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Photo by Shirley Hirst from Pixabay
While Xiaomi's Mi 9 Lite hit stores in September of 2019, Xiaomi's Mi 9 went on sale in March of 2019.
In this article, we see how the Mi 9 and the Mi 9 Lite compare to each other to help you decide and see which one of these is the right one for you.
If you have the time, click here to skip the spoilers and continue to the full comparison.
The Mi 9 is more expensive than the Mi 9 Lite, but considering its features, its sibling is the best option.
It features better performance (+77%) and better glass protection. But with the Mi 9 Lite, you can get external storage.
The Mi 9 also features a telephoto lens (+41 mm) and wireless charging. But the Mi 9 Lite also brings a headphone jack.
Keep in mind that these are both great devices as they achieved a pretty even score.
If you're ignoring carrier offers, you can spare close to $83. You don't need to pay more to get more.
Yes, of course. It absolutely is a high-end smartphone, in my opinion.
Yes! It didn't age much, and it also depends on the price.
You'll rarely (if ever) find these two with the same price tag. Remember that when you're comparing the two models.
You'll also see down below a "Tek-Score" for every section that we analyze. We evaluated every quantifiable specification, so you can better understand the difference between the two. You'll find a global score at the end, which can help you compare to other phones if you aren't sure about these two.
This score is based on research from Globalwebindex.com on what buyers are looking for when purchasing a smartphone.
For additional information regarding our smartphone comparisons, check this FAQ.
You're going to find a red or green bar next to some features. That's to show how they relate to the ones from similarly priced smartphones.
Here is their competitors' full list: but we only include smartphones with price tags from -20% to +20%.
Feel free to click any feature title to check out several top 10 tables for any budget.
Price* | vs. | ||
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Device | ![]() |
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Release Date | 2019, March | 2019, September | 0y. |
OS Updates | 1 year | 1 year | 0y. |
Security Updates | 4 years | 4 years | 0y. |
*Reference: Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.
The Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite is available with the Snapdragon 710 processor, while the Xiaomi Mi 9 brings the Snapdragon 855 processor.
Now about the graphics chipset, while the former has an Adreno 616, the latter features an Adreno 640.
On the multicore portion of Geekbench 5, which measures overall performance, the Mi 9 was, on average, 77% quicker while finishing its tests. This should be a no-brainer here.
One can entitle the Mi 9 as a lower high-end and the Mi 9 Lite as a low to mid-range device.
They all were released with the Android 9 (Pie) and MIUI 10 OS.
Performance* | vs. | ||
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Features | ![]() |
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|
SoC | Snapdragon 855 | Snapdragon 710 | |
Graphics | Adreno 640 | Adreno 616 | |
Geekbench 5 Score | 2577 | 1456 | -1121 |
OS | Android 9 (Pie) and MIUI 10 | Android 9 (Pie) and MIUI 10 | |
Tek-Score | -1.9 |
*Reference: Apple iPhone 12.
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They both have a 6.3-inch AMOLED display. Which one would you choose? Most people seem to prefer AMOLED for its saturated colors and higher contrast.
These phones also share the same amount of pixels: 1080x2340 Full HD.
Just a small drop may shatter your phone, so be aware: The Mi 9 Lite features a Corning Gorilla Glass 5 display. The Mi 9 has a previous generation Gorilla Glass 6.
If you value an Always-On display, you'll be glad to find it in both of them.
When it comes to outdoor visibility, both can do about 620 nits.
The Mi 9 can do HDR10, and the Mi 9 Lite does HDR.
If you're leaning towards the Mi 9, you should know that 89% of its rivals can play HDR content and have an AMOLED screen. However, only 21% of them have over 60hz of refresh rate, and only 16% of them feature Gorilla Glass 6 or Victus.
Is the Mi 9 Lite a solid choice? None of its competitors have over 60hz of refresh rate, and only 7% of them feature Gorilla Glass 6 or Victus.
Display Density (DPIs)* | vs. | ||
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Features | ![]() |
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Size | 6.3 | 6.3 | 0.0 |
Screen Type | AMOLED | AMOLED | |
Resolution (px) | 1080x2340 | 1080x2340 | 0 |
Refresh Rate | 60hz | 60hz | 0 |
Dots per Inch | 409.08 | 409.08 | 0.00 |
Always-On-Display | Yes | Yes | |
Notch | Teardrop | Teardrop | |
Peak Brightness | 620 nits | 600 nits | -20 |
HDR | HDR10 | HDR | |
Sub Tek-Score | 0.0 | ||
Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 6 | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 | |
Tek-Score | -1.2 |
*Reference: Sony Xperia 1.
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What about its shooters? The Mi 9 has a whopping 48 MP camera with an aperture of f/1.8, a 27mm wide-angle lens, two flash LEDs, and HDR capabilities. It can record videos at up to 2160p.
You'll also find two other cameras, one with 12 MP, an aperture of f/2.2 plus a 54mm telephoto lens. And another with 16 MP (f/2.2) with a 13mm ultra-wide-angle lens.
For your information: If you zoom in and crop a 48 Megapixels photo, you can get 2x of optical zoom: by trimming it into a 12 Megapixels photo.
Want to know about its selfie capabilities? It has a 20 MP (f/2.0) shooter and a 1/3" sensor.
DxOMark reviewed this camera and gave it 111 points. And if you take into account the telephoto and wide-angle lenses, you'll end up with a score of 125**. You can check their review if you click here.
Before moving on, you should know that all of its rivals can record videos in 4K or more and have an ultra-wide-angle lens, and 84% of them feature Optical Image Stabilization.
The standard camera on the back of the Mi 9 Lite has a whopping 48 MP sensor and a 25mm, f/1.8 aperture, wide-angle lens. It also has one flash LED and HDR capabilities. When it comes to recording videos, it can do 2160p. There's also an extra dual sensor with 8 MP (f/2.2 plus a 13mm ultra-wide-angle lens) and 2 MP that works as a depth sensor, working together to give more freedom when framing shots.
Just so you know: You can take a 48 Megapixels photo, zoom in and crop, and get 2x optical zoom. You'll get a 12 Megapixels photo, just like the Mi 9.
Xiaomi included a generous 32 MP (f/2.0) sensor for selfies and a 26 mm wide-angle lens.
I was curious about what DxOMark had to say about this camera. They didn't review it yet, but we can place it at about 97* points. By adding its wide-angle lens, we get a score of 110** points.
Winding it up, 80% of its rivals can record videos in 4 or 8K, and all of them have an ultra-wide-angle lens.
Overall, I'm sure the Xiaomi Mi 9 has a better camera.
One can place the Mi 9 more like a lower high-end and the Mi 9 Lite more as an upper mid-range.
What I really like about the Mi 9 is the 2x telephoto lens. This gives you an extra bit of freedom when taking your photos.
*DxOMark is a well-known market reference when it comes to camera benchmarking. Too bad they don't get a chance to test most of the cameras out there. So whenever I come across one such camera, I take every hardware specs (like lenses, sensor size, OIS, aperture, and so on) and give a comparable score. The last time I've checked this formula, some cameras had a 2 points (more or less) error threshold.
**Please take this with a grain of salt, particularly on mid-end cameras with less than 40MP and no zoom lens. They just changed their protocol, and they don't have enough reviews for me to refine the pre-update camera rates.
Picture Quality* | vs. | ||
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Primary Camera | ![]() |
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Megapixels | 48 | 48 | 0 |
Aperture | 1.8 | 1.8 | 0.0 |
Lens | 27mm | 25mm | -2 |
Lens Type | Wide-Angle | Wide-Angle | |
Flash | 2 | 1 | -1 |
HDR | Yes | Yes | |
OIS | No | No | |
Video | 2160 | 2160 | 0 |
Score | 125 | 110 | -15 |
*Reference: Huawei Mate 40 Pro.
Extra Camera(s) | ![]() |
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vs. |
---|---|---|---|
Megapixels | 12 | 8 | -4 |
Aperture | 2.2 | 2.2 | 0.0 |
Lens | 54mm (2x zoom) | 13mm | -41 |
Lens Type | Telephoto lens | Ultra-wide-Angle | |
Megapixels | 16 | 2 | -14 |
Aperture | 2.2 | - | |
Lens | 13mm | - | |
Lens Type | Ultra-wide-Angle | Depth Sensor | |
Score | 14 | 13 | -1 |
Selfie Camera | ![]() |
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vs. |
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Megapixels | 20 | 32 | 12 |
Aperture | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
Lens | - | 26mm |
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vs. | |
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Tek-Score | -0.9 |
Despite not having the same height, they share their extent: 74 mm (2.92 inches).
They have about the same depth: 7 mm (0.28 inches) vs. 8 mm (0.32 inches).
The glass rear on these phones makes them feel great on the hand. The Mi 9 weighs 173 g. (6.10 oz), while the other is 6 g. (0.24 oz) heavier. But because screen size also matters, I've created an adapted score for a "weight to display size" ratio. The Mi 9 got 6.4, and that's another way of saying it has a pretty nice weight for its screen size. In the meantime, the Mi 9 Lite has 5.6, so nothing to state here.
You can purchase the Xiaomi Mi 9 in Lavender Violet, Piano Black, and Ocean Blue. And you can pick the Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite in Pearl White, Onyx Grey, and Aurora Blue.
Do you value a fingerprint scanner? Both devices included it.
If you're looking for some kind of waterproof phone, you should check out the competition, like the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE.
Looks* | vs. | ||
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Body | ![]() |
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|
Size | 157 x 74 x 7 mm (5.54 x 2.61 x 0.25 in) |
156 x 74 x 8 mm (5.50 x 2.61 x 0.28 in) |
11026 |
Weight | 173 g. (6.10 oz) | 179 g. (6.31 oz) | 6 |
Build | Front and back glass | Front and back glass | |
Colors | Lavender Violet, Piano Black, and Ocean Blue | Pearl White, Onyx Grey, and Aurora Blue | |
Screen To Body Ratio | 83.86% | 84.40% | 0.54 |
Disp.Size To Weight Score | 6.4 | 5.6 | -0.8 |
Looks | 8.4/10 | 8.5/10 | 0.1 |
Waterproof | - | - | |
Biometrics | Under Display Fingerprint | Under Display Fingerprint | |
Tek-Score | -0.2 |
*100% = 4+ colors + front and back glass + S2BR: 86+%.
When it comes to battery life, in theory, the Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite, with its 4030 mAh of battery capacity, wins over the Xiaomi Mi 9, with only 3300 mAh of battery capacity, without a doubt. But how would both perform in a real-world scenario? If you do this experiment after a complete charge, that's what you can expect from the Mi 9:
And this is what you'll get out of the Mi 9 Lite:
You shouldn't expect any real contrast here.
What's even better, the Mi 9 Lite is also beating most smartphones. Let's see if it still has a place on our top 10 list with the best battery life.
If one of these will end up being the one, you'll have quick-charging on your next phone: 27w for the Mi 9 and 18w for the Mi 9 Lite.
The Mi 9 also supports wireless charging at 20w.
What about having reverse wireless charging on your next phone? If you want it, you can try it with the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE, for example.
Quick wireless charging must be one of Mi 9's most-loved features. You won't find many phones as fast at about its price.
Battery* | vs. | ||
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Features | ![]() |
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Capacity (mAh) | 3300 | 4030 | 730 |
1h Talk + 1h Web + 1h Video | 82% left | 84% left | 2 |
1h Talk + 3h Web + 1h Video | 66% left | 70% left | 4 |
1h Talk + 1h Web + 3h Video | 70% left | 72% left | 2 |
Bat. To Phone Size Score | 4.5 | 5.3 | 0.8 |
Sub Tek-Score | 0.3 | ||
Fast Charging | 27w | 18w | -9 |
Wireless Charging | 20w | No | -20 |
Tek-Score | -0.6 |
*Reference: Samsung Galaxy A31.
The Mi 9 comes equipped with 64GB of integrated storage and 6GB of RAM. There's no expandable storage. This shouldn't be an issue for most of us. Furthermore, other devices from this budget usually have more storage and more RAM. They average at 7GB of RAM and 125Gb of storage.
The Mi 9 Lite also offers 64GB of storage and 6GB of RAM. You can count on the MicroSD card to save the day.
Most people should be OK with only 64 GB of internal storage. However, if you love to have or record tons of videos, you'll find out that 64 GB won't be enough for you.
Storage* | vs. | ||
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Features | ![]() |
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|
RAM (GB) | 6GB | 6GB | 0 |
Internal (GB) | 64GB | 64GB | 0 |
Micro SD | No | microSDXC (uses shared SIM slot) | |
Tek-Score | 3.5 |
*Internal Storage + 256GB Memory Card (Max: 512GB).
Both phones have Bluetooth 5.0, so nothing special here. As for the NFC chips, both have them.
The Mi 9 Lite is the only phone here that still supports the good-old 3.5mm headphone jack. Just skip adapters on the Mi 9 and get a decent pair of wireless earbuds.
Both have a single network variant: LTE. If you want next-gen 5G connectivity, you should look at the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE instead.
Connectivity | vs. | ||
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Features | ![]() |
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Network | LTE | LTE | |
Bluetooth | 5.0 | 5.0 | |
NFC | Yes | Yes | |
3.5mm jack | No | Yes | |
Tek-Score | 4.9 |
The Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite clearly is a good value for its price, and with the right deal, it can be an impressive finding. The Xiaomi Mi 9 isn't more affordable, but it may still be a more reasonable choice.
Let's see if it really worths it or not.
Here are their recently updated prices:
Reference: $400
Reference: $317
I earn a small fee from qualifying purchases. It doesn't affect the price you pay nor my opinions, but it will mean a lot if you click on one of these buttons before purchasing your next phone. You'll be helping to take this to the next level.
Prices on eBay are in $US but Europe-based. You can click to check the prices in your country.
Prices marked with ! are from renewed/refurbished/carrier-locked phones (except eBay prices that, as a last resort, can be from bids or used devices).
How much of a "phone" can your money buy?
That's how much "score" you can get with $100 based on the global score that you'll see in the next section (higher is better).
Have you found better prices elsewhere? The formula is simple: score/price*100.
Value for money | Mi 9 | Mi 9 Lite | VS |
---|---|---|---|
Amazon | 1.47 | 2.38 | 0.91 |
eBay | - | - | - |
Best Buy | - | - | - |
Wallmart | - | - | - |
And this is the "The Best Smartphones On A Budget" list.
Want to know about that global rate? First, let me mention the average at their price range. The Mi 9 class is at 6.3, and the Mi 9 Lite 5.5.
Overall, these two aren't that far apart. But even if you don't value performance that much, you should be aware that the Mi 9 has a flagship processor. Obviously, performance isn't everything. The Mi 9 Lite has better battery life, should be free from storage issues, and is more user-friendly, as it still has a headphone jack. Aside from the slightly worse glass protection on the Mi 9 Lite, you shouldn't worry about its displays. Aside from that, the Mi 9 also has a telephoto lens.
Pros | ![]() |
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#1 | Performance | AMOLED |
#2 | AMOLED | Always-On-Display |
#3 | Always-On-Display | Cameras |
#4 | Cameras | Battery Life |
#5 | Fast Charging | Fast Charging |
#6 | Wireless Charging | MicroSD Slot |
#7 | Glass Protection | 3.5mm Jack |
Cons | ![]() |
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#1 | MicroSD Slot | Wireless Charging |
#2 | 3.5mm Jack |
Relative Score* | vs. | ||
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Global Score | ![]() |
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Gaming Score | -0.7 | ||
Tek-Score | 0.08 |
*Reference: Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.
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I'm Luis Silva, and this is the place where I nerd out about technology. I've been a tech enthusiast for 25 years, and I have a degree in computer management.
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