The Xiaomi Mi CC9 series will be first released for sale on July 5, 2019

Xiaomi has launched its fresh new CC brand during an event in China on July 2, 2019. It introduced the Mi CC9e and CC9 as expected, as well as the Mi CC9mt, which is an homage of sorts to the OEM's partner in designing this new line, Meitu. The Mi CC9e has a form-factor very like that of the Mi 9 smartphone, as expected from some initial leaks.

More surprisingly, the 2 CC9 variants do likewise, despite rumors of a more novel flip-up camera that was portrayed as somewhat like that of the Asus Zenfone 6 but with a much less symmetrical lens arrangement. Perhaps this component is in fact meant for a future generation of CCs. In any case, the now extant devices of this brand are strongly camera-oriented, as could have been imagined from the Meitu tie-in. All 3 CCs have triple 48+8+2MP rear cameras, which are for main shooting, 120-degree wide-angle photos and depth-sensing respectively. They also all have 32MP selfie cameras in waterdrop notches.

This, then is where the 3 devices start to diverge. The Mi CC9e has a rather compact 6.01 inch HD+ display, whereas this size increases in the Mi CC9 and CC9mt to accomodate 6.39 inch FHD+ equally AMOLED panels. Most interestingly, the CC9e rocks the Snapdragon 665 SoC, and not the 660 as projected from some Geekbench results attributed to the phone. This chipset features the Adreno 610 GPU, 8 Kyro 260 cores and a 2.0GHz maximal clock speed.

The CC9s feature the Snapdragon 710, which, while potentially more powerful, has been seen in more phones before. The Mi CC9e has either 4 or 6GB RAM SKUs with 64 or 128GB storage options. The Mi CC9 has 6GB RAM, with the same internal capacity choices as the 9e. The Mi CC9mt, on the other hand, has only 1 SKU, with 8GB RAM and 256GB in storage. It also has an exclusive color option: Pearl White.

The other 2 options come in a different shade of white that appears to resemble the Breathing Crystal effect found in the Huawei P30 line. Alternatively, there are also black or gradient deep purplish blue options for these phones. The Mi CC9e starts at 1299 yuan (or about US$188) for its 4/64GB base model, whereas the Mi CC9 starts at 1799 yuan (about $260) for a 6/64GB SKU. The CC9mt is of course the most expensive version, at 2599 yuan (~$378). Online orders for this phone, in addition to the CC9s, will go live on July 5, 2019.