A "battle angel" that looks good and can fight! Xiaomi 9 in-depth gaming machine review

Just last week on February 20, at the Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium, Xiaomi 9, known as Battle Angel, was finally unveiled. Although it had almost been fully released by Xiaomi executives on Weibo, it was only There is still suspense about the price. But for most consumers and industry practitioners like me, the update of Xiaomi's digital mobile phone series means huge traffic and popularity. It has a force that cannot be ignored in the field of domestic mobile phones.

Recall that since Xiaomi released its first mobile phone in 2011, excluding the S series, it has released a total of eight digital series flagships. Each year at the same time, Xiaomi has the strongest configuration and extremely high performance among Android phones. The price/performance ratio is the life attribute of the digital series. The Mi 9 released this time is no exception. Even though the Snapdragon 855 and the starting price of 2999 are 1,000 yuan more radical than the first generation, we can still smell the familiar "smell of the king of cost performance" from Xiaomi 9.

But in addition, in those areas where Xiaomi’s digital series did not pay attention to or did not do it to the extreme before, especially Xiaomi 8 and even the appearance ID design that has been criticized before, this time Xiaomi 9 is better than before Any generation of products is more sincere. With the addition of three rear cameras, 20W wireless flash charging, 27W wired fast charging, 12GB storage, etc., the Snapdragon 855 is not so dazzling. I believe it will also change the past consumers’ prejudice against Xiaomi’s stacked configuration. The editor said at the weekend I have taken some time to taste Xiaomi Mi 9. My personal objective and subjective views on this flagship are all recorded in this article. I hope it will be helpful to you in your future purchase.

Designed holographic phantom appearance

Friends who are familiar with Xiaomi mobile phones should know that the original Xiaomi mobile phone is difficult to associate with the word design. Lei Jun has no design at all. It is the best design that has caused Xiaomi phones to fall into the abyss over the years. Fortunately, the artistic journey of a steel plate in Xiaomi 4 and the ceramic body of the exclusive version of Xiaomi 6 have accumulated a good reputation. As for Xiaomi 8, it is a matter of opinion.

The appearance design of Xiaomi Mi 9 uses more materials this time. It does not use the gradient color that was very popular last year, but chooses holographic magic color, which can show up under the refraction of light at different angles. The colorful flowing colors are relatively more fantastic and eye-catching than gradient colors. From a technical point of view, the nano-holographic texture technology used on the back of Xiaomi Mi 9 has 170 million nano-gratings carved into the back area, combined with advanced optics With brightening coating, the theme color will also blend with the ambient color, making it very unified and coordinated.

On the whole, the design of Xiaomi Mi 9 completely presents its own style compared to before. First of all, the water drop screen design is adopted for the first time on the digital series. However, the water drop part at the top of the screen is not softened enough and is a bit stiff. Fortunately, users can choose between beauty tip or water drop display in the design. At least the front design can no longer be inconsistent. So-called fruit powder tends to be homogeneous.

At the same time, Xiaomi Mi 9 has greatly reduced the width of the screen chin based on the previous model. Thanks to the introduction of a narrower screen module, new COF process and smart antenna switching technology, From a data perspective, the bonus is half narrower than that of Xiaomi Mi 8, which can be said to be the first-class level among similar models.

In terms of screen, Xiaomi Mi 9 uses a 6.39-inch 19.5:9 ratio AMOLED water drop full screen. Due to the addition of water droplets, the screen-to-body ratio reaches 90.7. Together with the enhanced Sunshine Screen 2.0 and image quality optimization and other technologies, it ensures Screen look and feel for outdoor users.

Let’s go back to the back. The back cover of Xiaomi Mi 9 uses a fully curved design. The back cover is penetrated by an arc, which directly reduces the visual thickness. It feels light and thin and fits the palm of your hand very well. The overall grip feels very good for the phone in actual experience.

The camera is placed below. The surface of the three vertical cameras on the back of Xiaomi 9 is covered with a layer of Super Black coating, and is supplemented by a 243mm2 sapphire lens protection film, which will not cause the camera to be easily scratched, and the integration is better. .

It is worth mentioning that the camera also has a holographic angel eye design. The decorative ring of the first lens will produce similar color changes to the body. It is psychedelic and colorful, which is the finishing touch.

As we have longed for, all versions of Xiaomi Mi 9 are equipped with fifth-generation screen fingerprint recognition technology. Mom no longer has to worry about digging a hole in the back when buying the beggar version. Different from the previous screen fingerprint version of Xiaomi 8, the screen fingerprint of Xiaomi 9 does not need to be pressed hard this time, just touch it lightly. At the same time, the use in strong light, dry hands and low temperature scenarios has been optimized, and the unlocking time and accuracy of the phone have been improved in almost all scenarios.

In terms of special effects, Xiaomi Mi 9 has four built-in screen fingerprint unlocking effects, namely starlight, streamer, metal and pulse. Users are still worried about personalization settings.

In terms of functionality, the screen fingerprint recognition of Xiaomi 9 has added a quick operation function. After unlocking and entering the desktop, you can directly slide to open scan, payment code, launch Xiaoai classmates and other functions. You decide your own preferences. For example, it is very convenient to directly activate the payment code.

In terms of performance, Snapdragon 855 needs no introduction

Since it looks good and can play games, Xiaomi Mi 9 is obviously inseparable from Snapdragon 855 in terms of performance. The highest frequency can reach 2.84GHz. The single-core performance is improved by up to 45% compared to the Snapdragon 845. The GPU uses the new Adren 640, and its performance is 20 times higher than that of the Snapdragon 845. Just looking at the numbers is already very shocking. First, let’s run the AnTuTu benchmark.

We can see from the AnTuTu benchmark that although the score of 369840 is not as high as what Lei Jun posted on Weibo before, it is scary enough, about 100,000 points higher than Xiaomi Mi 8. So in terms of performance, you can rest assured.

Of course, running scores can only be used as a simple reference basis, so the author chose "Honor of Kings" and "Stimulating Battlefield" as test games. First, let’s take a look at Honor of Kings. Its graphics have been greatly enhanced after the major version update, and its overall performance has higher requirements for mobile phone performance than before.

The author played the game after turning on high frame rate mode, ultra-high image quality, high particle quality and high resolution. The game frame rate of Xiaomi Mi 9 was relatively stable at around 60, and the entire game was basically run at full frame. In the process, I played five or six games and never experienced any lag.

Next, let’s test "Exciting Battlefield". First, adjust the game quality to high-definition quality and ultra-high frame rate before running the game. Unsurprisingly, the author did not experience any lagging, and the whole process was stable and high-definition. The frame rate is running, and the overall heat control is relatively good.

Of course, in addition to its powerful hardware, Xiaomi Mi 9 also debuts the Mi Turbo system-level acceleration solution. The principle is to improve the fragmentation recovery mechanism of flash memory and file systems by optimizing I/O access and file systems. After 18 months of simulated aging, Xiaomi Mi 9 reduced lag by 35% through Mi Turbo. Although it takes time after actual testing Test, but relying on strong hardware support, we definitely don’t need to worry.

The rear triple-focal-length triple-camera DxOMark score is 107 points

For most people who see Xiaomi Mi 9, in addition to the stunning color scheme and excellent unique feel, it is equipped with Sony 4800 The AI ??triple camera of the megapixel camera has also surprised many people, and its DxOMark score of 107 is also among the best.

Xiaomi, which was released last year, has made great progress in taking pictures. The score of Xiaomi MIX 3 on the DxOMark list also confirms Xiaomi’s efforts over the past year. Even the Redmi Note7, which mainly sells thousand yuan phones, has Great photo effects. This time Xiaomi Mi 9 uses a Sony 48MP telephoto and ultra-wide-angle three-camera combination. The appearance design adopts a rear vertical design, which corresponds to three different focal lengths. This solution is relatively common nowadays.

The main lens of the three cameras is IMX586 from Sony, which supports four-in-one pixel synthesis and has a 1/2-inch base.

It can produce 48-megapixel photos through pixel rearrangement. The second lens is a 12-megapixel telephoto lens that Xiaomi has used many times for background blur in portrait mode. There is also a newly added 16 million pixels, which has a 120 ultra-wide-angle lens, which will bring a broader wide-angle photography experience.

As for the front camera, the front camera has 20 million pixels, which integrates all Xiaomi’s beauty information. In addition, Xiaomi Mi 9 has also exclusively cooperated with Douyin, so you can add Douyin-related special effects and background music when shooting. Friends who like to take Douyin shots are in luck.

Judging from the sample photos taken by the author, whether it is indoors or outdoors, the white balance of Xiaomi Mi 9's photos is excellent enough, very close to the naked eye, and there is very little color cast. Especially when shooting subjects such as police officers or plants, thanks to the application of Xiaomi Mi 9 camera AI technology, extremely fast intelligent scene recognition provides good post-production adjustments.

After several generations of upgrades and adjustments by Xiaomi, Super Night Scene has reached the current top level. The sample with Super Night Scene turned on is quite good in dark details and overall brightness of the picture. Of course, if you like something a little more silly Operation, the AI-based night scene recognition can also help you easily take beautiful night scene photos.

At the Xiaomi 9 press conference, the ultra-wide-angle mode was also highly praised by Lei Jun. In addition to manually turning it on, Xiaomi 9 will also analyze the picture in the viewfinder and the system will automatically suggest Whether you turn on the ultra-wide-angle mode, the photo will be more intelligent. I can see from the photos taken in the advertisement that the pictures taken using the ultra-wide angle are more visually impactful and tense, and generally provide a different perspective than the ordinary photo mode.

27W wired fast charging, visibly fast!

Perhaps because the performance and photography of Xiaomi Mi 9 are too powerful, many people have overlooked the advantage of good battery life. Although the built-in 3300 mAh battery is not very eye-catching, the huge improvement in charging is still Very good, both wired and wireless.

First of all, in terms of wired fast charging, Xiaomi Mi 9 uses a new generation charging head that is larger than its predecessor and has a maximum power of 27W (9V 3A, 12V 2.25A, 20V 1.35A). . Before the battery reaches 80, Xiaomi Mi 9 can charge about 20 in 10 minutes and 59 in half an hour. Basically, it can be fully charged in about 1 hour and 10 minutes.

At the same time, Xiaomi has designed a brand new wireless charger for Xiaomi 9. With the original adapter of Xiaomi 9, the maximum output power can reach 20W, which is far ahead of all mass-produced wireless chargers on the market. Charge your phone. As for the specific wireless charging rate and effect, please stay tuned for our subsequent evaluation content.

About system details

Although the Mi 9 released this time still has built-in MIUI10, Xiaomi has still added a lot of functions to this new machine. Due to the A-screen design , its own light-emitting characteristics determine the newly added Dark Mode to make the whole machine more power-saving. After it is turned on, almost all settings interfaces and built-in App interfaces will have a dark background.

Starting from Xiaomi MIX3, Xiaomi has added independent AI keys for Xiao Ai on its flagship phones. And this physical button about Xiao Ai has been updated more deeply in Xiaomi Mi 9.

The independent AI key equipped on the Xiaomi Mi 9 body has added convenient functions, which means that functions commonly used in life are aggregated into shortcuts, and users can also create their own personalized shortcuts.

Although the screen display function is not new, the 16 clock styles and background images are more personalized than before. When you lift the phone to see the time, you no longer need to press the power button repeatedly.

On Xiaomi Mi 9, we can also see the return of some small functional factors that have been highly praised in the past, such as infrared remote control, NFC, etc. Among them, NFC transaction speed is increased by 30%, making transactions more convenient. Dual-frequency GPS supports L1 and L5 dual frequency bands, making positioning more accurate.

Written at the end

If I first saw the 48-megapixel Sony camera, Snapdragon 855 and top-level fast charging, the starting price of 3599 or even 3999 yuan would not make me feel at all. Accident. Going back to Xiaomi 9, at the price range of 2,999 yuan, it does seem a bit invincible. It’s no wonder why Huang Zhang was anxious after the press conference.

In general, Xiaomi Mi 9 has a dazzling design, the strongest performance at the moment, the fastest wireless charging in terms of data, and a top-notch rear three-camera. Especially in terms of industrial design, Xiaomi Mi 9 has probably achieved the best level so far. At the press conference, Lei Jun said that Xiaomi 9 has a lot of ready stock. If you can buy it, Xiaomi 9 is currently the most worth buying flagship phone in the 3,000 yuan price range, without any rival!