Nice review. Would be very interested in a Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro review if you manage to get your hands on it. Seems to be an upgrade on some aspects of this phone.
Why not Galaxy s10 with exynos 9825? Pixel 4 has Qualcomm 855 which we know. Huawei mate 30 will have Kirin 980 which again we know. iPhone is interesting, sure, but 9825 being a shrink it is curious to see what the impact is. Come on, it is launched for over a month now....
We're not getting sampled by Samsung so we'd have to buy one. Currently the 9825 doesn't represent any notable performance difference, the Note10 doesn't have any notable camera differences, so other than the chip's power efficiency for an academic view on 7EUV it's lower on the priority list than the aforementioned new devices.
Will you review the latest Vivo flagship Nex 3 and the Xiaomi's flagship Mixα？Rumor says that the Mix series will have a great leap comparing with the previous Xiaomi device
This site is not accurate so the 9Tpro would never get a fair shake. Trust me I own a lot of the phone es tested including the Mi 9. The Mi 9 test higher then the 9Tpro also so you know but the scores hear are apparently made to make them not look up to par with the other Flagship phones with 855 chip sets. Hell the 980 Kirin is from last year on the P30 pro and I know for a fact in 99% of test it doesn't come close to any 855 chipped phone much less a Mi 9 that truthfully on any other site including a lot of the actual test here it best out 99.9% of the phone es and the S10+ actually does about the worse of any but here some how it's rated near the top and the mi 9 is no where near where it should be. It's a crying shame.
then back up your "facts " with proof, seems even Andrei doubts these " facts " of yours : " I accept your challenge. You play the AnTuTu card, you lose. " and from Ian as well : " AnTuTu is the laughing stock of benchmarks. The minute someone tries to justify their position with an AnTuTu score, you know not to take them seriously. "
Yeah I'm not sure this troll even read the article, so I think asking for facts likely a bit of a tough ask. At all conclusion is that perf seems fine vs other devices.
One point - I've seen discussed elsewhere that the 9T pro has an inferior thermal solution that the 9T so perf may not be quite as good. Jonathan.
"AnandTech has reviewed this product as part of a paid partnership with Qualcomm."
Is someone at AT permitted to go into greater detail about the nature of the partnership? What obligations is AT under? What are Qualcomm's expectations?
We'll be posting three more S855 device reviews in the next 2 weeks, other than that and the inclusion of the benchmark setup (AI), there is no effect on the content of the articles posted and I'm writing the reviews independently as I would have in a normal scenario.
The big problem here is that it takes up your bandwidth to look on other more interesting devices like the exynos 9825. Qualcomm is requesting these reviews for press, nothing else. But here at AT we care more about tech, so I think that in the future it is best to refuse these kinda of requests and sponsorships and do your own reviews
I've read literally nothing that indicated that the Exynos 9825 holds anything of significant interest to AT readers over Exynos 9820. Why do you keep asking about it?
I used to periodically disable the adblocker for this site, but each time I had to reenable it because sometimes it has obnoxious ads, autoplay videos, pop ups that hide content and what not.
Does this really work? Are you sure that it's the displays not the clicks that generate revenue? If it's the clicks might as well click all the ads once in a while and block them all when reading.
So which sites don't have annoying advertising? I use adblock but for sites I frequently visit, I disable, like at Anandtech, Ars-Technica, and others.
"Then disable your adblocker. Hard to pay the writers, server bills, when 70% of your users are ad blocking."
that's a great gulp of Flavour Aid. think about it, for just a second. will folks who choose to conserve bandwidth (both on the innterTubes and their brains) by ad blocking be likely to ever, ever, ever click on such ads? the answer, of course, is never, never, never. IOW, the ad revenue driven sites are scamming the ad buyers, by 'selling eyes'. which is exactly the same way that print media went. and the innterTubes sites proclaimed that they were oh so new and disruptive. right.
sites have the tech to sell click-throughs, rather than eyes, but they're scared shitless to do that since the number is minuscule. not to pick on AT specifically, of course. all these sites have the same problem. if they did sell click-throughs then ad blocking is a non-issue, of course.
sadly i use an ad blocker as well, i tried disabling it once, and man.. the ads are EVERYWHERE, makes most of the site practically unreadable. and the auto playing videos, are MOST annoying.
"Anandtech and similar sites won't be around for that much longer."
once again: sell based on click-throughs and be done with it. selling 'eyes' is a total scam. in fact, selling click-throughs just might, might lead to better ads, not just more obnoxious ones. :)
"The contents of this article are entirely independent and solely reflect the editorial opinion of AnandTech."
Could Anandtech include a similar disclaimer when posting any Intel-related content? Because based on articles over the last few months (or rather, articles that haven't appeared *cough* Zombieload and other security issues *cough*) it does appear that Intel has editorial control over Anandtech articles. And yes Dr Ian, security is bl**dy important to your readership!
It shouldn't be a problem including such a disclaimer if Anandtech is 100% independent, because any such claim would be highly dubious at best.
I just bought one of these the other week. I was looking at a One Plus 7, but there are so many of the same phone platform made by different companies. I think Xiaomi has the best spec of all the different phones that look like they are build off the same reference design. It's also the cheapest of all of them.
The Mi 9 is great given you do two things. 1) Install a different launcher. Apple like app icons across many screens is terrible. App drawer please. I'm using Evie, but really anything is better than stock. 2) Install a Google Camera port like Arnova8G2. The stock camera has a tendency to produce softer pictures than Google's camera. Also Google Night Sight is a better implementation.
Hi Andrei: did you have a chance to also evaluate the video capabilities of the Mi9? I appreciate the details on the still photography, but wonder how the strengths and weaknesses there impact video. If you have the data, would love to see them - Thanks!
Thanks for the response! I agree that the lack of real OIS doesn't bode well for video. I also looked at the gizchina article mentioned by Redmyth here, and it seems to be more of a single axis autofocus than a multi-axis OIS. Still, if you have a chance, would like to hear how the EIS in this phone coped, especially in 4K.
Well I personally own or owned Galaxy S4, S5, S6, S7, S8, S8+, S9+, Note 9, LG G2, G3, G4, V20, V30, iPhone 6plus, 8plus and now a Xiaomi Mi 9. I can tell you that none are close to the photo abilities or the stabilization of the Mi 9! That's not hype but facts as I still have most my flagships today including the Note 9 which until the Note 10 was Samsung's top Note ever and it beats it day or night in photo or video and not by just a little bit. You do realize the IMX586 in the OnePlus 7pro somehow scored a 118 in Dxomark yet the Mi 9 scored a 112 but it beats it in 9 out of 10 photo reviews online especially in real world YouTube reviews. So technically it has the ability to stay with any flagship out today in photo but it's night cam is not as good as P30 pro I can promise you and pixel does extremely well there to. But the catch is that the Mi 9 has a very good ported version of Gcam online from XDA free of charge that makes its night shot awesome. Without it it still beats anything from last year minus the Pixel 3xl and this year it beats quite a few as well. But with Gcam it does great against any period but the P30 is still in my opinion in its own league. The Zoom on the P30 is unheard of! As for Video, check out many reviews on line especially YouTube but again check out Dxomark's review and stabilization rating on the Mi 9. It's anything but a one axis OIS lol. Xiaomi was the one that created 4 axis! Why would they abandon it on there flagship if something new was not better? Seriously? Think about that. Also I have a Pixel 3XL and a iPhone Max in house that I've tested the Mi 9 against personally and it beats them both rather well.
I actually looked at the dxomark article on the Mi 9, and they did indeed give it one of their best scores for video, especially mentioning the good video stabilization in 4K. @Andrei: could you give your review unit a quick test of its video capabilities, especially the stabilization, and let us know what's what? Thanks!
Sorry, 8/256. It's the china version and covers most of the bands. I haven't had any connectivity issues in Oklahoma, but I haven't done a lot of traveling.
I'm going to call Bullshit on your scores because I have the Note 9, S9+ and the Xiaomi Mi 9 EU Global ROM and my scores including FPS and a lot of things you have posted here do not come close to the performance I'm getting. My Mi 9 best every phone you have up there in most every one of those test. It lost to the ROG 2 and Black Shark 2pro in a couple area's but very limited. Matter fact though, what makes anybody with a ounce of common sense know that this testing is completely fabricated bullshit is the fact that the S10+ is up top or near the top in a lot of spots because the S10+ has the worst testing of just about any 855 chipped phone. Furthermore you have the S9+ rated higher in certain test that I personally ran and there are official results from those very testing sites saying your results are off by more then a 1000 points in some areas with the S9+ even. I don't get the sham going on here but it just ruined any credibility this site ever had!
Are you still using the stock rom? I'm pretty sure AnandTech didn't bother getting the latest greatest(and probably hasn't had it long enough to get unlocked or xiaomi.eu). I know my phone had a huge performance difference after a few updates.
It's running the latest OTA on a commercial EU unit, build date July 9th. The phone's been out long enough that didn't go finishing for nonpublic firmwares.
What update? What's the number 10. What? I currently have 10.2.30.0 and have not complaints except for the fact that around the 10.2.26 update I lost the ability to control saturation, sharpness and contrast.
So you understand what I'm calling bullshit on is the performance charts with GPU and CPU test with the many test. The one thing the Xiaomi Mi 9 truly excels at is CPU, GPU and overall speed and gaming experience always running at the top of any flagship out. The only one I've seen close is the OnePlus 7 pro. As far as your end review, I saw your camera info, you are wrong in a few areas here as well. The Xiaomi Mi 9 does have a advanced EIS that is not like others but is actually a advanced form of OIS with a extra sensor that watches the movement of the OIS to give it more accurate and faster info to make proper adjustments to make the Mi 9 one of the most stable of all current smartphones in 4k@30 video. Any YouTube reviews and also dxomark will show this without question up amongst all the rest. If I can post the link to the Mi 9's EIS I will do it here for those to read up on it. Last, I don't have a issue with low light pics and most reviews show the same bit it's not of the level of the Note 10+, P30 pro or Pixel without Gcam for night shots. gizchina.com/2019/02/17/mi-9-closed-loop-motor-explained/ Of course you have to put in the http/www part on that link.
As a fyi, I've taken some rather craptackular shots with my Mi9. I've also taken some astoundingly good ones. Previously I was Lumia 950 and 920 before that. I'd been used to relatively good cameras on my phones. Lack of OIS is a big deal and the EIS doesn't make up for it. I have some health issues that cause trembles, my older phones it made zero difference, with the Mi9 it's very apparent when I'm having a bad day. Even when I'm not having a bad day I can still get bad shots where the same environment had previously been no issue for my previous phone.
The Mi9 is an insanely good value. I love my phone. I just recognize the issues presented in the article are valid.
You're welcome to point out and name the actual tests you have problems with.
Xiaomi has a history of cheating in benchmarks - I'm using obfuscated application IDs that circumvent such detection and thus the numbers published here represent the actual app performance of the phone.
I would love to challenge you on that as I'm a 1st time buyer of Xiaomi being the Mi 9. Again I've owned Galaxy S4-S9+ Note 9, LG G2-G4, V20-30, IPhone 6plus-8plus yet the Mi 9 makes small work of all them including the iPhone XS Max in performance! I also have posted my results on my YouTube which that can't be cheated as I even video recorded a AuTuTu 8.02 system test which I got 440,701 and sense then I've gotten higher. No BSing there
AnTuTu is the laughing stock of benchmarks. The minute someone tries to justify their position with an AnTuTu score, you know not to take them seriously.
if you really have owned all those phones, then either, you dont take care of them, and they get broken fast, and need to be replaced, you are one of those that HAS to upgrade for no reason other then for bragging rights, or, and this is tied in with the 2nd reason, more money then you know what to do with :-)
The matter a fact here is that Andrei is the best and most technical phone reviewer for the past few years - yet here you are with anecdotal at best claims, and insulting tone.
I finally gave up my Lumia 950 for a Mi9 8/256 this year for less than what I paid for my 950 back in the day. Xiaomi has some really odd things that go on as they have three main roms available and the bootloader can't be unlocked for a set period of time. Once you do unlock it, xiaomi.eu uses the china beta roms and strips out the China specific things, removes all ads, and finishes translation. My phone became a whole other beast after using the weekly xiaomi.eu roms. We got moved to Android 10 August 8th. OIS, waterproofing, and a non-slippery back are the only things I feel that need refinement.
Same here, finally switched from Lumia 950 to a Mi9. I've got two points to add:
- I've toned the sharpening down one notch in the camera app, as it was producing halos around edges
- I've bought the international version after reading that the Ads can be disabled. First I had none, but after using it for 2-3 months annoying Ads started to pop up. It happens less than each day on average, but when it happens it's really annoying. You tip something and the phone does not react. Brain says "WTF" and after a short break (depending on network speed) the Ad is shown, sometimes as still image and sometimes as videos with loud sound (depending on your current setting). This interrupts the work flow and maybe also the environment and really, the least thing I'll do with whatever is advertised is to buy it. Already tried different ways to turn this off, depending on forum suggestions, but was not yet successful.
I've been on .eu rom since I was allowed to unlock. The only ads I've ever seen since are very random with the built in music app and cleaner. Neither of which I use often enough for it to be an annoyance. I don't see any sharpening settings in the built in camera app. Are you using GCam?
It's the built-in camera app, called "Kamera" as far as I can tell. However, I had a quick look and can't find any sharpening settings now either, so maybe they've removed that with some update.
In order to load this .eu rom I'd have to reinstall everything not saved in the google account, right? If so: thanks, I'll keep it in mind for now.
I used to have the option on EU ROM to sharpen, Saturation, and contrast but after the 10.26-27 update I lost that ability and truthfully I'm pissed about that. But I still am using stock ROM as I have yet to unlock my boot loader although I can at anytime as I've had it sense may
It's telephoto if 1. It's longer than normal, which it is not. 2. Its physical length is shorter than its focal length, which we don't know of, but is likely true.
FYI, the wireless charging is 20W. So you can technically charge wirelessly faster than you can with the (global)included charger. China version came with the 27W charger and bought the 20W pad(and 20W car wireless auto grippy one) to go along with it.
It's a shame it wasn't the Mi 9T/Pro - as it really is a newer iteration on the Mi 9 - pretty much everything's improved from what I can tell. I've had mine for a few months now and the value is through the roof for what you get.
Also noteworthy is just how easy/good GCam is on these - you can just download the APK and go (camera2 API already enabled so no messing round). It's nightmode and HDR+ fill in a lot of the weaknesses of the Xiaomi's camera app nicely.
What's better, the Mi 9Tpro or K20pro is not close to the Mi 9 in overall performance nor is it a flagship like the Mi 9. The Mi 9 has better display with better glass as well being Gorilla glass 6 vs 5, better DCI-P3 profile and HDR10. IR blaster, better bands, Better cameras 16 vs 13 and 12 vs 8 Better cooling and performance overall by far without overheating. Better camera app. NFC over the K20pro version yet to fully know on the Mi 9Tpro The only thing the Mi9t or K20 variant have over the Mi 9 is the battery, everything else the Mi 9 clearly out does them in.
Would have liked to see how OnePlus 7 pro fares now instead of the likes of Magic, Shark or even G8. Looks like OnePlus 7 pro have quite improved now going by recent comparisons. For example comparison with Note 10+ in review of Note10+ on Gsmarena.
blekk @ 3k battery size, they should be using their "standard" 4k or larger, I personally care less at this point if 4nm, 7nm super amazing god ARM cpu...I want/need battery AND 3.5mm with also good speaker quality overall ...
nothing like being "forced" to plug in every day if not every couple of hours because they them phone makers to damn @#$ cheap to put good size batteries in
FLAGSHIP devices
that like getting the most $$$$$$$$$$ crazy car you can get, just to see it runs with a gas tank that barely holds 1/2 the amount if reasonably can....
As a user of the Mi 9 for a couple of months now. It is Superb. I paid $900 NZD. I jumped on a smartphone pretty late. My first smartphone was a Motorla Atrix 2, then Apple iphone 6 and now the Xiaomi Mi 9. As is evident, I keep my phone for a long time. I have to admit that I got caught into the iOs space and would have loved to continue with Apple. Their eco system is flawless and all of it just works like a charm. It will end up locking you in and the experience is unparalleled but an XR was going to set me back no less than $1400 for a 64gb variant. Prices have dropped as I type this, to $1150 which is pretty good. Getting back to the Mi 9. It took me a while to get myself to buy this phone. The usual and endless You Tubing and Googling on the good and bad of the Mi 9. Impressions were all positive, I took the plunge and I have no regrets. Took a bit to re adjust to Android and its been a big change from my Atrix experience. The phone is snappy to do just about anything. My son hammered it with some gaming and it just flies. I had reservations on the battery and end up with 50% or sometimes more by the end of each day. Definitely not a heavy user. While a bigger battery is good to have, most users won't have a problem with the 3300mAh battery. Charging is fast too with the supplied wired charger. The Camera gets the exposure right for the most part. It does tend to add some saturation to the colors though. Videos are alright but I have seen the occasional stutter during play back while moving the camera. I guess electronic image stabilization can only do so much. Have not tried night mode. The only hardware complaint I have with this phone is the weak external mono audio via that sole bottom mount speaker. Software wise, MIUI can add some irritants via adverts as already reported in the review. It does not come in the way of day to day use. It is only when you use the Cleaner and Security App, you tend to notice advertisements floating around the screen. What I cannot forgive them for, and this has been reported by other Xiaomi users is the little app notifications icons can disappear on the top edge o the screen. It shows once and disappears. Unless you pull down the Notification Drawer, you won't notice the icons or notifications ever again. There has to be a better way to implement this.
It's the rom. Xiaomi has 3 different roms. Global(10.2.9.0 PFAMIXM), China(10.2.25.0 PFACNXM), and EEA(also known as EU, but not .eu 10.2.26.0 PFAEUXM). They have beta trees, Global(9.5.23) and China(9.9.3). The China beta version is the root of everything that then gets eventually split out into all the others. It typically gets updated every week while the Global beta might be every month and the "official" every few months. I find the version numbering confusing as hell as 9.9.3 is a great deal more advanced than 10.2.25. Things get even more confusing when you look at xiaomi.eu. They basically take the china beta builds, complete the language translations, remove the ads, and do a few tweaks. They have a stable and beta. Beta currently is 9.9.6 and stable 10.2.16.0. Unfortunately they don't keep up with the stable version very much, there's such a push for the weekly beta versions. Honestly, the betas have been incredibly stable. For reference, the notification issue was fixed back in April. Why that's not fixed in the "official" roms, I have no clue except there's no telling how far behind the betas those are. I strongly suggest looking into moving to xiaomi.eu betas if they don't push you out a working "official" build next week along with the MIUI 11 stuff.
Hey Andrei nice and detailed review I just know what is mi sound enhancer and how it affects audio quality and is it different from Snapdragon audio+ equaliser
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jaju123 - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
Nice review. Would be very interested in a Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro review if you manage to get your hands on it. Seems to be an upgrade on some aspects of this phone.Andrei Frumusanu - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
Among the upcoming reviews, iPhone 11, Mate 30, Pixel 4 in the foreseeable future I don't think we'll have time for the Mi9T Pro, sorry.yeeeeman - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
Why not Galaxy s10 with exynos 9825? Pixel 4 has Qualcomm 855 which we know. Huawei mate 30 will have Kirin 980 which again we know. iPhone is interesting, sure, but 9825 being a shrink it is curious to see what the impact is. Come on, it is launched for over a month now....Andrei Frumusanu - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
We're not getting sampled by Samsung so we'd have to buy one. Currently the 9825 doesn't represent any notable performance difference, the Note10 doesn't have any notable camera differences, so other than the chip's power efficiency for an academic view on 7EUV it's lower on the priority list than the aforementioned new devices.s.yu - Saturday, September 14, 2019 - link
Maybe you could lend one :)s.yu - Saturday, September 14, 2019 - link
sorry borrow XDjaju123 - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
No worries, I'm interested in those devices too so should be interesting!AkiraAkimoto - Saturday, September 14, 2019 - link
Will you review the latest Vivo flagship Nex 3 and the Xiaomi's flagship Mixα？Rumor says that the Mix series will have a great leap comparing with the previous Xiaomi deviceRedmyth79 - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
This site is not accurate so the 9Tpro would never get a fair shake. Trust me I own a lot of the phone es tested including the Mi 9. The Mi 9 test higher then the 9Tpro also so you know but the scores hear are apparently made to make them not look up to par with the other Flagship phones with 855 chip sets. Hell the 980 Kirin is from last year on the P30 pro and I know for a fact in 99% of test it doesn't come close to any 855 chipped phone much less a Mi 9 that truthfully on any other site including a lot of the actual test here it best out 99.9% of the phone es and the S10+ actually does about the worse of any but here some how it's rated near the top and the mi 9 is no where near where it should be. It's a crying shame.Cellar Door - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
This site should get mods for troll account like this.Redmyth79 - Saturday, September 14, 2019 - link
Who you calling troll, stating facts.Korguz - Saturday, September 14, 2019 - link
then back up your "facts " with proof, seems even Andrei doubts these " facts " of yours :" I accept your challenge. You play the AnTuTu card, you lose. "
and from Ian as well : " AnTuTu is the laughing stock of benchmarks. The minute someone tries to justify their position with an AnTuTu score, you know not to take them seriously. "
Jon Tseng - Sunday, September 15, 2019 - link
Yeah I'm not sure this troll even read the article, so I think asking for facts likely a bit of a tough ask. At all conclusion is that perf seems fine vs other devices.One point - I've seen discussed elsewhere that the 9T pro has an inferior thermal solution that the 9T so perf may not be quite as good. Jonathan.
PeachNCream - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
"AnandTech has reviewed this product as part of a paid partnership with Qualcomm."Is someone at AT permitted to go into greater detail about the nature of the partnership? What obligations is AT under? What are Qualcomm's expectations?
Andrei Frumusanu - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
We'll be posting three more S855 device reviews in the next 2 weeks, other than that and the inclusion of the benchmark setup (AI), there is no effect on the content of the articles posted and I'm writing the reviews independently as I would have in a normal scenario.PeachNCream - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
Cool, thanks! That makes sense.yeeeeman - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
The big problem here is that it takes up your bandwidth to look on other more interesting devices like the exynos 9825. Qualcomm is requesting these reviews for press, nothing else. But here at AT we care more about tech, so I think that in the future it is best to refuse these kinda of requests and sponsorships and do your own reviewswebdoctors - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
?? but then who will pay them to keep the site running since everyone uses adblocker?A5 - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
I've read literally nothing that indicated that the Exynos 9825 holds anything of significant interest to AT readers over Exynos 9820. Why do you keep asking about it?Andrei Frumusanu - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
It's an interesting academic view on the 7EUV process node, but other than that yes it holds very little value currently.Shlong - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
Then disable your adblocker. Hard to pay the writers, server bills, when 70% of your users are ad blocking.PeachNCream - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
If a hypothetical 70% of your audience is blocking ads on the site you run, maybe it says more about the advertising than the site's visitors.valinor89 - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
I used to periodically disable the adblocker for this site, but each time I had to reenable it because sometimes it has obnoxious ads, autoplay videos, pop ups that hide content and what not.s.yu - Saturday, September 14, 2019 - link
Does this really work? Are you sure that it's the displays not the clicks that generate revenue? If it's the clicks might as well click all the ads once in a while and block them all when reading.Shlong - Tuesday, September 17, 2019 - link
So which sites don't have annoying advertising? I use adblock but for sites I frequently visit, I disable, like at Anandtech, Ars-Technica, and others.FunBunny2 - Saturday, September 14, 2019 - link
"Then disable your adblocker. Hard to pay the writers, server bills, when 70% of your users are ad blocking."that's a great gulp of Flavour Aid. think about it, for just a second. will folks who choose to conserve bandwidth (both on the innterTubes and their brains) by ad blocking be likely to ever, ever, ever click on such ads? the answer, of course, is never, never, never. IOW, the ad revenue driven sites are scamming the ad buyers, by 'selling eyes'. which is exactly the same way that print media went. and the innterTubes sites proclaimed that they were oh so new and disruptive. right.
sites have the tech to sell click-throughs, rather than eyes, but they're scared shitless to do that since the number is minuscule. not to pick on AT specifically, of course. all these sites have the same problem. if they did sell click-throughs then ad blocking is a non-issue, of course.
Qasar - Saturday, September 14, 2019 - link
sadly i use an ad blocker as well, i tried disabling it once, and man.. the ads are EVERYWHERE, makes most of the site practically unreadable. and the auto playing videos, are MOST annoying.Shlong - Tuesday, September 17, 2019 - link
They are annoying but if people continue to block the ads, Anandtech and similar sites won't be around for that much longer.Korguz - Tuesday, September 17, 2019 - link
then they should tone some of them down, or like some have asked, switch to a paid version with no ads.FunBunny2 - Wednesday, September 18, 2019 - link
"Anandtech and similar sites won't be around for that much longer."once again: sell based on click-throughs and be done with it. selling 'eyes' is a total scam. in fact, selling click-throughs just might, might lead to better ads, not just more obnoxious ones. :)
CityBlue - Sunday, September 15, 2019 - link
"The contents of this article are entirely independent and solely reflect the editorial opinion of AnandTech."Could Anandtech include a similar disclaimer when posting any Intel-related content? Because based on articles over the last few months (or rather, articles that haven't appeared *cough* Zombieload and other security issues *cough*) it does appear that Intel has editorial control over Anandtech articles. And yes Dr Ian, security is bl**dy important to your readership!
It shouldn't be a problem including such a disclaimer if Anandtech is 100% independent, because any such claim would be highly dubious at best.
hanselltc - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
I am pretty sure you labelled the P30 P30 images wrong Andrei.Andrei Frumusanu - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
Thanks, I fixed the night shots.Despoiler - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
I just bought one of these the other week. I was looking at a One Plus 7, but there are so many of the same phone platform made by different companies. I think Xiaomi has the best spec of all the different phones that look like they are build off the same reference design. It's also the cheapest of all of them.The Mi 9 is great given you do two things. 1) Install a different launcher. Apple like app icons across many screens is terrible. App drawer please. I'm using Evie, but really anything is better than stock. 2) Install a Google Camera port like Arnova8G2. The stock camera has a tendency to produce softer pictures than Google's camera. Also Google Night Sight is a better implementation.
s.yu - Saturday, September 14, 2019 - link
All default cameras are worse than Gcam by most measures.eastcoast_pete - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
Hi Andrei: did you have a chance to also evaluate the video capabilities of the Mi9? I appreciate the details on the still photography, but wonder how the strengths and weaknesses there impact video. If you have the data, would love to see them - Thanks!Andrei Frumusanu - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
I didn't have time for it today, I'll update it in next few days. The lack of OIS isn't very good for video.NXTwoThou - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
The EIS for the Mi9 is shockingly good. Unfortunately it only works at 30fps.Redmyth79 - Saturday, September 14, 2019 - link
True but for your info no current flagship has OIS or any stabilization at 4k@60fps. So it's not just the Mi 9Redmyth79 - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
Read this info on the EIS, it's actually a advanced version of OIShttps://www.gizchina.com/2019/02/17/mi-9-closed-lo...
Andrei Frumusanu - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
That article is garbage, linear one axis VCM actuation isn't anywhere near the effect of real OIS.eastcoast_pete - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
Thanks for the response! I agree that the lack of real OIS doesn't bode well for video. I also looked at the gizchina article mentioned by Redmyth here, and it seems to be more of a single axis autofocus than a multi-axis OIS. Still, if you have a chance, would like to hear how the EIS in this phone coped, especially in 4K.Redmyth79 - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
Well I personally own or owned Galaxy S4, S5, S6, S7, S8, S8+, S9+, Note 9, LG G2, G3, G4, V20, V30, iPhone 6plus, 8plus and now a Xiaomi Mi 9. I can tell you that none are close to the photo abilities or the stabilization of the Mi 9! That's not hype but facts as I still have most my flagships today including the Note 9 which until the Note 10 was Samsung's top Note ever and it beats it day or night in photo or video and not by just a little bit.You do realize the IMX586 in the OnePlus 7pro somehow scored a 118 in Dxomark yet the Mi 9 scored a 112 but it beats it in 9 out of 10 photo reviews online especially in real world YouTube reviews. So technically it has the ability to stay with any flagship out today in photo but it's night cam is not as good as P30 pro I can promise you and pixel does extremely well there to. But the catch is that the Mi 9 has a very good ported version of Gcam online from XDA free of charge that makes its night shot awesome. Without it it still beats anything from last year minus the Pixel 3xl and this year it beats quite a few as well. But with Gcam it does great against any period but the P30 is still in my opinion in its own league.
The Zoom on the P30 is unheard of!
As for Video, check out many reviews on line especially YouTube but again check out Dxomark's review and stabilization rating on the Mi 9. It's anything but a one axis OIS lol. Xiaomi was the one that created 4 axis!
Why would they abandon it on there flagship if something new was not better? Seriously? Think about that.
Also I have a Pixel 3XL and a iPhone Max in house that I've tested the Mi 9 against personally and it beats them both rather well.
eastcoast_pete - Saturday, September 14, 2019 - link
I actually looked at the dxomark article on the Mi 9, and they did indeed give it one of their best scores for video, especially mentioning the good video stabilization in 4K. @Andrei: could you give your review unit a quick test of its video capabilities, especially the stabilization, and let us know what's what? Thanks!Bulat Ziganshin - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
In the first night shot Mi9 Wide and Night photos are swappedairdrifting - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
Let me guess, this doesn't work in US? Why can't we have all the good things?NXTwoThou - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
I'm using a Mi9 6/256 Transparent edition with AT&T in the US right now.NXTwoThou - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
Sorry, 8/256. It's the china version and covers most of the bands. I haven't had any connectivity issues in Oklahoma, but I haven't done a lot of traveling.Redmyth79 - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
The EU global version works perfect on AT&T or T-Mobile. I have it on both.realbabilu - Saturday, September 14, 2019 - link
Just been in the us for US open. It is gave LTE for T mobileRedmyth79 - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
I'm going to call Bullshit on your scores because I have the Note 9, S9+ and the Xiaomi Mi 9 EU Global ROM and my scores including FPS and a lot of things you have posted here do not come close to the performance I'm getting.My Mi 9 best every phone you have up there in most every one of those test.
It lost to the ROG 2 and Black Shark 2pro in a couple area's but very limited. Matter fact though, what makes anybody with a ounce of common sense know that this testing is completely fabricated bullshit is the fact that the S10+ is up top or near the top in a lot of spots because the S10+ has the worst testing of just about any 855 chipped phone. Furthermore you have the S9+ rated higher in certain test that I personally ran and there are official results from those very testing sites saying your results are off by more then a 1000 points in some areas with the S9+ even.
I don't get the sham going on here but it just ruined any credibility this site ever had!
NXTwoThou - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
Are you still using the stock rom? I'm pretty sure AnandTech didn't bother getting the latest greatest(and probably hasn't had it long enough to get unlocked or xiaomi.eu). I know my phone had a huge performance difference after a few updates.Andrei Frumusanu - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
It's running the latest OTA on a commercial EU unit, build date July 9th. The phone's been out long enough that didn't go finishing for nonpublic firmwares.Redmyth79 - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
What update? What's the number 10. What?I currently have 10.2.30.0 and have not complaints except for the fact that around the 10.2.26 update I lost the ability to control saturation, sharpness and contrast.
Andrei Frumusanu - Saturday, September 14, 2019 - link
10.28Redmyth79 - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
So you understand what I'm calling bullshit on is the performance charts with GPU and CPU test with the many test. The one thing the Xiaomi Mi 9 truly excels at is CPU, GPU and overall speed and gaming experience always running at the top of any flagship out. The only one I've seen close is the OnePlus 7 pro.As far as your end review, I saw your camera info, you are wrong in a few areas here as well.
The Xiaomi Mi 9 does have a advanced EIS that is not like others but is actually a advanced form of OIS with a extra sensor that watches the movement of the OIS to give it more accurate and faster info to make proper adjustments to make the Mi 9 one of the most stable of all current smartphones in 4k@30 video.
Any YouTube reviews and also dxomark will show this without question up amongst all the rest.
If I can post the link to the Mi 9's EIS I will do it here for those to read up on it.
Last, I don't have a issue with low light pics and most reviews show the same bit it's not of the level of the Note 10+, P30 pro or Pixel without Gcam for night shots.
gizchina.com/2019/02/17/mi-9-closed-loop-motor-explained/
Of course you have to put in the http/www part on that link.
porcupineLTD - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
A new fanboy arrives.Redmyth79 - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
Fanboy of what I've always been a Galaxy fanboy sense I've owned all from S4-S9+ but the Mi 9 is truly a game changer to meNXTwoThou - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
As a fyi, I've taken some rather craptackular shots with my Mi9. I've also taken some astoundingly good ones. Previously I was Lumia 950 and 920 before that. I'd been used to relatively good cameras on my phones. Lack of OIS is a big deal and the EIS doesn't make up for it. I have some health issues that cause trembles, my older phones it made zero difference, with the Mi9 it's very apparent when I'm having a bad day. Even when I'm not having a bad day I can still get bad shots where the same environment had previously been no issue for my previous phone.The Mi9 is an insanely good value. I love my phone. I just recognize the issues presented in the article are valid.
Jon Tseng - Sunday, September 15, 2019 - link
If you have good benchmarks and data post them rather than ranting.Talk is cheap if you're too afraid to back it up.
Anandtech has years of best in class work around mobile performance analysis. Forgive me if I give them the benefit of the doubt.
Andrei Frumusanu - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
You're welcome to point out and name the actual tests you have problems with.Xiaomi has a history of cheating in benchmarks - I'm using obfuscated application IDs that circumvent such detection and thus the numbers published here represent the actual app performance of the phone.
Redmyth79 - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
I would love to challenge you on that as I'm a 1st time buyer of Xiaomi being the Mi 9.Again I've owned Galaxy S4-S9+ Note 9, LG G2-G4, V20-30, IPhone 6plus-8plus yet the Mi 9 makes small work of all them including the iPhone XS Max in performance!
I also have posted my results on my YouTube which that can't be cheated as I even video recorded a AuTuTu 8.02 system test which I got 440,701 and sense then I've gotten higher.
No BSing there
Andrei Frumusanu - Saturday, September 14, 2019 - link
I accept your challenge. You play the AnTuTu card, you lose.Ian Cutress - Saturday, September 14, 2019 - link
AnTuTu is the laughing stock of benchmarks. The minute someone tries to justify their position with an AnTuTu score, you know not to take them seriously.Korguz - Saturday, September 14, 2019 - link
if you really have owned all those phones, then either, you dont take care of them, and they get broken fast, and need to be replaced, you are one of those that HAS to upgrade for no reason other then for bragging rights, or, and this is tied in with the 2nd reason, more money then you know what to do with :-)Jon Tseng - Sunday, September 15, 2019 - link
No links yet to your supposed data?Cellar Door - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
The matter a fact here is that Andrei is the best and most technical phone reviewer for the past few years - yet here you are with anecdotal at best claims, and insulting tone.NXTwoThou - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
I finally gave up my Lumia 950 for a Mi9 8/256 this year for less than what I paid for my 950 back in the day. Xiaomi has some really odd things that go on as they have three main roms available and the bootloader can't be unlocked for a set period of time. Once you do unlock it, xiaomi.eu uses the china beta roms and strips out the China specific things, removes all ads, and finishes translation. My phone became a whole other beast after using the weekly xiaomi.eu roms. We got moved to Android 10 August 8th. OIS, waterproofing, and a non-slippery back are the only things I feel that need refinement.MrSpadge - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
Same here, finally switched from Lumia 950 to a Mi9. I've got two points to add:- I've toned the sharpening down one notch in the camera app, as it was producing halos around edges
- I've bought the international version after reading that the Ads can be disabled. First I had none, but after using it for 2-3 months annoying Ads started to pop up. It happens less than each day on average, but when it happens it's really annoying. You tip something and the phone does not react. Brain says "WTF" and after a short break (depending on network speed) the Ad is shown, sometimes as still image and sometimes as videos with loud sound (depending on your current setting). This interrupts the work flow and maybe also the environment and really, the least thing I'll do with whatever is advertised is to buy it. Already tried different ways to turn this off, depending on forum suggestions, but was not yet successful.
NXTwoThou - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
I've been on .eu rom since I was allowed to unlock. The only ads I've ever seen since are very random with the built in music app and cleaner. Neither of which I use often enough for it to be an annoyance. I don't see any sharpening settings in the built in camera app. Are you using GCam?MrSpadge - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
It's the built-in camera app, called "Kamera" as far as I can tell. However, I had a quick look and can't find any sharpening settings now either, so maybe they've removed that with some update.In order to load this .eu rom I'd have to reinstall everything not saved in the google account, right? If so: thanks, I'll keep it in mind for now.
Redmyth79 - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
LOL, yeah I had it to until the update switched from 10.26 to 10.27 I believe it wasRedmyth79 - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
I used to have the option on EU ROM to sharpen, Saturation, and contrast but after the 10.26-27 update I lost that ability and truthfully I'm pissed about that. But I still am using stock ROM as I have yet to unlock my boot loader although I can at anytime as I've had it sense mayElFenix - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
52 mm lenses are not telephoto! it's just normal! quit calling it telephoto!Redmyth79 - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
It has a telephoto equal to S10+, as it's actually a Samsung telephoto lens.ElFenix - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
still not telephoto!Redmyth79 - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
What ever you say master! It's telephoto in cellphone world!It's only a 2x not 3 or 5x optical but 2x the factory wide angle.
s.yu - Saturday, September 14, 2019 - link
It's telephoto if1. It's longer than normal, which it is not.
2. Its physical length is shorter than its focal length, which we don't know of, but is likely true.
NXTwoThou - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
FYI, the wireless charging is 20W. So you can technically charge wirelessly faster than you can with the (global)included charger. China version came with the 27W charger and bought the 20W pad(and 20W car wireless auto grippy one) to go along with it.Awful - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
It's a shame it wasn't the Mi 9T/Pro - as it really is a newer iteration on the Mi 9 - pretty much everything's improved from what I can tell. I've had mine for a few months now and the value is through the roof for what you get.Also noteworthy is just how easy/good GCam is on these - you can just download the APK and go (camera2 API already enabled so no messing round). It's nightmode and HDR+ fill in a lot of the weaknesses of the Xiaomi's camera app nicely.
Redmyth79 - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
What's better, the Mi 9Tpro or K20pro is not close to the Mi 9 in overall performance nor is it a flagship like the Mi 9.The Mi 9 has better display with better glass as well being Gorilla glass 6 vs 5, better DCI-P3 profile and HDR10.
IR blaster, better bands,
Better cameras 16 vs 13 and 12 vs 8
Better cooling and performance overall by far without overheating.
Better camera app.
NFC over the K20pro version yet to fully know on the Mi 9Tpro
The only thing the Mi9t or K20 variant have over the Mi 9 is the battery, everything else the Mi 9 clearly out does them in.
tdrsy - Saturday, September 14, 2019 - link
Would have liked to see how OnePlus 7 pro fares now instead of the likes of Magic, Shark or even G8. Looks like OnePlus 7 pro have quite improved now going by recent comparisons. For example comparison with Note 10+ in review of Note10+ on Gsmarena.Andrei Frumusanu - Saturday, September 14, 2019 - link
Unfortunately currently I don't have the OP7Pro.realbabilu - Saturday, September 14, 2019 - link
I suggest a photoshoot shootout contest 855 series preferably blindfold by readers since the photo results are subjective.Dragonstongue - Saturday, September 14, 2019 - link
blekk @ 3k battery size, they should be using their "standard" 4k or larger, I personally care less at this point if 4nm, 7nm super amazing god ARM cpu...I want/need battery AND 3.5mm with also good speaker quality overall ...nothing like being "forced" to plug in every day if not every couple of hours because they them phone makers to damn @#$ cheap to put good size batteries in
FLAGSHIP devices
that like getting the most $$$$$$$$$$ crazy car you can get, just to see it runs with a gas tank that barely holds 1/2 the amount if reasonably can....
WHY !!!!!!!!!!!!!
sleeperclass - Tuesday, September 17, 2019 - link
As a user of the Mi 9 for a couple of months now. It is Superb. I paid $900 NZD. I jumped on a smartphone pretty late. My first smartphone was a Motorla Atrix 2, then Apple iphone 6 and now the Xiaomi Mi 9. As is evident, I keep my phone for a long time. I have to admit that I got caught into the iOs space and would have loved to continue with Apple. Their eco system is flawless and all of it just works like a charm. It will end up locking you in and the experience is unparalleled but an XR was going to set me back no less than $1400 for a 64gb variant. Prices have dropped as I type this, to $1150 which is pretty good. Getting back to the Mi 9. It took me a while to get myself to buy this phone. The usual and endless You Tubing and Googling on the good and bad of the Mi 9. Impressions were all positive, I took the plunge and I have no regrets. Took a bit to re adjust to Android and its been a big change from my Atrix experience. The phone is snappy to do just about anything. My son hammered it with some gaming and it just flies. I had reservations on the battery and end up with 50% or sometimes more by the end of each day. Definitely not a heavy user. While a bigger battery is good to have, most users won't have a problem with the 3300mAh battery. Charging is fast too with the supplied wired charger. The Camera gets the exposure right for the most part. It does tend to add some saturation to the colors though. Videos are alright but I have seen the occasional stutter during play back while moving the camera. I guess electronic image stabilization can only do so much. Have not tried night mode. The only hardware complaint I have with this phone is the weak external mono audio via that sole bottom mount speaker. Software wise, MIUI can add some irritants via adverts as already reported in the review. It does not come in the way of day to day use. It is only when you use the Cleaner and Security App, you tend to notice advertisements floating around the screen. What I cannot forgive them for, and this has been reported by other Xiaomi users is the little app notifications icons can disappear on the top edge o the screen. It shows once and disappears. Unless you pull down the Notification Drawer, you won't notice the icons or notifications ever again. There has to be a better way to implement this.Al in all, a happy Mi 9 user experience.
NXTwoThou - Tuesday, September 17, 2019 - link
It's the rom. Xiaomi has 3 different roms. Global(10.2.9.0 PFAMIXM), China(10.2.25.0 PFACNXM), and EEA(also known as EU, but not .eu 10.2.26.0 PFAEUXM). They have beta trees, Global(9.5.23) and China(9.9.3). The China beta version is the root of everything that then gets eventually split out into all the others. It typically gets updated every week while the Global beta might be every month and the "official" every few months. I find the version numbering confusing as hell as 9.9.3 is a great deal more advanced than 10.2.25. Things get even more confusing when you look at xiaomi.eu. They basically take the china beta builds, complete the language translations, remove the ads, and do a few tweaks. They have a stable and beta. Beta currently is 9.9.6 and stable 10.2.16.0. Unfortunately they don't keep up with the stable version very much, there's such a push for the weekly beta versions. Honestly, the betas have been incredibly stable. For reference, the notification issue was fixed back in April. Why that's not fixed in the "official" roms, I have no clue except there's no telling how far behind the betas those are. I strongly suggest looking into moving to xiaomi.eu betas if they don't push you out a working "official" build next week along with the MIUI 11 stuff.Jetfire93 - Monday, March 2, 2020 - link
Hey Andrei nice and detailed reviewI just know what is mi sound enhancer and how it affects audio quality and is it different from Snapdragon audio+ equaliser