Xiaomi Mi 9 global variant, Mi Mix 3 with 5G connectivity launched at MWC 2019

Xiaomi launched one of the world’s first commercially available 5G smartphones – the Mi Mix 3 5G ahead of MWC 2019 in Barcelona, Spain on Sunday. Unlike a company like Samsung which is yet to announce pricing and availability of its Galaxy S10 5G, Xiaomi has a proper release date as well as a proper price tag to go along with its Mi Mix 3 5G. The Mi Mix 3 5G will go on sale in Europe from May at a starting price of roughly around Rs 48,258. 

Xiaomi also launched the global version of its Mi 9 flagship phone during its MWC 2019 keynote event. The Mi 9 will go on sale in Europe from February 28 at a starting price of roughly around Rs 36,173. 

Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G specs, features and price 

After demoing a 5G-ready prototype in September last year, Xiaomi has officially announced that its Mi Mix 3 5G is ready for prime-time, for the mass market if you may. Based on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855 chipset (and using its X50 modem) Xiaomi’s Mi Mix 3 will bring 5G connectivity to the masses. 

Touting 5G advantages like the ability to download a 15-minute 1080p video in just 1 second, Xiaomi also demoed its first-ever 5G video call outside of China at MWC 2019 over Orange Spain 5G network. Using the Mi Mix 3 5G. 

The Mi Mix 3 5G is the 5G variant of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845-based Mi Mix 3 which was launched in China in October last year. While a brand new next-gen processor and 5G are big upgrades, everything else about the Mi Mix 3 5G stays the same as the original Mi Mix 3. 

Which means that the Mi Mix 3 5G also comes with a ceramic slider design with dual rear and front cameras. It comes with a 12MP (wide)+12MP (telephoto) dual camera system on the rear and a 24MP+2MP (depth) dual camera system on the front which is part of a mechanical sliding mechanism – the same reason why the Mi Mix 3 does not have an unsightly notch to obstruct your view. 

It has a 6.39-inch near edge-to-edge 1080p+ Super AMOLED display with 19.5:9 aspect ratio and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. It comes with up to 8GB RAM and up to 256GB storage (non-expandable) and Android Pie-based MIUI 10 software. The phone further packs a 3,200mAh battery and supports 18W fast charging and 10W wireless charging. 

The Mi Mix 3 5G will be available in Europe starting from May at a starting price of Euros 599 (roughly Rs 48,258) in Onyx Black and Sapphire Blue colour options.    

Xiaomi Mi 9 specs, features and price 

While the Mi Mix 3 5G was the definite star of the show at Xiaomi’s MWC 2019 keynote, the company also launched the global version of the Mi 9 at the trade event. The Mi 9 is Xiaomi’s true-blue 2019 flagship phone which was launched in China on February 20. Although it features the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 as the Mi Mix 3, the Mi 9 does not support 5G though. 

The Mi 9 is Xiaomi’s first high-end phone to come with a teardrop/waterdrop-style notch on the front. The phone also comes with an optical in-display fingerprint scanner. The whole setup entails in a screen-to-body ratio of a whopping 90.7 per cent, according to Xiaomi.   

The company also says that it is using a “highly sensitive in-screen ambient light sensor” and “improved ultrasonic proximity sensor” which basically means all your key sensors are buried under the display in the Mi 9 for a near full-screen experience.  

Hardware specs of the Xiaomi Mi 9 include a 6.39-inch Samsung-sourced 1080p+ Super AMOLED display with 600nits of brightness and Corning Gorilla Glass 6 protection, up to 6GB RAM and 128GB storage (for the transparent variant). The phone also packs Xiaomi’s game turbo tech which is said to “predict gaming scenes and intelligently allocate resources for complicated scenes.”   

On to the optics, the Mi 9 comes with a triple camera setup on the back, consisting of a 48MP Sony IMX586 sensor, a 12MP tele-photo sensor with f/2.2 aperture for 2X optical zoom, and a 16MP ultra-wide sensor with f/2.2 aperture and a117-degree field-of-view. On the front, the Mi 9 comes with a 20MP camera.  

Xiaomi claims the Mi 9 has achieved a DxOMark of 107 (with only the Huawei Mate 20 Pro and the Samsung Galaxy S10+ ahead of it with a score of 109) and a video score which is the best in the business. 

Lastly, the Mi 9 packs a 3,330mAh battery and uses USB Type-C for charging and data syncing. The Mi 9 also supports 20W fast wireless charging straight off the bat.  

The Mi 9 transparent edition, just like the Mi 8 Explorer edition, also houses a cosmetic motherboard above the actual circuitry to create an optical illusion – that you’re seeing its insides, and that its insides are as perfectly aligned as they should.     

The Mi 9 will be available in Europe starting from February 28 at a starting price Euros 449 (roughly Rs 36,173) for the 6GB RAM, 64GB storage configuration in Ocean Blue, Lavender Violet and Piano Black colour options. 

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