DxOMark: The Mi 9T Pro delivers capable cameras albeit with a few flaws

Xiaomi launched the Redmi K20 and K20 Pro earlier in the year for the Chinese market, and went on to rebrand the phones as the Mi 9T and 9T Pro for the global market, respectively. Popular photography evaluation website, DxOMark, has finally tested the Redmi K20 Pro—Mi 9T Pro—and the device made a good account of itself.

The Mi 9T Pro features a triple camera setup. The ubiquitous 48 MP Sony IMX586 (f/1.75) makes an appearance as the main shooter, and is supported by an 8 MP telephoto shooter with f/2.4 aperture, and a 13 MP ultra-wide-angle lens also with f/2.4 aperture.

The Mi 9T Pro earned an overall score of 102. That puts it in the same ballpark as the Google Pixel 3 (102), iPhone XR (101), LG G8 ThinQ (99), Samsung Galaxy Note 9 (103), and the Asus Zenfone 6 (104) which we were so positive about last week. 

In the still photography segment, it made do with a score of 108. That's higher than the Pixel 3 (103), iPhone XR (103) and LG G8 ThinQ (104). It does compare well to the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 (107) and Asus Zenfone 6 (108). Notable weaknesses included limited dynamic range, inconsistent noise levels in bokeh shots, and color shading in most shooting conditions.

While the Mi 9T Pro had a solid still image showing, it fell flat in the video test, as it only earned a score of 89. That puts it a whole tier below last-gen flagships like the Galaxy Note 9, Pixel 3, and iPhone XR. Notable weaknesses include limited dynamic range, lack of detail, jello effect, and focus instabilities in relatively low-lit conditions.

Going by the images samples, we noticed clipping and exposure weaknesses in high-contrast scenes, high levels of noise in bokeh shots, and lack of detail in telephoto shots.

Also, the Mi 9, another Xiaomi device also featuring the Sony IMX586, outperformed the Mi 9T Pro in most shooting conditions, which is testament to Xiaomi reserving its best image processing chops for its main flagship (buy Mi 9T now at Amazon). The Mi 9T features similar hardware to the Mi 9T Pro, so we expect it to provide similar camera performance, although it may be a bit weaker across the board considering the weaker SoC and ISP.

While the Mi 9T Pro isn't the best camera smartphone out there, it does hold its own. It also helps that it can be had for just US$340 on Aliexpress right now (buy Mi 9T Pro now at Amazon); it's a bit hard to argue with the value for money it offers.