[REVIEW] Xiaomi Mi 9 SE is the smartphone many have been waiting for for a very long time

The year is 2019, and the average smartphone display size keeps growing. The problem on the market is finding smartphones with a display size below 6”, and especially ones that you can comfortably use with one hand.

Of course, we don’t mean older models with outdated hardware. Hardware is actually the second issue — once you do find a more compact smartphone, its specs are usually heavily cut down and it tends to belong to the lower segment.

But that’s where Chinese Xiaomi comes in with the Xiaomi Mi 9 SE model — a lighter version of the Mi 9 flagship. Xiaomi has finally created a smartphone we’ve all been waiting for for so long.

Check the best prices for Xiaomi Mi 9 se

We tested the Mi 9 SE for several weeks, and in our detailed review we’ll show you what makes this piece so exceptional in today’s world.

The packaging doesn’t surprise with anything

A smartphone, a charging adapter, a USB Type-C cable, a protective rubber case, and an English manual. The package includes only the necessary accessories, which — in this configuration — have become something of a standard for Xiaomi.

We’d be looking for headphones in vain, but most users still use their favorite ones. If you don’t have any yet, we — along with hundreds of satisfied Slovak and Czech users — recommend Redmi AirDots.

The main reason behind Mi 9 SE’s big success

Let’s start gradually, from the outside. The build design of the Xiaomi Mi 9 SE smartphone is an absolute magnet and also the reason it’s set up for success. Mi 9 SE finally solves the problem of overly large displays — or, more precisely, oversized smartphone designs.

Yes, when you look at the specs for the first time, you might think that the 5.97" display isn’t small at all. You’re right. What’s truly impressive, though, is how Xiaomi managed to fit it into a body sized 147.5 x 70.5 x 7.5 mm. The weight of 155 grams is also very pleasant.

The key benchmark for comfortable one-handed operation is dimensions up to 150 mm in height and 70 mm in width. These Mi 9 SE dimensions meet that exactly. Xiaomi claims that the Mi 9 SE’s size is the same as smartphones with 5.1″ displays.

Xiaomi engineers reduced the bezels around the display to a true minimum, and from the sides and from the top the phone looks bezel-less. The bottom chin is still there in this case too, but it’s only a few mm. The display therefore makes up more than 90 % of the entire front area.

One-handed smartphone control is truly convenient. In the editorial office, we’re used to last year’s Mi 8-series with a 6,21“ display, and the moment we picked up the Mi 9 SE, we immediately felt a huge difference in size. The phone fits in the hand like it was poured, and with an average-size palm you can reach almost every spot on the display.

Another aspect that makes it comfortable to use—and especially feels great—is the well-made glass construction. In terms of quality, it belongs to the category of the most expensive flagship models, yet the price is on par with the mid-range class.

So the glass is also on the back, and the blue color we had available looks really attractive. The back panel is protected by tough Gorilla Glass 5, while the side frames are made of polished metal.

The most noticeable element on the back is the camera, which protrudes significantly. According to our measurements, it’s as much as 1,9 mm. Even the included protective case doesn’t fully cover it. The camera sticks out more than on the Mi 8 and Mi 9, mainly thanks to the thin construction. Luckily, the lenses are protected by a durable sapphire glass that can handle even tougher objects. Under the trio of cameras, you’ll find dual dual-LED fill light diodes.

The luxurious glass construction and the polished metal frame around the edges literally attract fingerprints. You’ll need to polish the phone from time to time. In your hand it sits well, but with a bit of sweat or any liquid on your palm, it can tend to slip.

It’s in the polished metal frame that several components are located. At the top you’ll find the infrared port, and next to it there’s an opening for the ambient sound sensor – a microphone. On the top edge of the display, above the front camera, there’s a thin opening for the earpiece speaker.

On the right side, you’ll find two buttons. It’s traditionally the power-off button and the combined button for volume control. On the left side, there’s the SIM card tray.

At the bottom of the frame there are two identical perforated cutouts on the sides. Mi 9 SE has only one speaker, and it’s placed in the right cutout. Under the left one, the microphone for communication is hidden. Between the cutouts, there’s a USB C connector.

A pleasure to watch

As we already mentioned, the display takes up as much as 90,47 % of the phone’s front area. It’s an AMOLED panel from Samsung with a 5.97-inch diagonal. The display resolution is 2340×1080 px with an aspect ratio of 19:9. From these specs we get a pixel density of 432 ppi. Typical brightness is around 430 nits, and maximum brightness reaches up to 600 nits. The contrast is 60000:1 and the color gamut is NTSC 103.8%.

The display offers a wide range of settings, from the standard mode to color temperature options, reading mode, and even a night mode.

It supports HDR display and the Always on display function, which in the Slovak menu is called Ambient display. This function has a wide range of settings. Besides the clock and date, it also shows ambient event notifications, replacing the missing notification LED diode.

As is generally known with AMOLED displays, their color rendering is excellent. Especially black is truly black, and that also applies to the Mi 9 SE display. Even when viewing the screen from a side angle, colors and overall image quality aren’t noticeably distorted. This is also supported by the color range in the color space – gamut – which is as high as 103.8%.

The color settings have three modes: “warm”, “cool”, and “default”, where the user can choose any color rendering scale. Contrast adjustment is limited by the allowed or disabled reading mode.

A separate chapter is the built-in fingerprint sensor. It works, but its accuracy and speed still aren’t perfect. Many times you need to place your finger multiple times, especially when your finger is even slightly damp or when it’s a little dirty. Even though we configured the thumbprint with the phone held in one hand, one-handed unlocking is still difficult.

After applying an additional unbranded tempered glass screen protector, the fingerprint unlock performance got noticeably worse. A slight improvement came after configuring the same fingerprints again after applying the glass. Still, face unlock can be used—it works instantly and flawlessly even in low light.

We also recommend saving one finger and scanning it multiple times to improve the unlock accuracy. A durable Gorilla Glass 5 screen protects the display and adds resilience.

Enough power in a small body

Xiaomi Mi 9 SE is equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 712 chipset. It runs on a 10 nm processor and a sophisticated multi-core Qualcomm AI Engine consisting of Kryo 360 cores and an Adreno 616 graphics chip. The base working frequency of the CPU cores is 2,3 GHz.

Snapdragon 712 includes AI features, just like support for QuickCharge 4.0+. AI is one of the strongest weapons of Snapdragon 712. It improves gameplay and handles the flawless operation of demanding applications.

When testing the processor in the Geekbench 4 app, we measured a score of 5993 points in the multi-core test. The single-core test returned a score of 1914 points. The processor is paired with dual-channel LPDDR4x (1866 MHz) RAM with a capacity of 6 GB. Our phone version has 64 GB of internal storage. These specs are enough to achieve roughly 177 000 points in the AnTuTu test.

The Xiaomi Mi 9 SE may not impress with raw performance, but it also won’t disappoint. It handles multitasking without the slightest problem, and you can even play a graphically demanding game on it. The Mi 9 SE also includes a special gaming mode, where the smartphone boosts its performance to the maximum. It also offers various tools for gamers, such as screen recording.

Considering the size of this fairly small phone, the obtained performance results are at most good enough.

Operating system

As all Xiaomi fans surely know, their favorite phones use the Android operating system, and most of them also come with their own MIUI skin. That’s the case here as well, and our Xiaomi Mi 9 SE runs on Android 9 Pie. At the time of writing the review, the device has version 10.2.9.0 installed.

In the future, an Android OS update to version Q is planned for this phone, along with an update of the MIUI skin to version 11.

We won’t be introducing MIUI—it’s something everyone already knows well. The advantages of this skin are, as always, simplicity and clarity, while still keeping hardware and power requirements low. In the past, global MIUI versions sometimes included untranslated items, mainly deep inside menu settings.

They also often had some bugs or preinstalled, unnecessary Chinese apps that couldn’t be removed. Those times are gone, and the global MIUI version is now a full-featured, trouble-free software package for us.

We do have a couple of complaints, though maybe they’re just subjective. The first is the occasional misbehavior of the auto brightness setting. Especially when outdoor lighting is reduced, the display brightness is dropped to the minimum.

There wouldn’t be anything wrong with it if the minimum weren’t so low that it becomes hard to read information from the screen. We repeatedly had to increase the brightness manually after pulling down the shade. This is more of a software issue that could be fixed in the future.

The second complaint is hiding the remaining battery percentage inside the battery icon. This is probably a developer gimmick to save space in the top status bar. There’s less space thanks to the notch. When Xiaomi was making phones with screens without notches (thankfully that era is coming back), the percentages were shown next to the battery icon. A much more convenient solution.

However, both of our complaints can be removed—or at least fixed—even at home. There are plenty of different alternative apps or guides on the internet.

Enough whining, let’s give credit where it’s due. After turning on the phone and going through a few initial settings, it’s ready to use. We appreciate the manufacturer’s efforts to protect privacy—especially if the phone was reset without signing out the previous user from the Mi Account. In that case, you won’t easily be able to unlock the phone—if at all. –

In the initial setup, the phone will ask whether you want to use MIUI in the traditional mode with three bottom on-screen buttons (menu, home, and back), or an innovative way – gestures. In that case, the back gesture means swiping your finger from any edge toward the center. By swiping your finger upward from the bottom edge, you’ll return to the home screen.

If you want to bring up the recent apps, just swipe your finger up from the bottom edge and stop it while your finger is still on the display. Which app menu you open depends on where and how you tap—then you confirm by clicking the app’s icon. The advantage of gesture control is a larger screen area, because the buttons don’t take up space on the display.

You won’t find the app menu in MIUI itself. The system uses a single home screen, and the additional ones you need are accessed by swiping left and right. The number of extra screens depends on how many apps, games, or shortcuts you have on your workspaces, or how you organize things into folders. The nice part is that you can set the icon grid layout on the home screens. We’re using a 5×6 layout.

We have to highlight the rich notification settings. Whether it’s general notification settings and showing individual parameters on the top bar, or managing notifications for specific apps. The options are almost unlimited, so you can customize your app notifications down to the smallest details.

When we’re talking about notifications, let’s also mention the notification panel icons. They, too, have different setting options. Adding or removing specific icons is a breeze, and you can also arrange their order however you like. Simply MIUI.

A detailed menu of button settings is available only in MIUI as well, and configuring it is something we always do after turning on a new phone. The large number of different button combinations will also help you set up a comfortable way of using your phone to match your preferences. By combining different buttons and the length of how long you press them, you can, for example, launch the camera, the flashlight, or Google Now, as well as many other functions.

Let’s mention two more popular features that we use in MIUI. One of them is app lock, where you can choose any app and lock it with the selected password, PIN, or pattern to prevent unwanted use.

We also like call recording, because sometimes there isn’t enough space in human memory to store information, and pen and paper aren’t always at hand. Call recording has different settings options too, and it doesn’t feel intrusive or annoying for anyone on either side.

You’ll charge often, but at least quickly

The Li-Polymer battery is a component that was optimized to save cost, mainly thanks to the device’s size and weight. These days, with almost constant data transfer, Bluetooth, and GPS use, the 3070 mAh value is very low. Unfortunately, that’s also true for a smaller phone and, on average, a smaller display.

With careful phone usage without more demanding operations, you can typically get around 24 to 30 hours. Our testing showed the screen-on time is around 4 hours, which is an average result.

We’re a bit disappointed that wireless charging is missing, especially since more and more high-power wireless chargers are hitting the market. What did please and pleasantly surprise us is support for fast charging at up to 18 W. From 10% to 50% the phone is charged in 21 minutes. In another 21 minutes, we reached 80 %. In the end, charging slows down a bit. The total charging time from 10 to 100% was 80 minutes.

The camera won’t surprise you, or disappoint

The Mi 9 SE has four cameras right away.

On the back of the smartphone, there are three sensors. The primary one is the Sony IMX586 Exmor RS with a resolution of 48 MP. It has a wide-angle lens with an f/1,75 focal aperture. The pixel size in this case is 0.800 µm, and the ISO range runs from 100 to 3200.

The second sensor is an Omnivision OV8856 with a resolution of 8 Mpx, and it’s a telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom. The focal aperture is f/2.4 and the pixel size is 1.120 µm. The trio is completed by a Samsung S5K3L6 sensor with a resolution of 13 MPx. The pixel size is 1.12 µm and the focal aperture is f/2.4. This sensor features an ultra-wide lens with a field of view of up to 123 degrees.

Xiaomi Mi 9 SE can shoot 4K videos at 30 fps, or slow-motion video at up to 960 fps.

FullHD video sample:

As for the camera app, it is the standard one we already know from Xiaomi. It offers basic features like the ability to switch modes, and includes portrait mode, manual mode, Panorama, night mode, and slow-motion video.

The user can use optical zoom or the capabilities of the ultra-wide-angle sensor. When shooting macro shots, there is also no need to change the mode or settings. Just move the smartphone closer to the subject and autofocus will do the rest.

Of course, HDR capture support is also here, and a dual LED flash positioned below the trio of cameras provides illumination. We tested the camera in various conditions. In normal daylight, it produces truly beautiful shots with very good dynamic range. The colors in the photos are vivid, sometimes even a bit over-enhanced, but it is enough to turn off the AI mode.

As the light fades, photo quality gets worse. Night shots are of lower quality, but the advantage is at least Night mode, which gets the most out of the camera. Thanks to Night mode, night photos are at least somewhat usable.

Editor's note: The photos in the review were resized; you can view all photos in the original resolution at this link.

Daytime photos

Interior

48 MPx photos

You can find more 48 MPx photos in the original resolution at this link.

Night photos

Macro

At the front is the selfie camera in the display cutout. It is a 20 MPx SONY IMX576 Exmor RS sensor. The focal aperture is f/2.0 and the pixel size is 1.0 µm. When capturing shots, the selfie camera uses artificial intelligence elements. Depending on the environment in which the photo is taken, it adjusts the settings so the result is as good as possible.

Of course, HDR support is also included, and in low light the selfie camera uses the display brightness for illumination. Even when taking a selfie, the user can use one of the filters and create a photo according to their preferences. The front camera in Mi 9 SE has a beautification mode, in which it automatically enhances the person being photographed.

A group selfie feature is also available. With the front camera, it is possible to record video in H.264 codec as well as H.265. The frame rate is 30 per second for 1080p video, and the same applies to HD video 720p.

No stereo speakers or jack

Even though there are identical cutouts at the bottom resembling speaker outputs, sound comes only from one of them. The speaker is located to the right of the USB C connector. On the left is the microphone opening. There is no second speaker or stereo sound. Nevertheless, the sound quality is high.

The volume is surprisingly high, and even at maximum levels there is no resonance or other unwanted effects. The highs are clean, and the bass effect is surprisingly good. You won't find a 3.5 mm jack in the phone, and to use headphones you'll have to use the included adapter or wireless Bluetooth. It is version 5.0.

Connectivity

When we mention Bluetooth version 5.0, it has the LE label — low energy — so it has low power consumption. In addition, the SE model also comes with an IR port and the popular NFC module. We tested it with a supported Google Pay app. Payments went through without any issues, with no need to enter a PIN code on the terminals.

As for navigation, the smartphone supports a wide range of navigation systems: A-GPS, GPS, Glonass, Galileo, and Beidou. The WiFi interface can be used with the protocol 802.11a/b/g/n/ac. The phone supports dual-band WiFi, i.e. 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz.

Mobile networks in our global version of the phone are available in full range. There’s no shortage of support for LTE band B20, so there’s no problem using LTE networks of all Slovak mobile operators. We performed a data throughput test in LTE on the Orange operator’s network, as well as the 3G and connection speed via WiFi.

Compact smartphone with great specs and a good price

Xiaomi Mi 9 SE is a phone designed for a very specific customer. Compared to the flagship-level equipment, it lacks a few details. What makes it exceptional is its size and weight. Given its dimensions, the Mi 9 SE’s specs are above average. If you’re looking for a smaller phone with really solid equipment, the Mi 9 SE is the ideal choice.

Right from the first glance and the feel of the phone in your hand, it’s clear to the user that it’s not a cheap Chinese toy. Glass and polished metal round out the sense of luxury. However, the fairly low price—especially from global sellers—doesn’t suggest you’re holding a true gem. If we sum up all the parameters: appearance and dimensions paired with a great price, we’d say the Mi 9 SE has no real competitors on the market.