Xiaomi Mi 9 SE Review, Price in Kenya and What you need to Know before buying

It’s hard to imagine just how the budget segment in smartphones has technically outgrown the so called top tier, offering some top notch features while keeping prices within reach. When the Xiaomi Mi 9 SE was unveiled a few weeks back, there were several corners we expected the manufacturer to compromise and let the senior sibling shine all the way; but as it turns out, there’s just so much to love about this device we never expected. For example; it was beyond imagination to have a 5.9 AMOLED display panel with somewhat decent resolution – a feature we’ve grown to expect from the high-end devices.

There’s so much options to choose from in the mi-range smartphone category but the manufacturer here has really played smart with the release of Xiaomi Mi 9 SE, owing to its unexpected flagship level features. By far, it’s one of those devices you’d easily say – it’s worth every buck. Personally, I’d prefer to get such an awesome combination of great hardware and affordable price tag, rather than spending thousands of bucks on a flagship with overrated features I’d probably never need. let’s take a walk along the memory lane, and since I’m unapologetically Apple guy – we’ll look at the now dated iPhone 6S. before and after it was officially released, there was so much fuss about the so called “Force Touch” feature, I could spend sleepless nights just thinking how I’d finally utilize the feature once I got mine. Well to cut the long story short, when it came down to it, I never used it and probably won’t.

I will stop short of declaring the Xiaomi Mi 9 SE un beatable as there are still plenty of awesome choices once considering, like the Google’s Pixel 3a. it’s certainly a fantastic device for the price – estimated to cost around Ksh. 40,000 in Kenya. Additionally, the budget segment is growing and growing really fast that we’d probably be seeing a better device in weeks. Technology is evolving every minute, and just to mention a few; screen sizes beyond the 4.7inches we’d traditionally expect on the flagships is now mainstream with superb resolutions.  

Here is what you need to know about Xiaomi Mi 9 SE before buying

Impressive Hardware and Design

We love the fact that Xiaomi combined a fantastic hardware and impressively manageable price tag in this device. Carrying a flagship design concept with impressive hardware just did more than justice to the Xiaomi Mi 9 SE. unlike the cheap and low cost feel we often get on budget devices, Xiaomi Mi 9 SE is surprisingly compact with a class to appreciate. At 155grams, the Mi 9 SE has a nice assuring weight to it you’d hardly expect on a device of its caliber.

It comes with a glass sandwich design that feels more premium, but as you’d expect on a device with metal-glass combination, fingerprints are a problem. You’ll have to constantly wipe-off fingerprints and smudges from the display and rear panel.

The spec sheet doesn’t disappoint either, underneath you’ll get a Qualcomm Snapdragon 712 processor, 6GB RAM, and 64 GB or 128 GB of storage. In comparison, there’s lots of goodies the Mi 9 SE offers than the competition. That said, there is no headphone port or expandable storage, which you find on some similarly priced handsets and the battery is a tad smaller than most devices within the category at just 3,070mAh.

Xiaomi Mi 9 SE Display Panel

The Super AMOLED display does not disappoint and is about as good as you can get. Coupled with the FHD+ panel at a 1080 x 2340-pixel resolution, Xiaomi Mi 9 SE manages to pack an impressive 432ppi that’ll make text appear crisp and vibrant images.

Xiaomi Mi 9 SE Price in Kenya

For such an impressive handset that packs just enough in a compact casing, it’s more than a deal to part with around Ksh. 30,000 here in Kenya.

Xiaomi Mi 9 SE spec sheet

• Design and Body: measures 147.5 by 70.5 by 7.5mm, at 155grams. The casing is a combination of an aluminum frame and a Gorilla Glass 5 front.
• Display Panel: 5.97inch Super AMOLED screen with a screen resolution of 2,340×1,080px, packing 432pixels per inch.
• 3 Rear cameras: Primary: 48MP, Telephoto Camera: 8MP, Ultra wide Camera: 13MP
• Front camera: 20MP
• Operating System: Android 9 Pie; MIUI 10.
• Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 712: octa-core Kryo 360 CPU, Adreno 616 GPU.
• Internal Storage: 64/128GB storage
• RAM: 6GB of RAM
• Battery Capacity: 3,070mAh Li-Po (sealed); 18W fast charging.
• Security: Under-display fingerprint reader