Pricing details of the Mi 9 revealed - Big jump when compared to the Mi 8

Xiaomi will unveil the Mi 9 tomorrow at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, and more details of the flagship have surfaced. The latest leak gives us our first concrete look at what will be, perhaps, the Mi 9’s best feature: price. 

According to the source, the Mi 9 will start at CNY 3,299 (US$490). That will be the MSRP of the 6/64 GB base model in China. The 8/128 GB model will set buyers back CNY 3,499 (US$520), while the 8/256 GB SKU carries a price tag of CNY 3,699 (US$545). The 8/256 GB Transparent Edition will retail for CNY 4,999 (US$740), and the top of the line Explorer Edition has a whopping price tag of CNY 5,999 (US$885).

Considering the Mi 9’s impressive specifications sheet, it’s not surprising to learn that there is a hefty increment in price over the Mi 8. The base 6/64 GB  Mi 8 model cost CNY 2,699, the 6/128 GB went for CNY 2,999, and the top 6/256 GB model had an MSRP of CNY 3,299, with prices converting to US$420, US$470, and US$515 respectively.

The base model has stayed constant across the two generations (6/64 GB) but will see a CNY 600 bump in price that translates to a US$70 differential. Heavy indeed. In fact, it’d be a bit higher (US$95) but the dollar strengthened a bit over that period. That said, it was always going to happen, since Xiaomi launched two new sub-brands—Poco and Redmi—which we expected to herald an upmarket move for the Mi line.

This move will allow Xiaomi to, like Huawei, move upmarket, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see phones like the Mi 9 and Mi Mix 4 have significant increases in MSRP over their predecessors.

In spite of it all, US$490 is still quite a bit under industry average prices, and the closest phone to the Mi 9, the OnePlus 7, will likely be at least US$50 more expensive.