Once you have downloaded Xiaomi EU you can drag and drop it on to your device and use TWRP to install it.
After the recent legal issues involving Huawei in the US, many have started to ask themselves to what extent Chinese smartphone companies are copying not only from one another, but also from the western world. When taking a look into this conversation however, it’s impossible to leave one major company behind: Xiaomi.
With smartphones that range from the MI8 (A blatant attempt at bringing the best of the iPhone X into the budget market), and the more recent K20 Pro (The company’s take on the One Plus 7 Pro), it is fair to say that Xiaomi has had an extensive history implementing ideas from other manufacturers into their own products.
I must make it clear however, I am in now ways suggesting that the company only has derivative ideas up its sleeve, in fact, Xiaomi has proved time and time again that it can innovate before anyone else. With the Xiaomi Mi Mix, Xiaomi not only stepped up the standards for what was then considered a premium phone, but basically started the bezeless trend that we see today. As if that wasn’t enough, with the Xiaomi Mi A2, Xiaomi brought not only an unique design, but a slew of features ranging from the capable processor to the potent cameras that were simply not seen in the price-range before.
Yet in many other ways, the company has also proven time and time again that copying the competition can be a great strategy. With the company’s most recent flagship, the MI9, Xiaomi has brought many design features that merge both the latest iPhone and the Huawei P30 Pro into a singular device. The company also has had a history with implementing certain technologies way after the competition, yet still announce them as ground-breaking. A great example of this would be the tried and true wireless charger, a technology that by the time the company finally got around to it with the Mix 2s, it had already become standard with most manufacturers.
When answering whether or not this is a good or bad thing, one must first consider the one aspect that all Chinese companies share in common: Their mission to deliver higher quality devices year by year, all whilst slowly decreasing their entry price point.
If this is to be taken from a manufacturing standpoint, it is cheaper, and safer to manufacture a technique that has already been tested by someone else, than to develop a brand new one. It’s through this strategy that companies like Xiaomi start being slowly forced to handpick what features truly matter, making cuts on areas such as the device’s uniqueness in order to meet the already established expectation for lower costs set by the Southeast Asian market.
Furthermore, in a company so focused about reaching wider audiences, as is the case with almost all Chinese manufacturers, creating unique designs may be seen as a way to distance possible consumers. Whilst technology enthusiasts may enjoy a device that doesn’t look like every other in the shelf, the average consumer may find comfort knowing that their latest budget device is somewhat similar to the latest iPhone they have most likely heard something about.
It must be made clear however, that Xiaomi is far from the only smartphone brand bringing features of its rivals into its own devices. In some cases, one may argue that a lot of Apple’s technology, from the dual camera setup to the OLED screen, were all overdone on the Android side before finally being implemented by the Cupertino giant. Even in the Chinese market, with companies like Oppo and Vivo introducing extremely similarly specced fast chargers around the same time frame, one can see what many now refer to as “ripping off” being done first handedly.
There’s also a point to be made that the politics behind this phenomena are where the issue lies. With IP infringement, and other law-breaching conducts being found in the modern smartphone industry, it’s hard to say that it is a fair game. In fact, if proper international laws, and regulations are ever to be seen in this industry, consumers may start to see more unique phones as patented technologies become harder to gain access to. This is an issue that believe it or not, impacts most modern smartphone companies, as reports of Huawei spies in Apple’s headquarters were published during February of this year.
But despite what politics may sway, this just adds more interesting flame on the technological side of things. On one hand, the extremely fast advancement of the budget market can be mostly attributed to this copying phenomena, as previously premium-exclusive features get overdone to the point where they are simply not too unique, losing value not only in the consumer’s eye, but in a manufacturing standpoint as well. Yet just as much as this loss of value can benefit the consumer, it ultimately results in products that could have been unique losing their chance due to increasingly more fierce competition - leading the smartphone industry to slow lose the innovative flair it once had.
The Redmi K20 Pro has launched to worldwide success, with many quickly calling it a perfect phone. After much appraise, the Redmi K20 Pro Telegram community was quick to find that a display issue prevents the device from being all too perfect.
As a user first noticed, by holding two fingers still in the display, and then running a third finger alongside the edges of the device’s screen, an electrical stutter can be seen, creating distortion in both the still fingers despite there not being any movement.
While for the average issue this display issue may not seem like a dealbreaker, gamers, specifically PUBG fanatics, have been quick to voice their concerns. In that game, a “claw” setup - which requires more than three fingers on screen at a time - is not only ineffective but hard to pull off with the K20 Pro, driving home disappointment to the many buyers who saw gaming as the device’s forte.
To make matters worse, the Redmi K20 Telegram community was also quick to notice that this issue can be found in other Xiaomi devices, most notably the Xiaomi Mi 9, the company’s most recent flagship. To most people’s surprise, the issue becomes less noticeable when the device is either on a case or not laying flat on a table, and is completely gone as soon as the device is plugged into an outlet. This has led some to speculate that the issue may be caused by electric or shielding issue in the device’s display.
Xiaomi has not yet publicly addressed the issue, and as of this report, an official fix has not been discovered by the Xiaomi and Redmi communities.
I've had the Xiaomi Mi 9 now for about 4 hours and I am ridiculously impressed with the device. Here are the initial impressions of the device after a short period of time.
Build: When i took the device out of the box all I could say was wow. The devices feels quite seemless in the hand. The metal frame really gives it a nice heft and a reassuring cool metal detail to break up the sheets of glass. The in hand feel of this device is as premium as the Mi Mix 3 which i have gotten to spend time with (about two hours playing with a store managers test unit here in vietnam). Although the Mi 9 doesn't have the same Teutonic feel of the heavier Mi Mix 3, it doesn't feel like its a budget device or a device made with cost in mind.
Screen: Oh how I have missed AMOLED displays. It's been a few years since I have used an AMOLED display and they really are a thing of beauty. The one on the Mi 9 has fantastic viewing angles, tons of contrast (obviously) and the system wide black mode really does look awesome. Xiaomi advertised this was a Samsung panel and the quality really shows. That said just because it LOOKS great doesn't mean it necessarily color accurate. The temperature can obviously be adjusted in the settings but its definitely a different experience than that on my Pocophone F1.
Cameras: They are great. I already shot a ton of photos with them, in night mode, not in night mode, in pro mode on a tripod, in 48mp vs 12mp mode. I am thoroughly impressed with the amount of detail and dynamic range we are able to get out of this camera and the 3 separate focal lengths are awesome for professional photographers such as myself. Just the freedom to use focal lengths and composition more freely on this device is really awesome.
ALSO GCAM WORKS OUT OF THE BOX! No flashing or modification to the rom required since Xiaomi has already begun enabling camera 2 API standard on devices with newer versions of MIUI. I tried the Gcam night sight on the Mi 9 and compared it directly to that on my pocophone f1 (the pocophone f1 Gcam port is stable). While it's not a clear win for the mi 9 I can surely see that specialized ports of Gcam will yield even better results.
Charging speed: This thing is ludicrous. I came home put the phone on the charger for 20 minutes and it jumped from 46% battery to 87% battery.
Bootloader unlock time: I have already applied to unlock the bootloader of this device and I cannot wait to get Xiaomi EU roms on it. I hate the Chinese rom and its lack of ability to remap the AI button to google assistant. That will obviously be something that changes with global firmware but right now the stock chinese software is my least favorite part of the phone.
I'll be doing more follow ups as I use the device more and i will of course be sharing pictures here as well.
Hi!
I'm glad you found my little corner of the internet. I am a professional content creator specializing in photo and video. I am currently living in Southeast Asia refining my craft and learning new techniques to elevate my production skills.
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