Xiaomi Mi 9 UK release date set for April 30

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Xiaomi has finally announced the Xiaomi Mi 9 UK release date, its mid-range flagship smartphone. The handset is already available in China, as well as several European countries including Italy and Spain, but we hadn't heard of a UK launch until now.

The phone will be available from April 30, and you can get it from Vodafone as well as Mi.com and the Mi store in London. Xiaomi hasn't shared pricing information yet, but we'll update this story when it does.

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The only smartphone Xiaomi has pushed in the UK previously is the Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro, so the Mi 9 is really the first flagship device it's released here – but, if it follows in the footsteps of fellow Chinese companies Huawei and OnePlus, we could see it become a much more recognisable brand when considering your next phone.

What is the Xiaomi Mi 9?

The Xiaomi Mi 9 is a high-end smartphone that's launched elsewhere at a price that's a lot lower than you'd expect for the spec. 

While Xiaomi hasn't announced prices yet for the UK market, the phone launched in Europe at €449 for the 64GB model and €499 for 128GB, which converts to roughly £390 and £430 respectively – not a lot for some of its impressive features.

One of the noteworthy features of the Xiaomi Mi 9 is that it runs on a Snapdragon 855 chipset – it shares this with other high-end phones like the Samsung Galaxy S10, which cost almost double. 

In fact, the Mi 9 is one of the cheapest handsets you can get if you want such an advanced processor.

On top of that, the Xiaomi Mi 9 has a triple-camera array, consisting of a 48MP main snapper joined by a 16MP sensor with an ultra-wide lens, and a 12MP telephoto shooter. 

We took some high-quality pictures with the phone – it's not quite on par with the Huawei P30, which also has three cameras, but it's close.

The phone does have a few downsides, like its low battery capacity or the user interface (which looked a bit unattractive to us), but you can find out all about the positives and negatives by checking out our Xiaomi Mi 9 review.

Expect to see the Xiaomi Mi 9 in Vodafone stores and online from April 30.

• When it launched the Xiaomi Mi 9 nearly topped this benchmark test

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