Introduction
Xiaomi was among the makers to hold a special press event at Barcelona ahead of the MWC. It unveiled its first 5G smartphone - an upgraded Mi Mix 3 5G model. It also showcased the Mi 9 Explorer edition and the Mi 9 SE.
Xiaomi's first 5G offer is the Mi Mix 3 5G just as mentioned a while back. It's pretty much the same device we reviewed a few weeks ago, upgraded with the Snapdragon 855 chipset and its X50 5G modem.
Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G specs
- Body: Slider, 7000-series aluminum, ceramic back
- Screen: 6.39" Super AMOLED, 1,080 x 2,340px (403ppi), 19.5:9 aspect ratio, HDR
- Chipset: Snapdragon 855 chipset, octa-core processor (1x2.84 GHz Kryo 485 & 3x2.42 GHz Kryo 485 & 4x1.8 GHz Kryo 485), Adreno 640 GPU.
- Memory: 6GB of RAM (LPDDR4X), 64/128GB storage (UFS 2.1)
- OS: Android 9.0 Pie; MIUI 10
- Camera: 12MP f/1.8 (1.4µm) + 12MP f/2.4 (1.0µm); 4K video capture at 60fps; 1080p at 240fps and 960fps
- Camera features: 2x telephoto, Dual Pixel AF, 4-axis OIS
- Selfie cam: 24MP (0.9µm) + 2MP depth sensor, LED flash
- Battery: 3,200mAh; 18W QuickCharge 4.0+ supported; 10W wireless charging (charger included in box)
- Security: fingerprint reader on the back;
- Connectivity: 5G, LTE-A; Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 5.0 with aptX HD, dual band GPS/Galileo, also single-band GLONASS/Beidou;
Xiaomi also brought the Mi 9 Explorer Edition in Barcelona. It's a Mi 9 through and through, with a faux-transparent back, 12GB of RAM, and 256GB storage.
Xiaomi Mi 9 Explorer specs
- Body: aluminum frame, Gorilla Glass 6 front, Gorilla Glass 5 transparent-like back;
- Display: 6.39" Super AMOLED, 2,340x1,080px resolution, 18.7:9 aspect ratio, 402ppi; HDR 10 and DCI-P3 compliant.
- Triple rear camera: Wide - 48MP f/1.75, 1/2", 0.8µm pixel size, laser and PDAF; Telephoto - 12MP, f/2.2 aperture, 2x zoom; Ultra-wide - 16MP, f/2.2 aperture, 1.0µm pixel size; 2160p@60/30fps.
- Front camera: 20MP, 0.9µm pixel size, f/2.0 aperture; 1080p/30fps video recording.
- OS: Android 9 Pie; MIUI 10.
- Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 855: octa-core CPU (4x2.84 GHz Kryo 485 Gold & 4x1.7 GHz Kryo 485 Silver), Adreno 640 GPU.
- Memory: 12GB of RAM; 256GB storage; no microSD slot.
- Battery: 3,300mAh Li-Po (sealed); 27W wired (Charge Turbo) and 20W wireless fast charging.
- Connectivity: Dual-SIM; LTE-A, 4-Band carrier aggregation, Cat.16/13 (1Gbps/150Mbps); USB-C; Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac; dual-band GPS; Bluetooth 5.0
- Misc: Under-display fingerprint reader; single down-firing speaker; no 3.5mm jack
Finally, we also saw the Xiaomi Mi 9 SE for the first time at the event in Barcelona. It's a cheaper version of the Mi 9 with a smaller AMOLED screen, Snapdragon 712 chip, a similar triple-camera on the back, and a 3,070 mAh battery.
Xiaomi Mi 9 SE
- Body: aluminum frame, glass front and back;
- Display: 5.97" Super AMOLED, 2,340x1,080px resolution, 19.5:9 aspect ratio, 432ppi; HDR 10 and DCI-P3 compliant.
- Triple rear camera: Wide - 48MP f/1.75, 1/2", 0.8µm pixel size, laser and PDAF; Telephoto - 8MP, f/2.4 aperture, 1.12µm pixel size, 2x zoom; Ultra-wide - 13MP, f/2.4 aperture, 1.12µm pixel size; 2160p@30fps.
- Front camera: 20MP, 0.9µm pixel size, f/2.0 aperture; 1080p/30fps video recording.
- OS: Android 9 Pie; MIUI 10.
- Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 712: octa-core CPU (2x2.2 GHz Kryo 360 Gold & 6x1.7 GHz Kryo 360 Silver), Adreno 616 GPU.
- Memory: 6GB of RAM; 64/128GB storage; no microSD slot.
- Battery: 3,070mAh Li-Po (sealed); 18W fast charging.
- Connectivity: Dual-SIM; LTE-A; USB-C; Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac; dual-band GPS; Bluetooth 5.0
- Misc: Under-display fingerprint reader; single down-firing speaker; no 3.5mm jack
Follow us on the next page for our first hands-on impressions.
Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G hands-on
The Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G is exactly the same smartphone we reviewed last January. It's a very nice slider with a ceramic back, a metal frame, and a Gorilla Glass front.
And this time around we get to see the Sapphire Blue, which looks really cool in spite of the smudge fest it has become in the hands-on room.
There are no changes to the slider mechanism or its settings, and it's as cool as we remember it to be.
The Mi Mix 3 5G has the latest Snapdragon 855 chipset coupled with the Snapdragon X50 modem by Qualcomm. According to Christiano Amon, President of the chip company, the 5G connectivity is not about faster graphics - it will bring completely new experiences to Xiaomi users.
Aside from the new chipset and modem, everything else stays the same -
Now that the Mi Mix 3 5G comes with a new chipset that has new CPU and GPU, the price is getting higher. Instead of €500, now you'll have to pull €599 out of your pocket for a unit in Onyx Black or Sapphire Blue with 6 GB RAM and 64 GB storage.
The phone will be available starting May on Mi.com, selected Mi Stores and key retailers. The company is also having 5G partnerships with Three, Orange, Sunrise, Telefonica, TIM, Vodafone, with more coming soon.
Xiaomi Mi 9 Explorer hands-on
The Xiaomi Mi 9 Explorer is like a Pro version of the regular Mi 9, which we reviewed just days ago. It has mostly the same specs - screen, chip, cameras, but increases the RAM and storage, plus adds the cool but fake transparent back, which makes it seem you are seeing the phone's internals.
The Mi 9 Explorer has the same 6.39" 1080p AMOLED screen as the Mi 9. It's the same size and it's made of the same glass and aluminum materials.
The rear glass is made to look that it shows some components underneath but these aren't the real ones, mind you, that would have required an internal redesign. The look is inspired by Alita Battle Angel, apparently, but on this one, it says Explorer Edition, while China will also get a proper Battle Angel Edition with more inscriptions and an exclusive Alita theme.
There's another difference between this version and a vanilla Mi 9. According to a past presentation, the Mi 9 Explorer edition has a special camera with f/1.47 aperture and a 7P lens. 7P means the lens will actually have 7 optical elements - typically high-end cameras have 5P or 6P lenses, but Xiaomi went a step further.
The 48MP camera still uses the same Sony IMX586 sensor and everything else is the same. But the larger aperture would mean the Explorer edition's camera will let in much more light than the vanilla version, and more than any of its competitors at the moment - if only by a hair. And we expect to see even better night-time photography coming out of this Mi 9 variant. Unfortunately, we couldn't confirm the aperture of the model at Xiaomi's booth.
The Mi 9 Explorer is probably the biggest smudge magnet we've seen so far, thanks to this faux-transparent glass back. But it looks really cool even when covered in fingerprints and we are sure many people will like the futuristic looks despite they are not the real deal.
There is still no information on the European pricing of this edition, but we expect to see it launch soon across the Xiaomi'a markets on the Old continent.
Xiaomi Mi 9 SE hands-on
The Xiaomi Mi 9 SE is a bit smaller than the Mi 9 - it has a 5.97" AMOLED panel with a waterdrop notch on top and slightly thicker bezel on the bottom. The Snapdragon 712 chipset is coupled with 6 GB RAM and 64/128 GB storage.
We haven't yet experienced this new Snapdragon 712 chip. It is pretty much the same as the Snapdragon 710, but with a slightly faster CPU. It is still built on the 10nm FiNFET process and its modem supports all the usual Wi-Fi standards, Bluetooth 5.0, and dual LTE.
The Mi 9 SE has a triple-camera on its back, just like the Mi 9. The main shooter is a 48MP camera that spits 12MP shots - just like the Mi 9. But it has a 13 MP ultra-wide-angle lens and an 8 MP telephoto lens to keep it company. The front-facing camera is 20 MP with plenty of Beauty filters for all the social media addicts out there.
There is fast-charging for the 3,070 mAh battery in the Mi 9 SE, but it is capped at 18W. The SE lacks 3.5 mm audio jack as well, so you'll have to rely either on the USB-C port or wireless headphones. Other features include the Game Turbo booster, latest MIUI 10 and an NFC chip.
We handled the Blue model of the Mi 9 SE and it looks quite nice. It reflects light in a cool way and makes for somewhat a faux-gradient effect. It's as slippery as it looks, fingerprints stick easily, but it's one very cool headset, costing almost half the Mi 9 price and yet retaining most of its goodies.
Wrap up
Overall, we like what Xiaomi is bringing to the table. The SD855 edition of the Mi Mix 3 sort of explains why the regular Mi Mix 3 comes with Snapdragon 845. The Explorer edition is a nice spin to the already quite intriguing specs that the regular Mi 9 has. And the Mi 9 SE, well, we're looking forward to putting it through its paces in our review routine.
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