[REVIEW] Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite is the perfect lightweight version of the flagship. A top pick at around 200 €

Popular Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi once again brings a lightweight version of its current flagship smartphone called Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite. It brings plenty of features from the flagship Mi 9, while keeping a very affordable price.

You’ll be pleased with the AMOLED panel with a fingerprint sensor, a triple rear camera setup, and also a cool feature in the form of the manufacturer’s glowing logo on the back. How did it do in our review? You’ll find out in the following lines.

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Unboxing surprises with accessories

The phone arrives in a fairly wide, but colorful box, and as usual it also includes extra accessories. After unboxing, the smartphone itself is on top, covered with a protective film.

Under it you’ll find a paper envelope containing brief manuals, a pin for ejecting the SIM card / microSD memory card tray, and a standard clear silicone case to protect the device.

On the lower “floor” you’ll find a cable with a USB type-C connector for charging or connecting to a computer, as well as a charger with a European plug. It offers fast 18W charging right in the box, which is definitely a welcome bonus. Given the smartphone’s price category, the manufacturer deserves praise for the package contents.

The unusual glowing manufacturer logo is a nice touch

The gradient and, in our case, blue finish of the phone definitely catches the eye at first glance, also thanks to the play of light provided by the back panel. The smartphone body is made to a high standard, and although it is a fairly standard glass-and-metal piece, even at this price we already have a top-quality device with a precisely crafted build.

The front is home to a large 6,39″ AMOLED display with thin bezels, a subtle but not too noticeable chin, and a teardrop notch. In the notch there is the front camera lens, and above it the earpiece speaker.

It also serves as the stereo function for the loudspeaker, but the audio output is very weak, and the final effect is barely noticeable.

The top edge includes a standard 3,5 mm audio jack, which is definitely welcome. There is also a secondary microphone for video recording. Another benefit is the infrared port for controlling home electronics (this sensor is also supported by software in the form of the Mi Remote app).

The bottom houses the USB type-C connector, the primary microphone, and an average loudspeaker.

The left side of the smartphone is fairly bare—there’s only a hybrid SIM tray for two SIM cards or for one SIM and one microSD memory card (up to 256 GB). It has a rounded edge that fits very well in your hand.

The right edge is shaped in a similar way and includes buttons for volume control, plus a button to turn the device on and off. Unfortunately, these buttons aren’t separated by any visual markings, but they’re placed well and pressing them is no problem.

On both sides, you can also see plastic strips for passing the signal through the device’s metal body. As for the back panel, its main feature is a trio of rear cameras that protrude from the smartphone’s body.

This issue can be fixed with the included case. Right under the camera lenses there’s also an LED flash. Below, you’ll find several labels—one of them is truly exceptional.

It’s the manufacturer’s logo, i.e. the Xiaomi company logo. It’s located at the bottom of the back panel and includes LED lighting—when charging or receiving notifications, it even blinks in different colors. It can blink to the rhythm of music, but only in the case of the built-in Music system app.

Because of the AMOLED panel placement, there’s no standard LED diode here; however, this feature is practical and properly complements the ambient display function for notifications.

Great AMOLED display

The 6.39″ AMOLED screen offers an aspect ratio of 19.5:9 and a total resolution of 2340 x 1080 pixels (Full HD+). Its sharpness maxes out at 403 ppi, covering nearly 86% of the front. From the factory, it’s tuned more toward warmer color tones—if you prefer a different look, you can adjust it in the settings.

In this case, black is really black, and the display viewing angles are excellent. The maximum brightness of 600 nits is enough even in daylight—considering the price category, it’s a cut above standard.

The minimum brightness is very good and doesn’t blind you even in complete darkness, and the display itself is protected by top-tier Gorilla Glass 5.

All in all, it’s a really solid AMOLED panel that the manufacturer even put into such an affordable device. The panel, its color rendering, and its functionality definitely deserve praise.

Snapdragon 710 sets you up for the upper mid-range

Inside, there’s an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 (2 x 2,2 GHz Kryo 360 Gold + 6 x 1,7 GHz Kryo 360 Silver) processor made using 10 nm technology. This fairly popular chip positions the smartphone in the mid-range, or even higher mid-range segment, and it’s also paired with a proven Adreno 616 graphics accelerator.

The smartphone’s performance is enough even for simpler multitasking—mobile gamers won’t be left sweating over mid-level details, and the phone doesn’t overheat easily. Just keep in mind it’s not a flagship-class processor.

Given the price, though, it’s again a sensible choice by the manufacturer. You can check the performance results in the included AnTuTu tests.

6 GB RAM, up to 128 GB storage + microSD

The phone comes with as much as 6 GB of RAM memory, which definitely benefits the speed and smoothness of the system and the phone’s everyday operation. There are two versions available, with 64 or 128 GB UFS 2.1 storage.

That first listed capacity should be sufficient, and the memory can also be expanded via the hybrid slot with a microSD card (up to 256 GB)—which is definitely a welcome bonus. By default, on the first boot, Android and the manufacturer’s custom skin will take a bit less than 11 GB from the total capacity.

Modern under-display fingerprint reader

It’s year 2019—and that also means the fingerprint reader finally arrives, hidden under the display. This technology is making its way into cheaper models more and more, and it’s no different here. The optical sensor reacts quickly, but with wet fingers you’ll run into issues.

Under normal conditions, though, the speed is very good and using this sensor isn’t problematic or time-consuming.

Android 9 Pie + MIUI 11

The device will come with a fairly up-to-date Android 9 Pie system, and users shouldn’t need to worry about bypassing anything even with an update to the latest Android 10. You’ll also appreciate the built-in digital balance feature, which provides smartphone usage statistics and options to set selected restrictions.

Good news also includes the presence of security updates for 01.10.2019. All that’s missing is the November security patch, which will likely arrive in one of the following software updates.

The phone also features the well-known graphical interface in the MIUI 11.3.3 version. Although early versions may have had optimization issues, everything is in order in the current version and the smartphone responds truly smoothly. It’s helped by the mentioned 6 GB of RAM and the app management that the new MIUI includes.

Design improvements are part of the new UI version, including a new font and a full-fledged dark mode. In this case, we truly recommend it—thanks to the AMOLED panel used. The black color, meaning turned-off pixels, can even save you some battery percentage.

On the back, there’s also a “wide” camera

A photo setup priced at around two hundred euros isn’t bad at all. The back offers a proven 48 MPx (f/1.8) main sensor, a 8 MPx ultrawide sensor, and a 2 MPx sensor for background blur—i.e., the “bokeh” effect.

There’s no shortage of an LED flash, HDR support, or a panorama mode. Video can be recorded in 4K (30 fps) or 1080p (60 fps) resolution. You’ll also like the super slow-motion video at 720p (960 fps), for which the manufacturer deserves a small nod.

The front camera will come with 32 MPx (f/2.0), and it’s housed in the previously mentioned display cutout in the shape of a droplet. It also includes HDR functionality and will offer 1080P video (30 fps). The camera control app is Xiaomi’s in-house solution, featuring a well-known version with the ability to switch modes and resolution from a menu at the top.

The software is finely tuned, and in this case the camera doesn’t tend to hesitate.

Photos in daylight are excellent—especially from the standard mode, which captures a 16 MPx photo using four-times pixel binning from the main camera. So we can call this sensor the dominant one, even though, in this specific case, the 8 MPx ultrawide sensor also pleasantly surprised us with its results.

The video is standard, and you’ll get better stabilization at 1080p. The situation is a bit worse at night—some compromises simply had to be made, and that’s exactly where the flagship model falls behind.

Original photos in full resolution are available at the following link.

In the gallery, we bring you a preview of photos taken in daylight, photos taken in poor lighting conditions, full-featured 48 MPx shots, but also ultrawide and “macro” photos.

Test video:

NFC for payments is included

In this case, the device’s connectivity is exemplary—even for the needs of a European customer. So you get full support for LTE networks, including the B20 band used here (800 MHz), Wi‑Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0 LE with aptXHD support, GPS, GALILEO, and GLONASS.

As for sensors, it comes with the standard set: a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a proximity sensor, and a compass. For carrying out payment transactions—for example via Google Pay—an NFC chip is included. You’ll also appreciate the infrared port for controlling home electronics, FM radio, and a universal USB Type‑C connector.

4030 mAh battery and 18W fast charging

On the battery and charging side, the model Mi 9 Lite offers equipment that today every mid-range smartphone should have. It’s a 4030 mAh battery, and it also includes fast 18W charging, with a charger included in the box from the factory.

The smartphone’s battery life is very good—it can handle a full workday, and in the evening it still has some reserve – roughly 30% battery capacity. Our full workday included active use of social media, a display at about 75% brightness, one hour of phone calls, one hour of watching Full HD videos, and occasional gaming.

Final verdict: A clear “buy” for 200 EUR

Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite is the perfect lightweight version of the flagship model. You get a solid processor, a very good Full HD+ AMOLED display, gradient color processing, and decent photos. It doesn’t miss out on the 4030 mAh battery or an NFC chip, and on top of that, the price is low.

Xiaomi has once again shown what it can do with affordable smartphones with the Mi 9 Lite model. This device’s quality is so high that all it would take is swapping the processor for a more powerful one, and it could be a full-fledged flagship. So we recommend buying the device using our discount coupon.

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An alternative for users who don’t need such a large display and such a high battery capacity is the Xiaomi Mi 9 SE, whose review we also brought to you on our Xiaomi Planet website.