Xiaomi's Mi 9 series is probably among the luckiest, able to put the public and critics in agreement from many points of view. Mi 9 was, and is, one of the terminals protagonists of this 2019, even if the manufacturer did not want to rest on its laurels and continued to work on the line up, proposing Xiaomi Mi 9T, a medium range with surprising characteristics, with a price really competitive. After a first contact with the terminal, here's what we think after several weeks of use.
Aesthetics
Let's start, first of all, with the design, which certainly represents one of the strengths of the terminal. There is not much originality, also because it is now difficult to find something that truly amazes the eye. The shape and design is rather traditional, with a completely clean front, where there is no front notch. And here is the first surprise: a front retractable camera that has its effect on a medium range from less than 300 euros.
Xiaomi Mi 9T measures 156.7 x 74.3 x 8.8 mm , with a weight of 191 grams . Probably, those who come from a Mi 9, like myself, will feel that extra weight initially they will not like it as much. The terminal is built excellently, with glass and metal that give a premium feel, both to the touch and to the eye. From an aesthetic point of view it is certainly a terminal to be promoted with flying colors: finding one so borderless at this price is currently quite difficult.
The front of the terminal, as already mentioned, is among the cleanest and most minimal, also thanks to the absence of the notch, which is replaced by a pop-up camera, the real protagonist of the terminal. Beyond the performance, which will be discussed later, the selfie camera is one of the reasons why the user will choose this smartphone.
The back is curved, which makes it easy to grip despite its generous size and weight. On the back the three rooms, position centrally, therefore quite different from the Mi 9. There is no Touch ID on the back: the fingerprint scanner is under display, on the front, which is very fast, in line with Mi 9, and indeed higher than the latter.
Mi 9T is slightly more reliable than its predecessor when it comes to fingerprint unlocking. Even unlocking with the front camera is always precise and punctual, in good or dim light conditions, but it takes a few hundredths of a second more, just long enough for the pop-up camera to appear.
As for the buttons, Mi 9T has a volume and power rocker on the right frame, and of particular value is the red button for switching on and off, which on the black color we test is more. same goes for the ring surrounding the 48 MP sensor on the back.
Unfortunately, Mi 9T loses compared to Mi 9 the dedicated button to call up the voice assistant , really useful in some contexts, even if it is still possible to say the keyword “ok, Google” to call the assistant.
Compared to the Mi 9, however, it gains the headphone jack input, positioned on the top: the writer does not like this position very much, instead continuing to appreciate it more on the lower part. Unfortunately, the SIM card slot located at the bottom does not support memory expansion via microSD card.
Display
Xiaomi Mi 9T does not even skimp on the display. The excellent unit present is 6.39 inches, with Full HD resolution + 2.340 x 1.080 in 19.5 format : 9 . This is a AMOLED panel with well 403ppi , protected by Gorilla Glass 5 , therefore particularly resistant to scratches. The quality of the screen is, without a doubt, superior, difficult to appreciate elsewhere in a terminal from 300 euros or a little less. The AMOLED panel offers deeper blacks, particularly good contrast levels, bright and vibrant colors.
The most valuable element is certainly the fact that it is really an “edge-to-edge” display, where only the lower frame is slightly more visible. The panel also offers excellent peak visibility of 400 nits , where only direct sunlight could make visibility more difficult. In any case, the display of Mi 9T is among the positive sides of the terminal, also because at this price it is impossible to find better.
Technical characteristics
And let's move on to the technical sheet. Mi 9T offers a Snapdragon 730 processor 2x 2.2GHz Kyro 470 Gold + 6 x 1.8GHz Kyro 470 Silver, flanked by a GPU Adreno 618 and from 6 GB of RAM , with a 64GB ROM , not expandable. Obviously, in this technical data sheet, the processor could stand out, but it is a necessary compromise to offer this terminal at such a low price.
Furthermore, it must be said that the sacrifice of the chip will be really negligible for 90% of users, who in everyday use will probably not realize the differences with the Snapdragon 855 of the Mi 9, certainly of a completely different caliber, but that does not make a difference in an average basic everyday use.
Qualcomm's Snapdragon 730 is an excellent chip. If on paper the performance differences are evident with the 855, in everyday life we found a fast and always responsive Mi 9T, like its older brother. The 9T shines in all respects, from gaming to productivity. Ultimately, the Mi 9T is one of the clearest examples of how features on paper don't matter as much as you'd expect. Anyone who manages not to read the data sheet will believe they have a top of the range in their hands, always fluid in any situation.
Xiaomi Mi 9T Features
Cameras
Also from this point of view it is surprising, considering that it is a terminal for less than 300 euros. On the rear there is a triple camera configuration, with the primary 48MP lens , focal aperture f / 1.75 (IMX582 sensor), flanked by a 8 MP telephoto lens f / 2.4 and a 13MP wide angle f / 2.4. On the front, however, the 20 MP f / 2.2 pop-up camera .
The Mi 9T's camera setup is as complete as any other high-end smartphone in 2019, with wide-angle and telephoto cameras supporting the main sensor. The hardware is certainly top of the range, absolutely far from many cheaper smartphones.
The photos taken with this Mi 9T are certainly natural and realistic and manage to accurately capture the entire scene. The images are not extremely sharp or have incredible dynamic range, but they always faithfully represent the entire scene taken.
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With HDR enabled the Mi 9T shines in difficult conditions, while the terminal suffers in low light shots. Portrait mode on the Mi 9T is fantastic, with great edge detection and particularly believable depth. Of course, as on Mi 9 it is possible to intervene on the level of blur even ex post so after taking the photo.
When to the front camera, it returns excellent images in optimal light conditions, however, as soon as you drop below a good amount of light, the camera tends to open the shutter for too long, resulting in slightly blurry images.
Xiaomi Mi 9T does relatively well with the video department too, with quality 4K images at 30 fps. Obviously, also thanks to a not too powerful SoC, it returns slightly lower images than those of the Mi 9, which can count on better support hardware. In any case, Mi 9T offers an appreciable video, also thanks to electronic stabilization. However, even in this case you may notice some artifacts where the camera explicitly corrects the shaky image.
Autonomy
Mi 9T is heavy, around 191 grams, also due to a 4,000mAh battery. It supports 18W fast charging, and offers autonomy throughout the day without any worries. Indeed, you arrive in the evening with a good 20 or even 30% of residual charge. MIUI, known for its aggressive management of activities, does not return any problems on notifications, always arriving on time, and in push, without particular problems.
In some cases, where some problem of this type is encountered, it will be sufficient to grant the offending app all the permissions, enable the automatic start and eliminate any optimization on the battery. Fast charging is really a plus also for this device, which unfortunately loses wireless charging.
Audio
The terminal has 3.5 mm audio jack and Bluetooth 5 support, which is why, whatever the connection method chosen for the headphones, you will always enjoy excellent stability and quality. The speaker on the Mi 9T is slightly lower than the one on the Mi 9, and returns a slightly less full-bodied sound, a little colder and more metallic. In any case, we cannot forget that we are dealing with a 300 euro phone: the price also makes the sound absolutely acceptable.
Conclusion
Xiaomi Mi 9T is still the mid-range to beat in this 2019. Aesthetically one of the most beautiful, too bad for the weight of 191 grams. He has nothing to fear on the photographic side. Autonomy champion, it offers a superior AMOLED display for its price range. It is definitely the phone to buy on this budget. Excellent daily performance, it does not at all regret a top of the range.
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Price and availability
Incredible but true: Xiaomi Mi 9T currently costs about 250 euros, euros plus euros less, in its 6 + 64 GB variant, and can be purchased directly at this address in its black, blue and red variants.
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