The Xiaomi Redmi K20, known globally as the Mi 9T, is a fresh addition to Xiaomi’s mid-range lineup. Often confused with the Mi 9, which was released as a mid-range device rather than a flagship, the K20 brings a host of features and improvements. Let’s dive into the details in this comprehensive review.
Design and Build Quality
The Xiaomi Mi 9T sports a sleek design with a glass body and an aluminum frame, giving it a premium feel. The Carbon Black variant stands out with a subtle striped pattern beneath the surface, while the Glacier Blue model dazzles with its striking color. The curved glass back and tapered edges enhance the phone’s elegance, though the device can be slippery and lacks waterproofing—a point to consider for summer poolside use.
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Unique Features: Pop-Up Selfie Camera
One of the standout features of the Mi 9T is its motorized pop-up selfie camera. Unlike other similar mechanisms, this one features eye-catching LED strips. While motorized parts can be a concern for durability, Xiaomi assures users that the mechanism can handle at least 300,000 actuations. Additionally, if the phone is dropped with the selfie camera extended, it automatically retracts to protect itself.
Display Quality
The Mi 9T boasts a notch-free, edge-to-edge display—a 6.4-inch AMOLED panel with a tall aspect ratio and a 1080p resolution. The display offers deep blacks, thanks to the AMOLED technology, and a sharp 403 PPI. It supports HDR content, delivering vibrant colors and accurate color representation based on your settings. The always-on display feature is also available, providing time and notification information with customizable themes.
Performance: Fast and Responsive
Under the hood, the Mi 9T is powered by the Snapdragon 730 chipset, Qualcomm’s most powerful mid-range offering, paired with 6GB of RAM. It performs impressively in benchmarks, competing well against other mid-range devices without overheating or throttling issues. While it can’t quite match the Snapdragon 855 in graphics performance, it handles the latest games without any problems.
Storage Options
The device offers two storage options: 64GB and 128GB. However, it’s worth noting that there is no microSD card slot for expandable storage, which might be a drawback for some users.
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Battery Life and Charging
The Mi 9T features a 4000mAh battery, about 20% larger than the one in the Mi 9. This results in an excellent endurance rating of around 100 hours in proprietary tests. The device supports fast charging with an 18W charger, allowing you to go from 0% to 45% in just 30 minutes.
Camera Performance
The Mi 9T is equipped with a triple camera setup on the back: a 48MP main camera with a quad-bayer filter, an 8MP telephoto lens, and a 13MP ultra-wide lens, though none of these cameras have optical image stabilization (OIS).
Main Camera: The 12MP default output impresses with excellent detail, vibrant colors, and a wide dynamic range. There’s an option to shoot in 48MP, though it doesn’t add significantly more detail.
Telephoto Camera: Offers great detail and color reproduction, though some noise is present compared to the main camera. It’s also used for portrait shots, which require good lighting for the best results.
Ultra-Wide Camera: Quality is lower than the other two, but it still delivers nice colors and low noise levels. Distortion correction can be turned off for sharper images at the expense of some edge curvature.
Low-Light Performance: Regular shots from the main camera are decent, though the lack of OIS limits exposure time. The dedicated night mode improves exposure and detail, though images remain soft. The ultra-wide camera struggles more in low light, with reduced detail and higher noise.
The pop-up selfie camera, though fixed-focus, produces excellent shots with good detail and color accuracy. Video recording is possible at up to 4K at 30fps with electronic stabilization. While 4K videos from the main camera are detailed and vibrant, the ultra-wide lens produces softer and less detailed footage, with oversaturated colors.
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Audio and Extras
The Mi 9T includes a 3.5mm headphone jack and FM radio support, offering good loudness and quality, though stereo separation could be improved. The loudspeaker, located next to the USB-C port, delivers good sound quality with some distortion at maximum volume.
Software and UI
Running MIUI over Android 9 Pie, the Mi 9T offers a customized user experience. Notable differences from stock Android include the absence of an app drawer and a vertically organized task switcher. While some pre-installed apps may come with ads in certain regions, these can typically be disabled. Users can also customize their home screen with various themes, available based on the selected region.
Conclusion: A Solid Mid-Range Option
The Xiaomi Mi 9T, or Redmi K20, delivers a well-rounded package with its notch-free AMOLED screen, responsive under-display fingerprint reader, solid battery life, fast charging, and impressive camera setup. The unique pop-up selfie camera adds a touch of novelty, while the Snapdragon 730 ensures smooth performance.
Downsides include limited low-light camera performance and non-expandable storage. However, considering its price point and feature set, the Mi 9T is a compelling option in the mid-range segment, earning recommendations from tech experts.