5G connectivity is fledgling and every phone maker is looking jump on the hype train. It may come as a surprise, but we have already seen around 11 5G smartphones launch in 2019. Xiaomi debuted the 5G-enabled Mi Mix 3 earlier this year, but the Chinese giant is now going all-in with the unveiling of the Mi 9 Pro 5G in its home country. And well, what makes this 5G smartphone stand out from its competitors? Well, Mi 9 Pro 5G is the most affordable 5G smartphone to launch in the market to date.
Specs and Features
Starting with the design, Mi 9 Pro 5G comes in a white color variant, as seen in the myriad of leaks over the past few weeks. It sports an anti-glare glass on the rear, which means it will not catch fingerprints and is pretty iridescent. You will also get a black color variant, which shines and sparkles in silver when the light falls on it. This variant offers a red ring around the camera and a red power button, which looks cool. It weighs just 196 grams, making it the lightest 5G phone on the market.
The smartphone features a 6.39-inch AMOLED display, with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio and 90.7% screen-to-body ratio – which may not be the highest but who cares when we have the Mi Mix Alpha. It supports 103.8% NTSC color gamut and touts a waterdrop notch that houses a 20MP selfie camera.
Mi 9 Pro 5G is powered by the overclocked Snapdragon 855 Plus chipset, with the Snapdragon X50 modem in tow to provide fast 5G connectivity. This is paired with up to 12GB RAM and 512GB onboard storage. Xiaomi has even packed into this smartphone a vapor chamber to keep the temperatures in check.
CEO Lei Jun on stage said that the 5G experience is indescribable in words and you will have to go hands-on with it to understand the difference between 5G and 4G download speeds. Xiaomi has baked 7 antennas into the Mi 9 Pro 5G to provide you enhanced connectivity as compared to its rivals. This smartphone provides 10x faster download speeds than the standard Mi 9, which means you can now download a 1.89GB movie in just 15 seconds.
In the camera department, Mi 9 Pro 5G includes a triple-camera module with a 48MP (f/1.75) Sony IMX586 sensor, a 16MP Sony IMX481 ultra-wide-angle lens with a 117-degree FOV, and a 12MP (f/2.2) telephoto lens. There’s a laser focus on board as well.
The Mi 9 Pro 5G comes equipped with a 4,000mAh battery, with wired 40W fast-charging and 30W Mi Charge Turbo wireless charging support (announced recently in China). You will get a 45W charging adapter in the box, with USB Power Delivery support, making it possible to charge not just your phone but also your laptops – that charge via the USB-C port.
Using Mi Charge Turbo, you’ll be able to juice up 50% of the 4,000mAh battery in merely 25 minutes. Mi 9 Pro 5G will be fully charged in about 70 minutes using this super-fast wireless charging tech. That’s not all though. Mi 9 Pro 5G supports reverse wireless charging up to 10W and it can be used to juice up the latest iPhones or truly wireless earbuds (or Airpods).
Price and Availability
The Mi 9 Pro 5G has been launched at a pretty affordable price tag of 3,699 yuan (around Rs. 37,000) for the 8GB+128GB base variant. Xiaomi has even under-cut Vivo IQOO by 100 yuan to make 5G connectivity available to more users. There are 3 other configurations available for this phone and you can check out prices in the image here:
Xiaomi has also launched two accessories to along with the Mi 9 Pro 5G. The Mi Charge Turbo wireless charging stand has been launched for 199 yuan (around Rs 2,000) along with a new 20,000mAh power bank that packs 50W charging support. It means you can charge not just your smartphone, but laptops too with this 299 yuan (around Rs 3,000) power bank.
So, what are your thoughts on this new 5G smartphone? Unbelievable, right? Do let us know in the comments below.
