2019-11-01 Tech Advisor

NOVEMBER 2019 • TECH ADVISOR 37

REVIEW

but you’ll find the edges are more aggressively curved

than on the Mi 9 at the rear, and significantly more so

than on the virtually flat-back Mi 9 SE. At 198g and

8.8mm thick it does feel reasonably weighty, but it’s

not too much in our opinion.

The Mi 9T stands out for its 6.39in full-display, an

AMOLED panel that supports a Full-HD+ resolution of

2,340x1,080 pixels and a tall 19.5:9 aspect ratio. This

is our favourite kind of screen technology, allowing for

vivid colours and rich, deep blacks. It has a fingerprint

sensor built directly into it, which worked well in our

tests thanks to its larger detection area. Xiaomi claims

its scanner can recognize fingerprints 25 percent faster

than previously.

It’s the same size display as on the standard Mi 9,

though obviously has a greater screen area without the

notch – there’s a 91.7 percent screen-to-body ratio,

according to Xiaomi. Mi 9 SE is only slightly smaller

at 5.97in, but even though we’re talking about less

than half an inch it makes a real difference to how the

phone feels in the hand.

Mi 9T also supports Xiaomi’s newly customizable

Always-on (‘Ambient’) display, but this is switched off

by default to preserve battery life. In truth it consumes

only a fraction of the phone’s power, and is actually

designed to save battery power with you waking

the screen less frequently to check the time or for

notifications. Given that there’s no notification LED,

we’d recommend switching it on.

Our only real issues with the design concern how

slippery the glass can be (less so if you use the supplied

silicone case), and how easily the Mi 9T picks up

NOVEMBER 2019 • TECH ADVISOR 37

REVIEW

but you’ll find the edges are more aggressively curved
than on the Mi 9 at the rear, and significantly more so
than on the virtually flat-back Mi 9 SE. At 198g and
8.8mmthickit doesfeelreasonablyweighty,butit’s
nottoo much in our opinion.
The Mi 9T stands out for its 6.39in full-display, an
AMOLED panel that supports a Full-HD+ resolution of
2,340x1,080 pixels and a tall 19.5:9 aspect ratio. This
is our favourite kind of screen technology, allowing for
vivid colours and rich, deep blacks. It has a fingerprint
sensor built directly into it, which worked well in our
tests thanks to its larger detection area. Xiaomi claims
its scanner can recognize fingerprints 25 percent faster
than previously.
It’s the same size display as on the standard Mi 9,
though obviously has a greater screen area without the
notch – there’s a 91.7 percent screen-to-body ratio,
accordingtoXiaomi.Mi9 SEis onlyslightlysmaller
at5.97in,buteventhoughwe’retalkingaboutless
thanhalfaninchit makesa realdifferencetohowthe
phonefeels in the hand.
Mi 9T also supports Xiaomi’s newly customizable
Always-on (‘Ambient’) display, but this is switched off
by default to preserve battery life. In truth it consumes
only a fraction of the phone’s power, and is actually
designed to save battery power with you waking
the screen less frequently to check the time or for
notifications. Given that there’s no notification LED,
we’d recommend switching it on.
Our only real issues with the design concern how
slippery the glass can be (less so if you use the supplied
silicone case), and how easily the Mi 9T picks up