Xiaomi Mi 9 Gaming Review: Good While It Lasts

With each and every new generation of Snapdragon processors, game developers have started to release more graphically demanding titles that consistently push the limit of mobile gaming. As such, it comes as no surprise that a phone’s gaming capabilities have become a key point in a phone’s market appeal, and after owning the Mi9 for over a month, I think making a gaming phone wasn’t Xiaomi’s top priority with this device.

Controller Feel

When choosing a gaming phone, there are many aspects to consider: feel in the hand, processor, software, storage configurations, and even audio. Thankfully, the MI 9 gets all these categories right. Featuring a glass curve body that feels comfortable in the hands, alongside a full AMOLED display with minimal distractions, the Xiaomi Mi 9 is the perfect device to get engrossed in your next blockbuster adventure on the go.

This immersion is only further helped by the responsive display, loud speakers and the efficient software, all of which keep your games sounding great, and performing at their best no matter how many tasks may be running in the background.

Power is another aspect that can’t be forgotten, and the MI 9 and its Snapdragon 855 have gotten it in spades. Whether I was enjoying the recent Call of Duty Mobile beta or PUBG Mobile in the highest settings, games never seemed to slow down, and thanks to all features mentioned before, made me feel as if I was fully prepared for any demanding situation.

Fun That Doesn’t Last For Long

With a beautiful, un-intrusive screen, a powerful processor and more than enough RAM to keep your gaming sessions going, it may start to seem as if the MI 9 is all too perfect of a device - but one major setback prevents it from truly shining: battery life.

Packing only a 3300 mAh battery, the MI 9 won’t win any battery awards when it is being used as a daily device, but this issue only worsens when playing intense games. After approximately one 20 minute match of PUBG Mobile, expect to lose more than 20% of your battery, leaving you crawling to the next outlet in the middle of the day.

In more casual experiences like Clash of Clans however, the MI 9 can easily shine through a full day, ultimately meaning that the overall impact of this setback will depend on what games you plan to play on your mobile device. Nevertheless, when considering a phone simply for the purposes of gaming, be it hardcore or casual, having such a major setback makes the MI 9 instantly lose its appeal despite of the many things it has going for it.

Should You Buy One For Gaming?

The Xiaomi Mi 9 is a phone that feels like it is entirely based around casual daily usage. Though it may pack the latest and greatest specs, its just average battery life leaves much to be desired when gaming on the go. While this may be a deal breaker for those looking for the best gaming phone around, users who are comfortable with charging their phone mid-day and intend to put the device through light usage may find that Xiaomi’s latest flagship is a very adaptable piece of tech suitable for most of your needs.

UE Boom VS Anker Soundcore Flare: Different Priorities, Different Accomplishments

In a world where technology has so many choices, it has become increasingly harder to make an educated decision, and in the realm of speakers, this is just as applicable. With offerings ranging from a dozen to thousands of dollars, just how much should one sacrifice in order to obtain respectable audio performance? After testing the UE Boom (Priced at 109 CAD) and the Anker Soundcore Flare(Priced at 79.99 CAD), we found that for a surprisingly low amount of compromises, the answer to this question may lie at a respectable budget price-point.

Initial Impressions

The initial unboxing and setting up can be a magical moment of a device’s lifespan, if done right. Sadly, while both devices offer a decent unboxing experience, packing all the cables and instruction manuals that you would need to get started, it is in the initial pairing experience that your milage may vary.

On the UE Boom end, its more expensive price-tag shows, offering a very comprehensible and easy to use app that has you going within a few minutes at best. The Anker on the other hand, took us a few tries in order to get started, and could prove an issue to consumers who are not all that experienced with technology.

Once through with the pairing process, both devices are ready to shine. Surprisingly, despite the price differences, we found that most won’t be able to tell a difference between the UE Boom and Anker Soundcore Flare, as both offer rich and vibrant sound that easy fills an entire room. One difference that may be noticeable, is that the Anker Soundcore Flare provides a more bass focused experience, being optimum for pop and electronic songs, while the UE Boom, while still having a hard bass, offers the more natural sound of the two.

Where design is concerned, we feel as if the two companies are aiming at completely different demographics. The UE Boom has a sporty look, making it feel like it belongs in the bag of a professional skater that just wants to listen to a few tunes after practicing their latest tricks. The Anker Soundcore Flare on the other hand, has a more minimal take on aesthetic, making it the perfect companion to your living room TV.

Usability & Features

When using a speaker, ease of use is especially important - afterall, nobody wants to have their music-listening experience inconveniently interrupted. Thankfully, both of these speakers provide a hassle-free experience, but pack little quirks that may increase one’s appeal towards these products.

With a simple bluetooth paring mechanism, both speakers get ready for the action with a few taps. It is once you start using it however, that the more subtle differences between the two devices become more evident.

If you’re one to like protection, the UE Boom is one to get. As mentioned preciously, not only is its design rugged, but the big and sturdier volume buttons create an overall feeling that you are getting a resistant product. To add on this benefit, the UE Boom packs the safer IP rating, boasting a IPX rating over the IP67 rating that the Anker provides, allowing for splashes and full on submersion to be a worry of the past.

Yet with its minimalistic, furniture-fitting design, the Anker Soundcore Flare has a few features that may please the at-home listener. With its on-board LED strip, you can fully customise your speaker to give it the extra flare you think it may need, making it great for themed parties or to enhance the living room mood during those romantic dinners. Even better is the device’s extra bass mode, which with a simple turn of a switch allows for more stereo audio that in our testing sounded sometimes cleaner and more detailed than that of the UE Boom, depending on your music choice of course.

One negative that both of these products share is the inclusion of a micro USB port for charging. With designs and sound profiles that are so outstanding in 2019, it is a shame to see a charging port that is long outdone in the age that even most budget smartphones come to include the faster, more powerful USB C port.

Nevertheless, throughout our testing we found that despite taking long to charge, both units provide a very similar battery resistance of about 15 hours. This means that needless of your choice, refueling the device’s juice will be one of your last priorities.

Which One Should You Buy?

Whilst the non-speaker enthusiast may be quick to dismiss the difference between these two products, it is almost undeniable that they are each made to fit a special type of consumer. With its rugged look and less bass-heavy (Ironically) sound, the UE Boom is an outdoor sports fanatic’s greatest companion, being as well constructed as its rugged looks may make it seem.

On the opposite spectrum however, the Anker Soundcore Flare, despite being the far cheaper option, almost feels like a work of art, featuring a more polished design that - alongside its bass-inspired sound outlook - make it a perfect addition to any modern household.

BUY THE ANKER SOUNDCORE FLARE ON AMAZON

BUY THE UE BOOM ON AMAZON

Don't Buy The "Global ROM" Of The K20 Pro

Throughout Mitchell Millenial’s years of reporting on the latest and greatest budget technology, we have amassed a wide range of viewers from a multitude of countries, all with a vast range of English literacy. It was due to this reason that the Mitchell Millenial website first came to fruition, but now, a recent Global K20 Pro fraud is making use of those with lower literacy levels to ultimately scam them of their money.

The K20 Pro has been a market-hit, with thousands of videos and articles across the web proclaiming the phone to be the next “flagship killer”. As many have come to notice however, the phone is only currently available in China - a topic that we have previously discussed in the Mitchell Millennial channel and website.

Nevertheless, this hasn’t stopped multiple Aliexpress resellers from marketing their phones as the “Global Version of the K20 Pro”. This has caused uproar online as some consumers have purchased this device, while others made it their task to speak out to this scam.

The Issues With This Scam

The “Global” K20 Pro in all its Scammer Glory

While many may fall for this being a pre-order of the Indian K20 Pro, there are many small-scale issues with these Aliexpress ads that should consumers many reasons to worry about their purchase. For starters, in the description of the device, it lists that is powered by a global ROM, which is currently not available on the K20 Pro. This could mean that the device is either running a “garage” ROM -a version of the OS that is typically poorly optimised and made by a small name, thus gaining its name - or simply a version of the Chinese ROM with the Google Apps installed by the user.

But the issue with the device’s ROM does not stop there, as Xiaomi’s bootloader app often locks a device to a certain Xiaomi account after the device is unlocked, meaning that a factory reset post purchase would not be possible. This was an issue that happened early in the Pocophone F1’s life, leaving many customers unhappy with their purchases.

What’s more puzzling is that the Indian version, which is now confirmed to come towards the end of the month, will only launch with the Chinese bands, as we discussed in our previous article. What this means is that for the next foreseeable future, there is no true global K20 Pro device.

Things You Should Know

It is important to distinguish between a Global ROM and a Global Version. A Global ROM is simply a piece of software that will include global apps such as Facebook, and Youtube. Meanwhile a Global Version implies that the device itself is difference, more often than not featuring the bands for countries outside of China.

If a Global ROM becomes available in the future, it will be possible to download that ROM and install it on a Chinese device. On the other hand, a phone “version” has to be purchased either from an importer or in your market if you live outside of China.

A last pointer to lookout for, is that Aliexpress stores do not usually have access to phone pre-orders, as Xiaomi is very quick to announce and launch their devices in China. In case a global version is ever announced, local technology shops are your best bet in purchasing a legitimate device that works as expected.

Support This Content And Buy The K20 With Our Affiliate Link On AliExpress

Support This Content And Buy The K20 With Our Affiliate Link On Geekbuying

Support This Content And Buy The K20 With Our Affiliate Link On Amazon

The Redmi K20 Pro Has a Serious Display Issue

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.

Why India Is Stuck With the K20 Pro

In our most recently article, we discussed the idea that with the recent launch of the MI9T, the world was bound to see a Pocophone F2. After diving deeper into this topic, we made a few discoveries that while supporting our previous theory, bring unfortunate news for those living in India.

As it turns out, the Redmi K20 and K20 Pro feature the B1, B3, B5, B39, B40, and B41 LTE bands. Much to our surprise, as Kimovil shows, these bands are not only perfect for the Chinese market, but also ideal for Indian LTE reception as well.

All of the Chines Bands work perfectly in India

This is not unusual for Redmi devices, as most of their smartphone entries feature bands that are a perfect match to both the Indian and Chinese devices. On the flip side, most of Xiaomi’s mainline phones receive designated Chinese and global versions instead. This is a special case however, as the Redmi K20 and K20 Pro are one of the first Redmi devices that have taken this long to reach India - adding more mystery to our Pocophone F2 theory.

Come to think of however, it was within the Pocophone brand itself that we found the answer. Back in 2018 when the Pocophone first launched, Xiaomi tackled the device specifically to the Indian market, a region where Xiaomi, despite having a presence, never found much flagship success in. In this sense, Xiaomi’s Pocophone brand settled itself as the company’s way of bringing the Xiaomi name to new markets outside of China, and since Xiaomi now is considered the second largest smartphone seller in India, Pocophone’s mission may be done.

Furthermore, it is important to understand that the Redmi K20 and K20 Pro are one of the first Redmi phones that can truly be considered “flagship killers”. This is an important detail as for devices to be sold cheaply in India, they must be produced locally. This may not have been a big issue when Redmi devices were so cheap, but now that the Redmi K20 And K20 Pro require an extra level of craft, issues with Xiaomi’s tooling and supply chain may explain its delay in the Indian market.

Redmi’s Indian productions are very small and limited in comparison to China’s

As if that wasn’t enough, China often serves as the ground base for testing Xiaomi and Redmi devices, ensuring that stability can be achieved prior to reaching other markets. With the K20 and K20 Pro, many Youtubers and journalists have voiced their opinions about the hardware capability coupled with software that is not yet truly optimal.

Thus, with all this information in mind, we believe it makes the most sense that the Pocophone F2 will be targeted to breach another market, and that for Xiaomi’s Indian fanbase, they will receive the Redmi K20 and K20 Pro as soon as manufacturing costs have been lowered and the software is truly finalised.

What are your thoughts on India receiving the K20 And K20 Pro? Let us know down below!

How the Redmi Mi9T is proof that a Pocophone F2 Is Coming

In 2018, Xiaomi brought to the public the Pocophone F1, proving to the world that a solid spec-sheet, durable design and outstanding cameras are not entirely reserved for the flagship space. With the Pocophone F1 being as successful as it was however, many have started to wonder when they can expect a successor to Xiaomi’s flagship killer - and after recent release of the Mi9T, we may finally have the answer.

Is the brand that was made for India not coming back to India?

            For those who are unaware, earlier this month Redmi - Xiaomi’s sub-brand - released the China exclusive Redmi K20 Pro, the company’s first device powered by the all new Snapdragon 855 processor, alongside the Redmi K20, a less powerful yet still capable device powered by the Snapdragon 730 chip. Coming in at an attractively low price of $370 for the Pro variant, many Xiaomi fans outside of China started to wonder just when the device would make a global appearance. This all changed last week, when Redmi finally unveiled that it would be bringing the device to other markets in the form of the Redmi MI9T - this however, came with one caveat: the lack of a pro version.

            Without a Snapdragon 855 offering, many have started to wonder Redmi’s role in foreign markets, and it is here that the potential for a Pocophone successor shines through. According to the Economic Times of India, Xiaomi created Redmi with as a “budget” sub-brand, furthermore, on an interview posted to Chinese blogging site Weibo, Xiaomi’s Lei stated that “While the Redmi brand focused on value-for-money budget smartphones, the Mi brand is focused on high-end devices. Also, the Redmi devices are primarily sold through e-commerce platforms while Mi devices are not e-commerce focused”.

            Following Lei’s statement, it becomes easier to understand why the west will not be seeing a K20 Pro variant. By releasing a Snapdragon 855 powered device that calls itself a “flagship killer”, the company would potentially put at jeopardy Xiaomi’s high-end focus, not only confusing consumers, but potentially harming the appeal of devices such as the Xiaomi Mi 9 in foreign markets.

            This isn’t the first time that such a tactic has been introduced by Chinese companies when entering the foreign market. Huawei, which owns the Honor sub-brand, ensures that Honor sells less complete packages in comparison to the Mate and P series phones, thus positioning Honor as the budget division of Huawei’s flagship lineup. A similar tactic can be seen with Oppo, owner of both One Plus and the Real Me sub-brands. In their case, One Plus has recently taken a flagship stand with the likes of the One Plus 7 Pro, while the Real Me phones stay at the sub $300 price point, smoothly leaving Oppo’s main brand in a stable mid-range position. By following a similar strategy, Xiaomi can ensure that consumers of all products can assimilate to their brands, while also creating a cohesive ecosystem for consumers to follow.

Is One Plus Xiaomi’s biggest competitor?

            Ultimately, it is important to understand that while the Pocophone is considered a separate sub-brand, it is still - unlike Redmi - advertised as a Xiaomi designed and produced device, meaning that a Pocophone F1 successor, most likely also featuring the Snapdragon 855 found in the K20 Pro, would not only prevent customer confusion, but also successfully ensure that Xiaomi’s vision for the Redmi and Mi brands’ distinctive roles in the market could be fully realised.