Xiaomi Mi 9 SE Review: A Solid Rival Of Pixel 3a

Aadhya Khatri - Jul 21, 2019

Xiaomi Mi 9 SE is another value for money option from the Chinese phone maker. The company has made most of the needed sacrifices to lower the price

Xiaomi Mi 9 SE is another value for money option the Chinese phone maker offers this year. While it seems like manufacturers and many fans fancy a larger display, not everyone is into the idea of a phone that does not fit snugly into the palm of their hands, and this phone from Xiaomi comes with just the suitable size for most people.

Xiaomi-Mi-9-Se-small — Xiaomi Mi 9 SE is a small phone with powerful performance. This is how it is compared to a Realme 3 Pro

Premium Hardware At An Affordable Price

Xiaomi Mi 9 SE does not exude a “cheap” feeling even though its price is less than many other smartphones with the same quality. It is sandwiched between two layers of glass that makes it looks as appealing as a OnePlus 7. It is cheaper than Google Pixel 3a, but at first sight, most people will think that it is the other way around.

Xiaomi-Mi9-Se-appearance — Xiaomi Mi 9 SE does not exude a “cheap” feeling even though its price is less than many other smartphones with the same quality

If you go for the black version, you will have to deal with fingerprints. The mirror gray is a better option as it can look either glossy or smoky; depend on the angles in which it catches the light.

On papers, Xiaomi Mi 9 SE comes with much more than other smartphones in the same price bracket. Here are some of the specs: RAM of 6GB, onboard storage of either 64GB or 128GB, and Qualcomm Snapdragon 712 processor.

Xiaomi-Mi-9-Se-color — You might want to go for another color as the black version will show fingerprints

However, with that price, some sacrifices must be made. The first is the absence of expandable storage and headphone port; the second is the 3,070mAh battery.

Its Super AMOLED display features Samsung-made FHD+ panel, an aspect ratio of 19.5:9, resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixel, and 432ppi. Let’s make a comparison so that you have a clearer idea of what the phone offers. With these specs, Mi 9 SE’s display is sharper than that of iPhone XS and P30 Pro of Huawei.

Smooth Software Performance

Xiaomi Mi 9 SE comes with Android Pie and MIUI 10, but everything runs smoothly most of the time so the OS should not be a problem when you consider this phone. MIUI 10, even if it is cumbersome, does come with some excellent features; for example, the launcher icons and the bouncing animation in the menu.

Xiaomi-Mi-9-SE-Android-9-MIUI-10 — Xiaomi Mi 9 SE comes with Android Pie and a heavy MIUI 10

Bloats are to be found on this phone; however, you can always disable some apps and download the ones you need.

Except for when the phone is powered on, which may take it a few minutes to warm up; Xiaomi Mi 9 SE shows no sign of slowing down in any situation.

6GB of RAM and Snapdragon 712 make multitasking possible, and everything feels really smooth, thanks to them.

Solid Camera Setup But Nothing Impressive

As we all know, no company can offer an affordable price without some sacrifices, and the camera setup is one of the compromises Xiaomi has made.

The rear camera arrangement consisting of a 13-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens, a 48-megapixel primary sensor, and a 2x and 8-megapixel telephoto zoom lens, does its job well.

Xiaomi-Mi-9-Se-camera-setup — The rear camera arrangement consisting of a 48-megapixel primary sensor, a 13-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens, and an 8-megapixel 2x telephoto zoom lens

The HRD mode helps you to achieve a better result when taking pictures in daylight. Pixel-binning is in use in the 48-megapixel sensor, so you have a reliable performance in dynamic range, color, and sharpness.

Users can have 48-megapixel photos, but we recommend not to as the photos look a bit grainy. The Night mode does enhance the quality of images taken in low light. However, this is no match with that of Pixel 3a.

Xiaomi-Mi-9-Se-camera-48-megapixel — Users can have 48-megapixel shots, but we recommend not to as the photos look a bit grainy

On the other side, the images captured by the 20-megapixel front camera look sharp enough, but the quality cannot rival those taken by the rear snappers. Beautification mode will be turned on by default so you might want to disable it to have a better selfie image.

While taking photos is one of the respects that Xiaomi Mi 9 does not exactly excel, video recording is a different story. You can have 1080p footage with the primary mode of EIS due to the absence of OIS. The phone does offer 4K, but there will be no stabilization, which is why you might want to purchase a gimbal or tripod for this quality.

Durable Battery

The battery can last you a whole day with a bit of juice left to spare. This might come as a surprise to you as on paper; the 3,070mAh battery can hardly do such a thing. However, it might be because of the battery optimizations in MIUI. You can further prolong the battery life by making some more tweaks to reduce background processes.

For normal usage, a typical user can have the phone operate for an entire day with one-third of the cell power left. When the phone needs to be plugged in, you can take advantage of the 18W USB-C fast charger to top it up more quickly. With this function, the battery can be fully charged in just one hour and a half.

Like Pixel 3a, wireless charging is absent on Xiaomi Mi 9 SE. But it is hardly an issue when fast charging is present.

Verdict

It seems like the mid-range price bracket is where you can find most of the innovating going on. With Xiaomi Mi 9 SE, you get almost everything, from an affordable price, smooth performance, to an appealing design.

Anyone who prefers a small phone will find that this option from Xiaomi is a great choice. Much like Pixel 3a, the company has made the right compromises so that more people can afford the Mi 9 SE.