Xiaomi Mi 9 vs Mi 8
Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.39-inch Xiaomi Mi 9 (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 855) that was released on February 20, 2019, against the Xiaomi Mi 8, which is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 and came out 10 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Xiaomi Mi 9
- Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
- Supports wireless charging up to 20W
- 23% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (506K versus 411K)
- Has an ultra-wide angle camera lens
- More recent OS version: Android 11 versus 10
- More energy-efficient CPU – Snapdragon 855
- 22% faster in single-core GeekBench 5 test: 615 and 505 points
- The phone is 10-months newer
- Has a built-in infrared port
Reasons to consider the Xiaomi Mi 8
- Optical image stabilization
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Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Performance
CPU/GPU performance in apps and games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
NanoReview score
Final comparison evaluation
Value for money
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Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | AMOLED | AMOLED |
| Size | 6.39 inches | 6.21 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2340 pixels | 1080 x 2248 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 19.5:9 | 18.7:9 |
| PPI | 403 ppi | 402 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 60 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | No |
| Max rated brightness | 600 nits | 600 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10 | Yes, HDR10 |
| Screen protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 6 | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 85.2% | 83.8% |
| Display features | - Always-On Display - DC Dimming |
- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display - DC Dimming |
| RGB color space | 95.4% | 140.4% |
| PWM | 245 Hz | 238 Hz |
| Response time | 4.2 ms | 9 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 157.5 mm (6.2 inches) | 154.9 mm (6.1 inches) |
| Width | 74.6 mm (2.94 inches) | 74.8 mm (2.94 inches) |
| Thickness | 7.6 mm (0.3 inches) | 7.6 mm (0.3 inches) |
| Weight | 173 g (6.1 oz) | 175 g (6.17 oz) |
| Waterproof | No | No |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | Black, Blue, Purple | White, Black, Gold, Blue |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | Yes, rear |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 |
| Max clock | 2840 MHz | 2800 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) | 8 (4 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex-A55 (Kryo 485 Silver) - 3 cores at 2.42 GHz: Cortex-A76 (Kryo 485 Gold) - 1 core at 2.84 GHz: Cortex-A76 (Kryo 485 Gold) |
- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Kryo 385 Silver (Cortex-A55) - 4 cores at 2.8 GHz: Kryo 385 Gold (Cortex-A75) |
| L3 cache | 2 MB | 2 MB |
| Lithography process | 7 nanometers | 10 nanometers |
| Graphics | Adreno 640 | Adreno 630 |
| GPU clock | 585 MHz | 710 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~899 GFLOPS | ~727 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 5 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 5 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 9
| CPU | 145198 | 103436 |
| GPU | 179503 | 159817 |
| Memory | 76010 | 65806 |
| UX | 109413 | 86423 |
| Total score | 506716 | 411807 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Max surface temperature | 35.6 °C | 45 °C |
| Stability | 92% | 83% |
| Graphics test | 18 FPS | 8 FPS |
| Graphics score | 3092 | 1426 |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 6997 | 6256 |
| Video editing | 6704 | 5970 |
| Photo editing | 26193 | 17542 |
| Data manipulation | 7962 | 6485 |
| Writing score | 14628 | 9918 |
Memory
| RAM size | 6 GB | 6, 8 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | 2133 MHz | 1866 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 128 GB | 64, 128, 256 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 2.1 | UFS 2.1 |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | Android 9.0 (Can be upgraded to Android 11) | Android 8.1 (Can be upgraded to Android 10) |
| ROM | MIUI 12.0.1 | MIUI 12 |
| OS size | 13.5 GB | 13 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 3300 mAh | 3400 mAh |
| Charge power | 27 W | 18 W |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes (20 W) | No |
| Reverse charging | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes, Quick Charge 4 (50% in 30 min) | Yes, Quick Charge 4+ (50% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:30 hr | 1:35 hr |
| Web browsing | 07:01 hr | 08:37 hr |
| Watching video | 14:57 hr | 11:37 hr |
| Gaming | 03:32 hr | 03:44 hr |
| Standby | 84 hr | 82 hr |
General battery life
Camera
| Matrix | 48 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 8000 x 6000 | 4000 x 3000 |
| Zoom | Optical, 2x | Optical |
| Flash | Dual LED | Dual LED |
| Stabilization | Digital | Optical |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 240FPS |
| Slow motion | 960 FPS (1080p) | 960 FPS (720p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 117° | - |
| Lenses | 3 (48 MP + 12 MP + 16 MP) | 2 (12 MP + 12 MP) |
| Wide (main) lens | - 48 MP - Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 27 mm - Pixel size: 0.8 micron - Sensor: 1/2", Sony IMX586 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Laser autofocus |
- 12 MP - Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 21 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.55", Sony IMX363 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
| Telephoto lens | - 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 54 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/3.6", Samsung S5K3M5 (ISOCELL CMOS) - Phase autofocus |
- 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 56 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/3.4", Samsung S5K3M3 (ISOCELL CMOS) - Phase autofocus |
| Ultra-wide lens | - 16 MP - Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 13 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/3.0", Sony IMX481 (BSI CMOS) - Phase autofocus |
- |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
| Samples | Photo samples of Xiaomi Mi 9 from DxOMark | Photo samples of Xiaomi Mi 8 from DxOMark |
| Megapixels | 20 megapixels | 20 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 5184 x 3880 | 5120 x 3840 |
| Aperture | f/2.0 | f/2.0 |
| Focal length | 18 mm | 18 mm |
| Pixel size | 0.9 microns | 0.9 microns |
| Sensor type | CMOS | ISOCELL CMOS |
| Sensor size | 1/3" | 1/3.1" |
| Video resolution | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS |
DxOMark camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic camera score
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5 | 5 |
| Bluetooth features | LE, A2DP | LE, A2DP |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 2 | 2 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - USB-Host mode - OTG |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode - USB-Host mode - OTG |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo |
| NFC* | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | Yes | No |
| Number of SIM* | 2 | 2 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | Standby |
| eSIM support* | No | No |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat* | 20 | 18 |
| 5G support | No | No |
Sound
| Speakers | Mono | Mono |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | No | No |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Flagship | Flagship |
| Announced | February 2019 | May 2018 |
| Release date | April 2019 | June 2018 |
| SAR (head) | 1.389 W/kg | 0.701 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 0.99 W/kg | 1.662 W/kg |
| Sensors | - Hall-effect sensor - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Hall-effect sensor - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor - Fingerprint |
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
These smartphones have a lot in common, but we would recommend the Xiaomi Mi 9. It has a better performance, software, battery life, and sound.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 344