Xiaomi teases Mi 9 Explorer Edition smartphone with Snapdragon 855 SoC and 12GB RAM

Xiaomi is set to launch the Mi 9 flagship smartphone on February 20, a few days before the Mobile World Congress kicks off in Barcelona. The Chinese smartphone maker cannot wait to showcase the Mi 9 to the world, teasing official renders and specifications of the phone before its release.

The Mi 9 Explorer Edition recently appeared in an Alita: Battle Angel trailer. On the 15th of February, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun wrote, “On February 20th, Xiaolong 855 is the world premiere!” on the Chinese microblogging site, Weibo. The post was in reference to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC on the Xiaomi Mi 9.

Perhaps Lei Jun was referring to a more perfect adaption of the Snapdragon 855 chipset on a smartphone, like the Lenovo’s Z5 Pro GT already premiered a Snapdragon 855 chipset during its launch in December 2018. However, from official renders of the Mi 9, there are several evident design improvements from Lenovo’s Z5 Pro GT.

The Xiaomi Mi 9 is undoubtedly set to be an ultimate show stopper. The Explorer Edition will feature a transparent back revealing a dummy version of the phone’s chipset components – which are just a fancy, machined aluminium heat sink. Xiaomi has taken a step in the right direction by admitting that the parts in the transparent version of the Mi 9 aren’t the real deal, unlike their insistence that the Mi 8 transparent version revealed the phone’s actual chipset.

The Mi 9 will also be available in Lavender Violet, Ocean Blue, and Piano Black finishes. Xiaomi stated that a nano-scale laser holography process coupled with double layer coating – to create the holographic illusion colours – will be used on the Mi 9. There’s a lot to like about the Mi 9, and from recent spec reveals, it can quickly go toe-to-toe with the Galaxy S10 or any other Snapdragon 855 handset.