Smartphone Xiaomi Mi 9: advantages and disadvantages

The world of technology is developing very rapidly, and this happens especially quickly with the telecommunications market. Every day a new device appears in the world, which should be something better and definitely different from others. Competition is developing in parallel and at the same pace.

Xiaomi has already firmly established itself in a leading position on a par with many manufacturers that still manage to gain consumer attention and demand. Although it becomes more difficult every day due to the huge variety and large selection, both in quality and price.

Xiaomi's Mi lineup has decently expanded in the past year, with improved performance, platforms and operating systems. It would seem much better, but at the end of 2018 there were rumors of a loud new product. Presumably in the spring of 2019, the world will see a new model Xiaomi Mi 9, or maybe it will be called something else. But the fact that it will be cooler and more sophisticated than its predecessors is already clear.

Main technical parameters

Smartphone design

Mi 9 has received a number of external changes from its manufacturer:

First of all, this is the size: the height will be 155 mm, the width is about 75 mm, but the thickness remains the same as that of the predecessor Mi 8, 7.6 millimeters. The phone has increased in proportion to the "grown" screen.

Body - metal / glass. The back and front panels are made of high quality Corning glass - the fifth and latest generation Gorilla Glass. This means that the glass case is now even stronger (four times) than before, even more resistant to drops. Now, according to all tests, even a fall from a height of 1.5 meters will not harm a smartphone.

The frame of the phone is made of 7000 series aluminum. This figure speaks for itself and guarantees three main advantages: increased strength, thinner walls and much less weight. By the way, the weight of the model itself is not yet known for certain.

The front of the Xiaomi Mi 9 is practically bezel-less, because the bezels are very thin and do not create any discomfort. The front camera is located in the upper part with a small droplet. A feature of this model is a fingerprint scanner, which is located slightly below the center of the front panel, that is, on the screen.

The "back" of the phone is smooth and pleasant to the touch. In the upper left corner there is a place for a triple main camera, which is located vertically and has a very compact and neat look.

On the right side of the rib, you can easily find the familiar on / off buttons. and volume control. Bottom rib - place for USB Type-C and polyphonic speaker, as well as a microphone.

You don't even have to look for a standard mini-jack headphone jack in this model. There is a dedicated headset input.

And, of course, the color variety of the case. The manufacturer has provided four colors for its new flagship device: black, white, gold and blue. An excellent solution that will enable the user to choose the shade of their choice.

• Comfortable size and weight of the model (although for some it may seem too big);
• Strength of body materials;
• Frameless "face";
• Choice of colors.

• Dedicated headset jack;
• The usual USB has been replaced by USB Type-C.

Xiaomi Mi 9 smartphone display

The screen of the new premium device from Xiaomi has grown noticeably and reached 6.4 inches. At the same time, thanks to the very thin almost invisible bezels, the display area seems even larger. It occupies more than 80% of the entire front panel size or 102.2 sq. Cm.

Monitor type - super AMOLED capacitive touch, recognition and display - up to 16 million colors.

Moderate brightness, harmonious color saturation that fits perfectly into the 1080 × 2280 pixel resolution. With an aspect ratio of approximately 19: 9, the density is approximately 394 ppi. These are very good indicators even for this level of a smartphone.

At the bottom of the screen is a fingerprint reader. Quite an unusual innovation that will definitely delight users with convenience, speed and accuracy.

It should be said about reliable protection in the form of super durable glass of the fifth generation Corning Gorilla Glass.

• Large frameless screen;
• Reliable protection from Corning;
• Color brightness and good pixel resolution relative to the size of the screen itself;
• The fingerprint scanner is at the bottom of the screen, not on the back.

• Not detected.

Processor, performance and memory

In the new model, Xiaomi will presumably "beat the heart" from Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 (7 nm). Now it is not just an eight-core processor, but an assembled powerful engine that consists of 4 small Cortex-A55 cores paired with three large cores based on the Arm Cortex-A76 design and the largest "primary" Cortex-A76 core. designed for higher peak performance, which has increased by 45% over the previous version. At the same time, despite the improved performance, energy consumption is significantly reduced, which allows to extend the battery life of the device.

The chipset includes the Adreno 640 GPU, which has a range of enhancements from gaming graphics (HDR pipeline for games) to video and photo images.

Memory Xiaomi Mi 9 is predicted in two versions: operating 6 GB + built-in 128 GB and operating 8 GB + built-in 256 GB without the possibility of additional expansion with a memory card. Although with such volumes, the built-in extension may not be needed.

• Application of the latest platform;
• Performance increase up to 45% in comparison with the previous version;
• Upload / download speed, improve network performance;
• Gaming capabilities have increased, 3D images have appeared in games;
• With the advancement of the GPU, the photo and video capabilities of the device have improved;
• Good amounts of memory in 2 versions (6/128 GB, 8/256 GB).

• Not detected.

Camera characteristics

Photo and video characteristics of the new Xiaomi smartphone have largely found their improvements from the use of the new platform in the device. After all, it is thanks to the graphics chip that the quality of photo images has been improved, it has become possible to make 3D images in videos, as well as in games.

The main camera of Mi 9 is triple, it is located in the upper left corner of the back of the phone. These are two full cameras (48 Mp + 12 Mp) and a TOF camera (25 Mp).

TOF camera

It is worth dwelling on the third TOF camera. What is it for and what it is.ToF stands for Time of Flight and is literally translated from English - flight time. It is also called a time-of-flight camera. In essence, it is not even a camera in the literal sense of the word, but a separate special touch sensor that emits light and fixes the speed of its reflection on an object that enters the picture. That is, the task of this camera is not the color of the image or its external indicators, but the distance. It is thanks to this "third eye" of the smartphone that the image is improved, as well as the fixation of 3D forms.

The main camera features include dual LED flash, HDR technology, panorama mode.

The camera resolutions for video, respectively, are in the same order: 2160 pixels at 30/60 fps, 1080 pixels at 30/120/240 fps, 720 pixels at 960 fps.

The 24MP selfie camera is good for front shots and very good for video (1080p @ 30fps).

Auto focus + auto adjustment of lighting and brightness - what else is needed for high-quality photos and videos.

The camera capabilities of Xiaomi Mi 9 on its release promise to be the best in its line of flagship devices.

• The main camera is triple and has good performance (48, 12, 25 Mp);
• Availability of all necessary sensors for high-quality operation of cameras;
• The front camera has all the necessary properties;
• Dual LED flash of the main camera;
• HDR mode for processing photos.

• None.

Battery and smartphone autonomy

Non-removable advanced design - 3500 mAh lithium polymer (Li-pol) battery with fast charging up to 32 W. The capacity will be more than enough to work for 8-9 hours with active use of the Internet and related programs. The processor part of the phone economically consumes energy and this allows you to reduce the discharge / charge load, thereby saving the life of the battery itself. Video views are possible up to 13-14 hours, audio listening is about 55 hours of continuous playback. The presence of such a battery in the device can be considered in two ways, since there are a lot of pros and cons.

• High energy density;
• Reduced self-discharge level;
• Compactness of form;
• Endurance in a wide range of temperature conditions (-20 + 40).

• Fire hazard in case of overcharging or overheating of the battery;
• It is necessary to follow a specific charging scheme for the battery in order to extend its life.

Based on the parameters and characteristics presented, the new flagship Xiaomi Mi 9 promises to win a wide range of followers among users. Presumably, the price of the new miracle smartphone will range from $ 450 to $ 550. This cost relative to the features offered is quite acceptable because other brands offer the same performance at a much higher price. All this can mean only one thing: Xiaomi will not only strengthen its position, but also take the leading position among its competitors.