Review of Xiaomi Mi 9 SE - a compact smartphone with a flagship camera for 25 thousand rubles

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The younger version of Mi 9, which you can control with one hand.

Table of contents

• Specifications
• Equipment
• Design
• Screen
• Sound
• Camera
• Performance
• Software
• Unlocking
• Autonomy
• Outcomes

Specifications

Colors	Piano Black, Ocean Blue and Lavender Violet
Display	5.77 inches, Full HD + (1,080 × 2,340 pixels), AMOLED
Platform	Qualcomm Snapdragon 712 (eight Kryo 360s up to 2.3 GHz)
RAM	6 GB
Built-in memory	64/128 GB, microSD cards not supported
Cameras	Main - 48 megapixel (main) + 13 megapixel (ultra wide-angle) + 8 megapixel (telephoto). Front - 20 MP
Shooting video	Up to 2160p at 30 FPS and up to 720p at 960 FPS (slo-mo)
Wireless interfaces	Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, NFC, infrared
Connectors	USB Type-C
Sensors	Fingerprint sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor, compass
Unlocking	Fingerprint, face, PIN
Operating system	Android 9.0 + MIUI 10
Battery	3070 mAh, fast charging supported
Dimensions (edit)	147, 5 × 70, 5 × 7, 45 mm
The weight	155 g

Equipment

The smartphone comes with a silicone case, a USB Type-C to mini-jack adapter, a paper clip, documentation and an adapter with USB and USB Type-C connectors.

Design

We got the Mi 9 SE in blue (or, as the manufacturer calls it, Ocean Blue). And the first thing that catches your eye: the smartphone is very bright. The overflows of the glossy back are visible even under the silicone case from the kit.

The second and most important ergonomic nuance is compactness. The smartphone can be used with one hand and grips tightly in the palm of your hand. In terms of dimensions, the gadget is very close to the iPhone X and iPhone XS. Those who are tired of "shovel" phablets will like it.

On the glossy back, there is the Mi logo, a triple camera module with flash and a million prints that remain after touching. The ultra-wide-angle lens has a silver trim. The module protrudes indecently, because of this, the smartphone staggers a lot in a horizontal position.

On the upper edge there is a microphone and an infrared sensor for controlling a smart home. On the left is a slot for two nanoSIMs (microSD is not supported). On the right is the power button and the volume key, which are a little annoying with a slight backlash. Bottom - USB Type-C jack and speaker holes.

In the box we found a black translucent silicone case - this is what Xiaomi comes with most smartphones. But even it does not protect the camera module protruding several millimeters.

There are many familiar solutions in the design of Mi 9 SE, but this does not devalue its main advantage - convenience. If you want a not very expensive smartphone with the makings of a flagship, but phablets scare you, then this model from Xiaomi is one of the few suitable solutions.

Screen

The Mi 9 SE has an AMOLED screen with nice color calibration and an excellent margin of brightness. You can find fault with the incorrect display of some light shades at an angle, but this is not critical. There are settings for color temperature and contrast.

The keyhole is the trend of 2019. Admiration is gone, but the solution still seems to be excellent: the screen feels frameless, and the front camera does not hide in the body using inconvenient mechanisms. In addition, the Mi 9 SE has managed to achieve really thin bezels. Even the lower edge, which usually spoils the whole picture, is slightly wider than the side ones.

Additional features include a reading mode that changes the color temperature and a local Always On Display that displays the time and date on the locked screen.

Sound

The sound of the Mi 9 SE is the same as that of most smartphones in this price range: without pretensions to any elaboration of the scene and with a lack of bass. There is only one speaker here.

There are no headphones included, but there is an adapter for yours.

Camera

The module includes a 48MP main sensor, a 13MP ultra-wide angle and an 8MP telephoto lens.

In normal mode, the main camera shoots footage with a resolution of 12 megapixels. During the day, the photos are excellent, with a lack of light - noticeably worse. Sometimes the "Night" mode saves, but it still, like on Mi 9, works slowly and requires you not to move the smartphone when shooting for a few seconds. Apparently, his algorithms are associated with a longer estimation of the amount of light in the frame.

A telephoto lens only works in good light. In the evening and in poorly lit rooms, zoomed footage is shot with the main camera, and then cropped.

The ultra-wide-angle lens can be turned on in any lighting, but if it is unimportant, the camera is completely ineffective: the average aperture affects.

Here are examples of pictures taken with the Mi 9 SE.

The picture was taken with the main lens

Photo taken with a telephoto lens

The picture was taken with an ultra wide-angle lens.

The picture was taken with the main lens

Photo taken with a telephoto lens

The picture was taken with an ultra wide-angle lens.

The picture was taken with the main lens

Photo taken with a telephoto lens

The picture was taken with an ultra wide-angle lens.

The picture was taken with the main lens

Photo taken with a telephoto lens

The picture was taken with an ultra wide-angle lens.

The picture was taken with the main lens

The picture was taken with an ultra wide-angle lens.

The photo was taken with the main lens in the "Night" mode

The picture was taken with the main lens

The picture was taken with an ultra wide-angle lens.

The photo was taken with the main lens in the "Night" mode

The picture was taken with the main lens

The picture was taken with an ultra wide-angle lens.

The photo was taken with the main lens in the "Night" mode

The picture was taken with the main lens

The picture was taken with an ultra wide-angle lens.

The photo was taken with the main lens in the "Night" mode

When shooting with the front camera, beautification is initially enabled: it is very popular in China. If you disable "Enhance", then the selfie camera will show a good and honest result. The sensor here Xiaomi has left the flagship - at 20 megapixels.

You can also take portraits with the Mi 9 SE camera. The result is not for everybody, because almost all manufacturers implement this function in different ways: they differ in smoothing of edges, bokeh and contrast. Our portraits, for example, turned out to be slightly lightened, and the bokeh without processing was terribly unnatural. The edges were gripped confidently.

Portrait without processing

Portrait processed in the Bokeh app

I processed the second portrait in the standard Bokeh application - with blurred highlights, the bokeh became even less natural, but a little prettier.

The Mi 9 SE camera can capture 48-megapixel footage. This function still doesn't seem important to me, and here's why:

• The megapixels of a smartphone camera are completely different from those of full-size cameras. Here, pixels are much smaller, and the image quality is improved using software processing.
• The potential of the lens is revealed in good lighting conditions. If it is dark in the frame space, adjacent pixels are combined into one, and the output is a 12 megapixel image. Like a regular smartphone camera without Hi-Fi specifications.
• 48-megapixel images take up about five times the space. If you have a Mi 9 SE with 64 GB of memory on board, you fill them up too quickly with such frames. Recall that microSD cards are not supported here.
• It takes a long time. The mode button is located on the Pro tab of the standard camera application, and shooting takes a few seconds.

Conclusion: The Mi 9 SE has a great camera that can fail at night, and the 48MP mode is an optional feature that you probably won't use.

Performance

The smartphone is equipped with Snapdragon 712 clocked at up to 2.3 GHz, as well as 6 GB of RAM. The processor is not top-end, but it is still quite relevant: it copes with ordinary tasks, a bunch of applications and PUBG at maximum graphics settings.

In synthetic tests, the Mi 9 SE loses to the flagships, but this is not felt when working with the device. For several days, the smartphone made me wait only when processing photos, and lags began only when the battery was almost discharged.

Here are the results of the synthetic tests:

• Geekbench in single-core mode - 1,877 points;
• Geekbench in multi-core mode - 5,966 points;
• AnTuTu - 178,976 points.

Judging by the AnTuTu rating, in terms of performance, the Mi 9 SE can be compared to the Redmi Note 7 Pro and Vivo V15 Pro.

Software

The smartphone runs MIUI 10 - the same operating system as the older version of Mi 9. It is a friendly and cute shell that works in a clear and logical way. The main disadvantage is the same: the abundance of advertising recommendations and pre-installed applications, not all of which you will need and not all of which can be removed.

Application icons are collected here not on a separate screen, like most skins on Android, but on the desktop. This helps not to clutter up the system with unnecessary programs.

In the settings, you can turn on the dark mode. In theory, using it saves battery, but someone may like it for aesthetic reasons.

Other MIUI chips remained in place: their gestures, swipe settings like in the iPhone, cloning of Second Space applications, duplicating the system under a separate password and helping to additionally classify some of the data.

Unlocking

The main way to unlock is by fingerprint. The sensor is in the screen - where you used to hold your thumb when lifting your smartphone. Unlocking is quickly configured, works smartly and correctly. No complaints.

An alternative way to unlock is by face. It works even faster, but it is unsafe and useless in the dark.

Autonomy

Battery capacity - 3,070 mAh. These are rather modest figures. According to my feelings, the smartphone confidently holds up to the nightstand, but if you use it constantly or in an area with poor connection, the device may be discharged earlier.

Quick Charge 4+ fast charging supported. The smartphone is sold with an 18-watt adapter. Wireless charging is not supported.

Outcomes

Mi 9 SE is a smartphone with an NFC chip, an in-screen fingerprint sensor, a serious flagship camera (at least one of the three), an up-to-date processor in 2019, and bright color modifications. But the main thing in this smartphone is its size and how it fits in the hand. The gadget may appeal to those who like to take pictures and are tired of smartphones that can hardly fit into their pockets.

The price of the version with 64 GB of memory in the official Xiaomi store will be 24,990 rubles, modifications with 128 GB - 27,990 rubles. The Mi 9 SE will go on sale on May 23rd and will be available in Ocean Blue and Piano Black colors.