The Xiaomi Mi 9 has officially been revealed and it’s just the disruptive flagship we’ve been waiting for. The newest addition to the Mi series packs a large 6.39 inch Super AMOLED display with Gorilla Glass 6 protection, a Snapdragon 855 SoC, and a triple camera setup, Not that we didn’t already know this thanks to plentiful and official teasers from Xiaomi itself. There is no Pro variant this year, although there is the Alita Edition Mi 9 that comes with a transparent back cover that gives you a direct view into the heat shielding. The Mi 9 is priced aggressively at just 2,999 yuan (about Php23.2K) for the 6GB/128GB model while the 8GB/128GB goes for 3,299 yuan (about Php25.5K).
The Mi 9 also comes with plenty of other flagship class specs. One of the sensors in its triple camera setup is a 48mp Sony IMX586, which is probably one of the biggest contributors to its 107 DxOMark camera rating. The other two are a 16mp Sony IMX481 super-wide camera and a 12mp Samsung S5K3M5 telephoto camera with 2x lossless zoom. For selfies, you get a 20mp front-facing camera. Additionally, it comes with an in-display fingerprint reader, 27W fast charging, 20W wireless fast charging, and Bluetooth 5.
The design is also something to talk about. The Mi 9 comes in three main color variants – Lavender Violet, Ocean Blue, and Piano Black – with a curved glass back design that plays with the light, giving it a premium feel. It’s nowhere near as good-looking as the gradient finishes we’ve seen from the likes of Huawei, but it’s still quite the conversation starter. If you really want to start a conversation though, the Alita Edition comes with a transparent glass back that gives you a direct look into the stylized heat shielding, not to mention 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.
Unfortunately, it isn’t perfect. For example, its 2280 x 1080 Full HD+ resolution is adequate but behind the curve for most flagships, even by 2018 standards. Few people will perceive the difference in sharpness against a 4K screen, but it’s there if your eyes know how to look for it. Additionally, there’s no expandable storage, which heavy media users will sorely miss.
Still, it seems like every corner that was cut was a sensible one. What do you guys think? Can’t wait for the much-awaited Xiaomi Mi 9 to hit Philippine shores? Let me know in the comments!
Xiaomi Mi 9 Specs
| DISPLAY | Type | Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors |
| Size | 6.39 inches, 100.2 cm2 (~85.2% screen-to-body ratio) | |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2340 pixels, 403 ppi density | |
| Aspect Ratio | 19.5:9 ratio | |
| Multitouch | Yes | |
| Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 6 | |
| PLATFORM | OS | Android 9.0 (Pie); MIUI 10 |
| Chipset | Qualcomm SDM855 Snapdragon 855 (7 nm) | |
| CPU | Octa-core (1x2.84 GHz Kryo 485 & 3x2.42 GHz Kryo 485 & 4x1.8 GHz Kryo 485) | |
| GPU | Adreno 640 | |
| MEMORY | RAM | 6/8/12 GB RAM |
| ROM | 128/256 GB | |
| Expandable? | No | |
| CAMERA | Primary | 48 MP, f/1.8, 1/2", 0.8µm, Laser/PDAF |
| 16 MP, f/2.2, 13mm (ultrawide), 1/3.0", 1.0µm, Laser/PDAF | ||
| 12 MP, f/2.2, 54mm (telephoto), 1/3.6", 1.0µm, Laser/PDAF, 2x optical zoom | ||
| Dual-LED flash, HDR, panorama | ||
| Secondary | 20 MP, f/2.0, 0.9µm | |
| CONNECTIVITY | Network | HSPA, LTE-A |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, hotspot | |
| Bluetooth | 5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX HD | |
| GPS | Yes, with dual-band A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO, QZSS | |
| NFC | Yes | |
| FM Radio | Yes | |
| USB | 2.0, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector, USB On-The-Go | |
| BATTERY | mAh | Non-removable Li-Po 3300 mAh battery |
| Fast battery charging 27W (Quick Charge 4+) | ||
| Fast wireless charging 20W | ||
| MISC | Sensors | Fingerprint (under display), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass |
| Colors | Lavender Violet, Ocean Blue, Piano Black | |
| Body | 157.5 x 74.7 x 7.6 mm (6.20 x 2.94 x 0.30 in) | |
| 173 g (6.10 oz) | ||
| Back glass (Gorilla Glass 5), aluminum frame (7000 series) | ||
| Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by) | ||
| Price | 6GB/128GB, 2,999 yuan (about Php23.2K) | |
| 8GB/128GB, 3,299 yuan (about Php25.5K) |
