Xiaomi Mi 9 Smartphone Launches Packing Snapdragon 855 Starting At $445

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As older devices age, many smartphone shoppers are simply forgoing the big boys like Apple and Samsung and going for much cheaper alternative flagship devices from reasonably priced makers like Xiaomi. Xiaomi has rolled out a new flagship device that is impressive on paper and very affordable.

The new device is called the Xiaomi Mi 9, and it has officially debuted packing a Snapdragon 855 under the hood and a 48MP rear camera with a price that is up to a third less than what you would pay for some flagship Galaxy or iPhone devices. Xiaomi is offering the Mi 9 starting at $445, and for that price you get a base Mi 9 packing 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. Xiaomi offers an upgraded version with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage for $490, both of those prices are converted from Chinese pricing so U.S. prices could vary to some extent. A version of the Mi 9 with 12GB of RAM and 265GB of storage with a transparent back cover is offered in China priced at the equivalent of $600.

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Other than RAM and storage, the devices share the same hardware inside. That means a 6.39-inch FHD+ AMOLED screen sourced from Samsung that has a waterdrop cutout for the front camera and is covered in Gorilla Glass 6. The back of the smartphone has a triple camera setup that has a main 48MP f/1.75 camera, a 16MP wide-angle lens, and a 12MP telephoto lens; the front camera is a 20MP unit with HDR.

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Support for fast wireless charging is integrated at up to 20W and power comes from a 3,300 mAh battery. The hardware inside the Mi 9 gives users DxOMark performance that is impressive with an overall score of 107 making this affordable device outperform the Pixel 3 and Galaxy Note 9. Thankfully, Xiaomi will offer the Mi 9 in the UK and other Western markets.