Xiaomi Mi 9 SE

Xiaomi’s Mi 9 SE arrives with a subtle difference. Priced at Rs. 25,999, this handset looks to enchant you and the power to keep you satisfied.

Mi 8 SE comes with flagship properties which include its robust hardware, but it falls short of delivering something new or surprising. The 3-camera module on the back does not provide the desired quality. If you are looking for a Xiaomi set with great hardware, this device can meet your demands. Otherwise, there are better models in the market.

Xiaomi Mi 9 SE looks appealing, but it comes with a design that might seem quite redundant. It has the usual drop-shaped notch with moderately thin bezels. The edges around the camera come with a bit of a difference – it shines against the light and sets off the overall bland look of the rear panel.

The camera block, however, protrudes outside a bit which makes it challenging to handle. The phone has an oleophobic coating that makes it easy to wipe off fingerprint smudges and dust. It is a bit slippery too. It does not have a headphone jack, which might be bad news for nostalgics. In general, it is a compact, handy phone with ergonomic buttons.

Xiaomi Mi 9 SE comes with a 5.97-inch screen. It comes with a Full HD+ Super AMOLED screen with a resolution of 2340×1080 pixels. It has the modern 19:5:9 aspect ratio and comes with a 432ppi pixel density. Since it comes with the AMOLED screen, you get the beautiful deep blacks and fantastic contrast. However, at extreme angles, the white colour starts to distort. Plus, the phone does not have adequate brightness, which makes the legibility go down in bright sunlight.

Xiaomi Mi 9 SE comes with a potent Qualcomm Snapdragon 712 chip. It is twinned with the Adreno 616 GPU along with 6GB RAM. Due to this processor, it can run multiple apps simultaneously without any issue. App loading time is negligible too.

Regarding gaming, the phone can run high-end games without a problem. Even at high-settings, there is no lag present during gaming. However, it can’t compete with Pocophone F1’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, so if you are looking for a gaming phone, that would be an ideal choice.

Xiaomi Mi 9 SE has three cameras on its rear panel: a primary 48MP camera with an f/1.8, a 13MP ultra-wide camera and an 8MP telephoto camera. The primary camera is the same as the Mi 9. It produces excellent photos in daylight with good colour reproduction and details. The images also carry appreciable dynamic range and colour balance.

In low light, however, the photos turn out blurry. The telephoto lens comes with a double zoom, which is pretty great, though the pictures are not satisfying enough.  The AI is ok, but it gets a bit aggressive, resulting in unnatural tones. The portrait mode works well enough, but the blurring can be a bit aggressive.

Video can be shot up to 4K with 30fps. Electronic Stabilisation works well in both resolutions. The phone comes with the ability to record slow-motion videos in 960fps. The quality remains quite good.

The front camera is 20MP with an f/2.0 aperture and is quite good, including an efficient blur effect.

Xiaomi Mi 9 SE has a modest 3070 mAh battery. With moderate use, you can keep this phone running for a single day. With ‘Always On’ mode, it kept running from 8 am to 8 pm. The phone also supports QuickCharge 3.0. It just takes 1 hour and 14 minutes to get from 0 to 100%, which is quite impressive.

Xiaomi Mi 9 SE is a great smartphone which comes at a low price and offers near-premium hardware. The battery is fine, but it’s the performance that makes its mark. The only problem with the phone seems to be a redundant design. The phone has decent cameras too, though it is not quite accurate in preserving colours or keeping a proper blur. It remains a compact phone which is suitable for people who want to get premium features in an affordable handset, along with the Xiaomi trust. Otherwise, you can go for Pocophone F1 for better performance and display.