Contents:
The Mi 9 comes with a truck-load of Xiaomi apps that are, for the most part , functional and thoughtfully designed. If you're part of the Google ecosystem, however, most of these basic utility apps will be redundant. You can delete some but not all of these apps. Unsurprisingly, I now have a folder named 'Xiaomi' on my home screen that is never, ever opened.
Thankfully, Xiaomi's software ambitions don't stretch to the voice-enabled assistant. Pressing and holding the AI button on the left side of the device will trigger the helpful Google Assistant by default. Both the long press and a quick double-tap can be reconfigured to do other basic tasks, such as turning on the flashlight, reading mode or rear-facing camera. You can't change them to launch a custom app, however, which feels like a strange oversight.
Still, a Google Assistant button is better than a Bixby one. MIUI 10 doesn't drag down the phone's day-to-day performance, crucially. Games, photo and video editing -- the phone handles every conceivable task with ease. I can't recall a stutter, app crash or glacial load time that made me grimace with frustration. Yes, some of those devices have more RAM than the Mi 9, but I rarely noticed the difference in real life.
Battery life, however, was underwhelming. The Mi 9 ships with a 3,mAh cell, which is a fraction smaller than the Mi 8. Why Xiaomi made this decision, I have no idea. During my testing, the phone would frequently dip below 15 percent an hour or two before I was heading to bed. For now, that's acceptable, but I do wonder how the battery will perform in 12 or 18 months. The silver lining is the phone's excellent wired and wireless charging, which is competitive with every other handset I've used.
Admittedly, you can't charge other devices like the Galaxy S10 or Huawei Mate 20 Pro -- but how often do you need that feature, really? The Mi 9 isn't perfect. The phone doesn't have a headphone jack, for instance, and can't survive underwater.
If you can live with the software, though -- or don't mind using a third-party launcher -- this phone is ridiculously good value. The OnePlus 7 , of course, could trump this phone later in the year. If you live in China or Europe, however, the Mi 9 is worth considering. These prices are, to put it bluntly, freakin ' amazing. Buyer's Guide.
Log in. Sign up. Buy Now. WhatsApp and WHO create a chatbot to share reliable coronavirus info. What to Buy Right Now. Find it, buy it and tell us how you really feel. See all articles. Image credit: Engadget.
Sponsored Links. Gallery: Xiaomi Mi 9 review 20 Photos Engadget Score Poor. Pros Refined design Stellar performance Decent camera. Cons No headphone jack Divisive software Average battery life. How would you rate the Mi 9? We want to hear what you think. Post a quick review now to join the conversation! Write a review.
It wasn't ideal and made me yearn for an old-fashioned fingerprint sensor. Gallery: Xiaomi Mi 9 camera samples 11 Photos Up to 20W wireless charging.
Dimensions Source: Mi 9. In this article: gear , mi9 , mobile , review , thebuyersguide , xiaomi. All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. NASA accepts applications for astronauts for the first time in four years. The user interface closely resembles stock Android, and its main modifications include new icons as well as a rearranged settings menu.
Tap on each mode to see the options. I was less happy to see Facebook, Netflix and AliExpress preinstalled, simply because it should be up to the user whether or not they want these. Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus test, review and price. The quick settings is a great part of Android, letting you get to all the important settings easily. Finally, after a long time and prolonged promises from Xiaomi, the official stable Android 8. Turn off the camera sounds: In the same camera menu as mentioned above, you'll find the option to toggle off the camera sounds.
Preloaded third party apps, such as AliExpress or Facebook, can be easily uninstalled. Offloading apps onto SD card is not supported. Keep in mind that changing some settings requires an active internet connection as well as a Mi account. These include settings that can easily be changed offline and without a user account on competing smartphones.
Supported near-field wireless communications protocols include NFC, Bluetooth 5. Accordingly, the Mi 9 Lite gets to share first place with the Nokia 7. Corners are recorded fairly accurately and we only noticed minor deviations on long straights. Overall, the device is definitely well usable for everyday navigation. Volume is fairly high during phone calls, and thanks to a decent ambient noise filter we had no issues in noisy surroundings either. The main half-inch large sensor with a 0. The front-facing camera features a 32 MP sensor with the same 0. It allows for decent portrait photos with slightly pale colors.
Fine details and textures remain well distinguishable. The camera app is fairly limited in terms of quality settings. While various lighting scenarios can be simulated and filters and beauty filters can be applied retroactively, the front-facing camera does not support a professional mode with manual settings.
The main camera takes photos rich in detail with popping colors. Individual objects remain well distinguishable when zoomed-in and surface textures are even and homogenous. Nevertheless, a slight graininess is visible. At close range test subjects are crisp and not overexposed even in backlight. Fine details and textures remain recognizable and distinguishable. In low-light situations the camera was capable of capturing our test subject without creating too many dark underexposed areas in the shot. Unfortunately, the test subject turned out blurry and not particularly rich in detail.
Buy Xiaomi Mi 9T 4G Smartphone Global Version at cheap price online, with will end up looking like every other phone with a case on, has more tools than I How to track, locate, lock or erase my lost phone or tablet with Google Account? Buy Xiaomi Mi 9T 4G Smartphone Global Version at cheap price online, with like every other phone with a case on, has more tools than I will likely every use, How to track, locate, lock or erase my lost phone or tablet with Google Account?
The camera app allows for taking photos with a 2x optical zoom or an ultra-wide angle, and in addition to a night mode, it also supports a professional mode allowing for manual adjustment of white balance, focus, exposure, and ISO. The video quality is comparable to photo quality.
Minor shake is eliminated thanks to optical image stabilization, and videos can be either H. Quality presets include:. Other features include time lapse, slow motion, and capturing short videos of up to 15 seconds. Choose a scene and navigate within the first image. One click changes the position on touchscreens.
One click on the zoomed-in image opens the original in a new window. The first image shows the scaled photograph of the test device. In the case of the Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite colors are mostly brighter than expected, except for yellows and blacks, which are darker than they should be. The ColorChecker Passport was no longer visible when we reduced the illumination to one lux. The test chart was captured very well under normalized lighting conditions. Fine details and textures remain recognizable, and a slight paleness can be noticed in the lower corners. With illumination reduced to one lux the chart was captured rather poorly.
Xiaomi does not offer any other additional model-specific accessories. However, smart bracelets or Bluetooth headphones compatible with the Mi 9 Lite are available for purchase. The touchscreen was quick to react.
Unfortunately, its drag resistance during drag and drop operations was slightly too high for comfortable input.