- Analysis by KJ David
A less-competitive version of Xiaomi's 2019 Mi 9 flagship, the Mi 9 SE replaces its big brother's flagship-caliber Snapdragon 855 2.84GHz eight-core engine with a middle-class Snapdragon 712 2.3GHz octa-core chip 
, consequently shying of the fastest smartphones when it comes to raw clock speed. Moreover, it offers no more than 3070mAh of battery power -- some rival models with tantamount camera setups lug 4000mAh batteries. At the very least, its retains the Mi 9's 6GB dual-channel LPDDR4x RAM and 128GB maximum internal storage memory.
Despite those cons on the hardware front, the Mi 9 SE lines up with some premium-class photography smartphones by touting a three-lens camera system 
that's led by a 48-megapixel f/1.75-aperture main cam, with an 8-megapixel telephoto cam and a 13-megapixel wide-angle cam tagging along. Among its imaging pros are Ultra HD (2160p) video-recording at 60fps, a 960fps HD-720p slow-motion video capture mode, and a suite of AI imaging features.
Mimicking its Mi 9 sibling, this Mi model features a 20-megapixel front-facing camera that possibly fares well versus those of the best selfie smartphones. It is decked out with some AI optimizations like AI Beautify as well as HDR and a screen flash function.
Display-wise, the Mi 9 SE is reminiscent of a good number of upscale large-screen smartphones available around the time we were reviewing its pros and cons. It touts a 5.97-inch AMOLED display with a high maximum brightness level of 600 nits , a 103.8 percent NTSC color gamut, and a protective Corning Gorilla Glass 5 finish. It sits on a 2340 x 1080 Full HD+ resolution and scores a passable (as of this Phonerated analysis) 432ppi pixel density. Also, just like its base model, this SE variant features an in-screen fingerprint sensor .
Its other pros and cons include a glossy glass exterior coated in either Ocean Blue, Lavender Violet, or Piano Black and the Android 9.0 Pie operating system overlaid with Xiaomi's own MIUI 10.
So, given its assortment of specs, the Xiaomi Mi 9 SE caters to those who are eying a phone that skirts premium-class territory when it comes to photography.
On-paper Star rating: 
Its processor speed of 2.3GHz spread across 8 cores is among the fastest among recent phones.
- Related link: List of the latest octa-core smartphones
NFC is used by electronic payment systems and other uses.
- See also: The latest NFC-enabled phones
It carries the Miracast technology, a system that lets you share your display with a TV
The screen is big, making it a phablet: 6 (actual diagonal size is 5.97 inches) inches and a resolution of 2340 x 1080 pixels means about 13.68 square inches and an image sharpness of at least 432 dots per inch (DPI)!
The Mi 9 SE is boasts and exceptional 48-megapixel (combined with an 8-megapixel telephoto cam and a 13-megapixel ultra-wide cam) camera. It also sports the following options: AI dynamic bokeh, AI high-resolution photos, AI steady handheld night photography, Burst, Custom watermark, Full body portrait mode, HDR, Moon Mode, Panorama, Photo timer, Portrait mode background blur adjustment, Pro.
The 20-megapixel selfie cam offers an above-average resolution.
If cell phone radiation is a concern, we would like you to know that the Xiaomi Mi 9 SE has a somewhat higher-than-average SAR rating (1.19 w/kg). It ain't necessarily too high (there are many higher-SAR phones) but, at the same time, it's not really one of the lowest figures.
- Also check out: Top-rated low-SAR phones
Does it feature memory expansion? Despite our efforts, we couldn't find out.
It's disappointing that we were not able to find information about its weight.
- Also check out: Photo gallery of the latest slim phones
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