Xiaomi Mi 9T Price and Review | Still One of the Best Mid-Rangers?
The Xiaomi Mi 9T is an absolute gem in the budget smartphone market, offering incredible features that make it stand out from the crowd.
I’ve been using it for over two years now, and it’s still holding strong.
In this review, we’ll dive into why the Mi 9T is still one of the best mid-range phones you can get delivering premium aesthetics, solid performance, and amazing value for the price.
Xiaomi Mi 9T Price and Review
Inside the Box
The Xiaomi Mi 9T comes in a black cardboard box like most Xiaomi smartphones. One the box you'll find an image of the device along with some technical specs on the sides. In side the box, you'll find:
- Xiaomi Mi 9T
- USB-A to USB-C cable
- 18W fast charger
- SIM ejector tool
- Quick start guide
- Soft-touch case
- A hardshell phone case protector
Design
Now let’s jump right into the design and display. The first thing you notice on the phone is the design of the phone which has a holographic back which shines through. A lot of people who are familiar with phones might realize that this is the same phone as the Redmi K20.
- I liked the design of the Mi 9, but as more phones across all price ranges become bezel-less, I fully expected Xiaomi to take this approach with the Mi 9T.
- Even in the, arguably, “dullest” colorway, this phone looks fantastic. I have the Carbon Black version; Red Flame and Glacier Blue are also available. The phone shows a carbon-fiber pattern from beneath its smooth glass back and adds a sharp-looking red power button for accent.
- The first thing about the display is, it sports a 6.39-inch AMOLED display with no notch. So where is the camera? Well its a pop-up! Its one of those phones.
The display also has an in-screen fingerprint scanner which is faster than the other Xiaomi models. Protecting this phone is a Gorilla Glass 5, which pales in comparison to the Gorilla Glass 6 on the Mi9.
Specifications
| Specifications | Details |
| Display | 6.39-inch |
| Audio Jack | Yes, 3.5mm |
| Processor | Qualcomm Adreno 618 GPU |
| Battery | 4000 mAh |
| Front camera | 20-MP front popup camera |
| Primary Camera | 48MP, 13MP, 8MP Triple Camera setup |
| Fingerprint sensor | in-screen |
| Storage and RAM | 6GB + 64GB, 6GB + 128GB |
Camera
The primary camera is a 3-camera setup with 48-megapixel main camera, 8-megapixel telephoto lens that gives a 2x optical zoom and a 13-megapixel super ultra-wide angle lens. The ultra-wide angle lens can cover up to 125 degrees, which is pretty exceptional.
The front-facing camera has a 20-megapixel pop-up camera, which is pretty rad looking. So you have an option to do some photo work on your photos using Adobe Lightroom, which helps you modify your photos a bit, without having to download an external app.
Performance
Running this phone is a MIUI10, which is the latest layer on top of Android. Just like most Android software, there are a lot of customizability options such as widget control. The face unlock feature is a bit slow because the camera has to pop-up and no matter what you do with the software, this is a hardware thing that cannot be changed.
- Its powered by the Snapdragon 730 and Adreno 618 that is pretty good and as Xiaomi is pushing the gaming capabilities of all its phones, its a guarantee that this phone will perform well with power users. It has a Game Turbo 2.0 software that makes it much better for gaming.
- Although the Snapdragon 730 is not as powerful as the Snapdragon 855, it is still quite alright for the specs and features of this phone.
In terms of storage, you get the 64GB version and the 128GB version, which is pretty sufficient in my opinion. It can store quite a lot of 4k videos in the latter version.
Battery
The battery on this phone is pretty dope. There are no complaints about this because 4000 mAh is pretty generous and also the 18W fast charger ensures that you are never out of juice. It can bring your battery up to 30% in just a few minutes, which is a godsend.
Final Thoughts
This phone is a tad lesser in terms of features when you compare it to the Mi 9. The Gorilla Glass is 5 compared to the 6 on the Mi 9. The processor is a 730 compared to the 855 on the Mi 9. Even the fast charging is 18W compared to the 27W on the more expensive phone. But these aren’t major comprises at all in the grand scheme of things.
A lot of people like their display to be super clean and without any sort of notch. The pop-up camera gives way for a much better display.
The battery is a major improvement at 4000 mAh, which is quite generous and more than sufficient. I’m of the type where I don’t want to have to worry about my battery draining out. With the Mi 9T, you will have none of those fears.
The fingerprint scanner on the Mi 9T is also very good. Although it's not better than the Mi9, it’s still a major improvement and works seamlessly well. Of all the Mi 9 versions out there, the Mi 9T has the best speaker of the lot. It’s loud, clear and overall amazing.
A few people might be concerned about the popup camera and the fragility of it too, but it has a feature where the camera immediately goes in when the phone detects sudden movement or a drop.
Pros
- Super budget phone
- Brilliant display that is notchless and seamless
- The very cool pop-up camera
- Increased battery life and the bigger battery is a big plus
- Amazing camera for the price
Cons
- Cannot charge wirelessly through a Qi-enabled wireless charger
- Does not have a 27W fast charger
- Fingerprint scanner is not faster than the Mi9
Is Xiaomi Mi 9t worth buying?
This phone is the definition of a mid ranger. While it doesn't offer the flagship specs, it does offer something extremely close. The combination of the amazing hardware and chip performance results in a really good evergreen phone. Most importantly, it is extremely cheap which is one of the major reasons you should invest in the phone.
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