for Colorful and Creative, with the phones aimed at a younger audience.
To that effect, the phones are sold in a dark blue and white gradient color options, and they're differentiated enough from the Redmi lineup to stand on their own. If anything, the white option of the Mi CC9 looks a lot like the Breathing Crystal P30 Pro, and the blue model looks like the Realme 3 Pro.
The Mi CC9 features a 6.39-inch OLED disply, Snapdragon 710 chipset, 6GB of RAM, 64GB or 128GB of internal storage, NFC, 3.5mm jack, USB-C charging, and a 4030mAh battery with 18W fast charging. As the phone is aimed at the youth, it has a 32MP camera up front and a 48MP primary sensor at the back joined by an 8MP wide-angle lens and ToF sensor.
Xiaomi will kick off sales of the Mi CC9 later this month in China, with the 6GB/64GB variant available for 1,799 RMB ($260) and the 6GB/128GB model available for 1,99 RMB ($290).
The Mi CC9e, meanwhile, has a Snapdragon 665 chipset and smaller 6.0-inch display. Otherwise the internal hardware is identical to the CC9. The CC9e will debut at 1,299 RMB ($190) for the 4GB/64GB option and 1,599 RMB ($230) for the 6GB/128GB model.
Considering the Meitu brand was exclusive to China, it's unlikely we'll see the Mi CC9 or CC9e make their way outside of Xiaomi's home market. But given the brand's penchant for reusing hardware, we'll likely see derivatives of either phone soon enough.
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