There’s a much cheaper version of the Xiaomi Mi 9 coming to the UK

Xiaomi has announced that the Mi 9 SE will be coming to the UK from June 6, and it might be a great solution if you’re looking to avoid splashing out on a huge phablet. 

The Xiaomi Mi 9 SE claims to have the form factor of a 5.1-inch ‘classic’ phone, while actually having a 5.99-inch AMOLED screen.

Rather than defying the laws of physics for a starting price of £349 ($445), we expect that this discrepancy can be explained by  a less prominent bezel above and below the screen. The Xiaomi Mi 9 scored 5/5 in our review, so we’re expected big things to come from this small package.

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The Mi 9 SE has quite a few compromises in comparison in comparison to its big brother, though. Firstly, the processor is a Snapdragon 712 rather than the flagship Snapdragon 855. The battery is also a bit of a downgrade, going from 3300 to 3070 mAh, and lacking the 27W Quick Charge 4+.

The screen might have the same sharp 1080×2340 resolution, but the new device has Gorilla Glass 5 rather than 6. None of these are dealbreakers, and it makes sense that some specifications have been reined in for a lower price point.

Both have a triple rear camera and share the same Sony IMX586 main camera, which has a 48-megapixel camera and f/1.8 aperture, but have differing secondary and tertiary lenses. While the Mi 9 has a 12-megapixel telephoto sensor and a 16-megapixel ultrawide lens, the Mi 9 SE has an 8-megapixel telephoto sensor and a 13-megapixel ultrawide lens. We praised the Mi 9’s camera for its performance and versatility but we’ve yet to see whether its small will emulate this performance on a budget.

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The Xiaomi Mi 9 SE is available now (June 6) on the mi.com website, costing £349 (~$445) for the 6GB RAM and 64GB storage variant, and £399 (~$500) for 6GB RAM and 128GB storage variant.