Why wouldn’t you be interested in the phone? It’s a 2019 flagship that packs a punch. Xiaomi went all out. Seriously, look at the Mi 9. It’s stunning.
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There’re no words for how good-looking it is. It comes with an iridescence that’s very oil-like. It’s especially captivating in the purple version of the phone.
The Xiaomi device rocks a glass body. It feels luxurious in your hand. It’s especially comfortable to hold due to its curved sides. The edges of the phone are smooth too, letting it fit snuggly into palms.
It doesn’t come with just any glass body. Xiaomi has your back, fitting Gorilla Glass 5 all over its rear. Around the glass is an aluminum frame that just elevates it.
It’ll be hard for you to find a glass back that isn’t a fingerprint magnet. You’ll regularly have to wipe the Mi 9’s back down.
It’ll also be hard for you to find a phone released recently that isn’t big. The 9 doesn’t break this trend. It stretches a considerable 6.39 inches. Being a more premium device, it’s no surprise that the phone is slim. Its dimensions are 157.5 x 74.7 x 7.6mm.
Xiaomi’s known to place their buttons well. We found the ones of the Mi 9 especially easy to reach. Speaking of reaching for things, there is no fingerprint sensor on its back. It’s optical – how does it do? It’s very snappy.
We have some bad news. The Mi device doesn’t come with a headphone jack. It doesn’t come with expandable storage either. You’ll have to use its USB-C port and an adapter to listen to music.
There’s a Super AMOLED panel by your side. If you know anything about them, it’s that they’re very vibrant.
Xiaomi didn’t come to play. The Mi 9 can produce a range of colours. Its display is HDR10 certified, being able to stream HDR content.
The display is pretty much all screen, having an 85.2% screen-to-body ratio. With this in mind, it’s not surprising to hear that its notch is very small.
How could we not talk about how sharp it is? The Mi 9’s screen is needle-like at 1080 x 2340 pixels.
It’s a very bright phone. The Xiaomi device can reach up to 620 nits. 500 is the gold standard, which it easily surpasses.
Remember how we said Gorilla Glass 5 was on its rear? Good news, the much stronger Gorilla Glass 6 is on its front.
The Mi 9 doesn’t have a large battery. Considering that it has a powerful screen, this is isn’t the best. A 3300 mAh unit is in it. It lets the former flagship barely last a day.
At least its charging capabilities are impressive. The phone is capable of 27 W fast charging. The device will take a little over an hour to fully charge.
For a phone of this price, you’d expect wireless charging. The Mi 9 doesn’t disappoint. Its 20 W wireless charger will fully charge it in around 2 hours.
Unfortunately, wireless charging is the only luxury you get. You’re not met with reverse charging.
Can we talk about how fast the Mi 9 is? The Snapdragon 855, which is fit for a flagship is in the device. It is incredibly responsive. Apps open in the blink of an eye, and you will never struggle with extensive tasks.
The Xiaomi device can handle the most taxing games. Its gaming mode makes things even better. It lets the phone handle overclocking – which is a gamer’s dream.
Not only is its processor amazing, but so is its storage capacities. You can get the former flagship in 64, 128, and 256 GB of space along with 6 or 8 GB of RAM. If you’re thinking of expanding its storage, we should remind you that there’s no microSD slot.
The phone runs Android 09 out of the box. Of course, it received the Android 10 update.
While it received the MiUI 12 update, there has been no word regarding the Android 11 update yet. But considering that this is a former flagship released only last year, chances are high that it will receive the update.
There are quite a few lenses for you to play with. There are 3 on its back. The primary sensor is a 48 MP wide lens, the secondary sensor is a 12 MP telephoto lens while the tertiary sensor is a 16 MP ultrawide lens.
In good lighting, the triple set-up works excellently. In low light, the camera works about as well, with just some noise.
In the front, there is a single shooter. The 20 MP selfie camera works at its best in portrait mode. This doesn’t mean that its auto mode is bad.
We’re fond of the Mi 9. Let’s see how well it fairs with alternatives below.
The Mi 9 is a big phone. However, the A80 towers over it. You’re looking at a 6.7-inch device. Not only is it larger, but it’s also built better. The phone comes with a Gorilla Glass 6 body.
Both devices rock Super AMOLED displays. That being said, the screen-to-body ratio on the A80 is slightly better. The Samsung device comes with a slightly sharper display as well.
Its Mi counterpart has an HDR10 screen, which gives it an edge. The A80 does not boast of such a feature.
Remember how the Mi 9 came with a Gorilla Glass 6 screen? The Samsung phone doesn’t stand a chance. It rocks a Gorilla Glass 3 display, barely being as durable.
Performance-wise, it doesn’t stand a chance either. The Snapdragon 730 is inside it. It gets gobbled by the 855.
The phone’s storage variants aren’t that great. You only get 1 storage option – 128 GB. With it, 8 gigs of RAM are by your side. We’re disappointed to say that you can’t expand its storage.
In terms of its battery, the A80 does pretty well. Its battery is 400 mAhs larger than the former flagship, letting it last a solid day.
The device comes with fast charging. Although 27 W fast charging won’t be by your side, the equally as great 25 W charging will be. The device takes a little over an hour to fully charge.
If you’re expecting wireless charging, get ready to be disappointed. Like the Mi 9, the A80 also doesn’t offer reverse charging.
What about its camera? Well, there’s a dual set-up on its rear. The primary sensor is a 48 MP wide lens while the secondary sensor is an 8 MP ultrawide lens. You would’ve noticed that its display doesn’t come with a notch. This is as its rear camera pops to the front.
The OnePlus 7 is built as well as its Xiaomi counterpart. The device’s body is Gorilla Glass 5.
It’s not the same size as the Mi 9. The 7 is a bit larger, offering a more immersive viewing experience. Its size isn’t the only thing that lets it offer a better viewing experience. The phone has an Optic AMOLED display. The panel is similar to a regular Super AMOLED but is superior in colour reproduction.
Bezel-wise, both devices have similar screen-to-body ratios. The same is true for their screen resolutions.
Like the Mi 9, the OnePlus 7 is HDR10 rated. It also has Gorilla Glass 6 on its front.
You’ll agree that their screens are similar. This is true for their processors as well. The OnePlus device has the Snapdragon 855 inside it.
It’s not surprising to see it run Android 9. It’s also not surprising to see that it received the Android 10 update.
Unfortunately, its storage variants aren’t as diverse. You can only choose from 128 and 256 GBs of space, along with 6 or 8 gigs of RAM. You’re probably wondering if you can expand its storage. The answer’s no.
The OnePlus 7 has a battery that’s as big as the A80’s. Unlike the Samsung alternative, the phone can last 2 days. Of course, it comes with fast charging too. Its 20 W fast charger takes the 7 about an hour and a half to fully charge.
Unfortunately, it does not offer wireless charging. It doesn’t offer reverse charging either.
What about its camera? Well, you’re met with a familiar set-up. The dual camera has a 48 MP wide lens along with a 5 MP depth sensor. Front-camera wise, a 16 MP shooter is present.
Like the other alternatives, the V17 Pro is a glass device. It feels great in your hands, not breaking the trend. If you’re wondering what type of glass is on its back, it’s Gorilla Glass 6.
Unfortunately, its frame is plastic. This is disappointing as the other phones our list, including the Mi 9, had aluminum bordering their rears.
The Vivo device is about the same size as the OnePlus 7. As it’s larger than the Mi 9, it has an edge when it comes to its viewing experience.
The V17 Pro also has an AMOLED display. It’s the same Super AMOLED that comes with its Xiaomi counterpart.
Bezel-wise, you’ll notice that its screen-to-body ratio is slightly smaller than the Mi 9’s. This is surprising. The device doesn’t come with a notch, so we were expecting a much better ratio.
We don’t want to talk about its processor. It’s the Snapdragon 675, which is nothing compared to the 855.
What version of Android will be powering the phone? Android 9 out of the box. Like the other alternatives, the V17 Pro is getting the Android 10 update.
Its storage variants aren’t the best. You only get one to choose from. It comes with 128 GB of space along with 8 gigs of RAM.
Its battery is the best so far. You’re met with a 4100 mAh unit. Considering its processor and screen aren’t the most taxing, the phone lasts well over a day. Of course, it comes with fast charging.
Compared to its Xiaomi counterpart, its charging capabilities aren’t as great. You can only plug an 18 W charger to it. The Vivo device will take about an hour and a half.
If you’re expecting wireless charging, we have bad news for you. The same is true for reverse charging.
Camera-wise, there are a lot of lenses to play with. There are 4 on the Pro’s back. The primary sensor is a 48 MP wide lens, the secondary sensor is an 8 MP ultrawide lens, the tertiary sensor is a 13 MP telephoto lens and the fourth sensor is a 2 MP depth sensor.
As mentioned, it doesn’t come with a notch. This is as its front camera is motorized.
Although the Mi 9 is a former flagship, it was released very recently. It doesn’t cost as much as something like the S10, but it comes with features that are just as good. It’s good looking too and out-beats phones its price range.
We’re total fans of the Xiaomi device and we think it offers everything you could want. It’s Phone Ekak certified – give it a go.
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