The Xiaomi Mi 9 is not expected for another couple of months, and yet its partial specs have just leaked, revealing some rather interesting details about the device. All of this info surfaced on Weibo (Chinese social network), and to take it with a grain of salt, as it’s usually the case with such leaks, especially when they leak so early. The source claims that the Xiaomi Mi 9 will ship with 32W fast charging, in other words, Quick Charge 4.0 will be available on the device. Unfortunately, though, wireless charging will not be a part of the offering. Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 4.0 wireless charging will be used to recharge the phone’s 3,500mAh battery, which will not be removable, though not many people expect removable batteries these days, as basically no flagship phones offer such functionality any longer, for better or worse. The source also released some camera info, and if that info is to be believed, we’ll see three cameras on the back of the Mi 9, the phone’s main sensor will be Sony’s IMX586 unit, which in translation means that the phone will feature a 48-megapixel camera on the back. That camera will be accompanied by a 12-megapixel sensor, and a third “TOF” sensor. A 24.8-megapixel camera (Sony’s IMX576 sensor) will sit on the front side of the phone, the source says.
The phone will feature a large 6.4-inch fullHD+ AMOLED display with a 19:9 display aspect ratio, and an in-display fingerprint scanner will also be a part of the package, as expected. The Snapdragon 855 64-bit octa-core processor by Qualcomm will fuel the Xiaomi Mi 9, and that part was also expected. Based on the provided info, the Mi 9 will not support 5G connectivity, though it is possible that Xiaomi may introduce a special edition of the Mi 9 that will ship with 5G support, as many other smartphone manufacturers will do in 2019, like Samsung and OnePlus, for example. The phone will pack in 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage (at least its base model will), while the phone’s pricing will start at 2,999 Yuan in China. Android 9 Pie-based MIUI 10 will come pre-installed on the Xiaomi Mi 9, and the source claims that the phone will measure 155 x 75 x 7.6mm. On top of all that, the source says that the phone will be released in March, only 10 months after the Xiaomi Mi 8 arrived, as the Mi 8 was announced back in May 2018.
What About Its Design?
Truth be said, not a single believable Mi 9 design image surfaced thus far, we’ve only seen some concept designs out there. The Mi 9 design leaks will probably start arriving soon, though, especially if the phone is expected to arrive in March. Having said that, we can try and guess what will Xiaomi have to offer when it comes to the Mi 9. There are two options when it comes to the design of its front side, the company will either opt for a waterdrop notch, or a display camera hole, whatever the case may be, the Mi 9 will have really thin bezels. You can expect to get a really thin “chin” below the display, and that’s pretty much it. The phone will almost certainly be made out of metal and glass, though there’s a chance that Xiaomi may introduce a special edition variant with a ceramic back, as was the case in the past. The phone’s display will sport rounded corners, and chances are that the phone will be quite slippery.
Xiaomi Mi 8 vs Mi 9
The Xiaomi Mi 8 is made out of metal and glass, and its back side is curved, which will probably be the case with the Mi 9 as well. Based on the provided dimensions of the Mi 9, the two phones will be quite similar in terms of size, they will be almost equally tall, wide, and thick, though the Mi 9 will sport a larger display than the Mi 8, a 6.4-inch vs a 6.2-inch panel. The biggest change when it comes to the design will happen on the front side, as the Mi 9 will not sport such a huge notch as the Mi 8, at least it’s not expected to. Xiaomi did pack in a lot of tech into that notch on the Mi 8, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s an eyesore, and that it makes the Mi 8 look too much like the iPhone XS. The Xiaomi Mi 9 will be considerably more powerful than the Mi 8, which was to be expected as this is a completely new generation of a phone we’re looking at.