With the new Mi 9, Xiaomi did not just aim at offering the best flagship out there: the company also cared about the price and released one of the most affordable real flagship phones. That is why it is automatic for us to compare its value for money with the other affordable flagships released from other important manufacturers. Among the latest ones, there are Honor Magic 2 3D and Nokia 9 PureView. Besides carrying a not so high price tag, they also offer a lot of innovation: is it enough to compete with the Mi 9 or the latter will remain the most wanted best-buy of the year? This comparison is here to shed some light on it.
Xiaomi Mi 9 vs Huawei Honor Magic 2 3D vs Nokia 9 PureView
| Xiaomi Mi 9 | Huawei Honor Magic 2 3D | Nokia 9 PureView | |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT | 157.5 x 74.7 x 7.6 mm, 173 g | 157.3 x 75.1 x 8.3 mm, 206 g | 155 x 75 x 8 mm, 172 g |
| DISPLAY | 6.39 inches, 1080 x 2340p (Full HD+), Super AMOLED | 6.39 inches, 1080 x 2340p (Full HD+), AMOLED | 5.99 inches, 1440 x 2880p (Quad HD+), P-OLED |
| PROCESSOR | Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, octa-core 2.84 GHz | Huawei HiSilicon Kirin 980, octa-core 2.6 GHz | Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, octa-core 2.8 GHz |
| MEMORY | 6 GB RAM, 64 GB – 6 GB RAM, 128 GB – 8 GB RAM, 128 GB | 6 GB RAM, 128 GB – 8 GB RAM, 128 GB – 8 GB RAM, 256 GB – 8 GB RAM, 512 GB | 6 GB RAM, 128 GB |
| SOFTWARE | Android 9 Pie, MIUI | Android 9 Pie, Magic UI | Android 9 Pie, Android One |
| CONNECTIVITY | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS |
| CAMERA | Triple 48 + 16 + 12 MP, f/1.8, f/2.2 and f/2.2 20 MP f/2.0 front camera |
Triple 16 + 16 + 24 MP, f/1.8, f/2.2 and f/1.8 Triple 16 + 2 MP + TOF sensor f/2.0 and f/2.4 front camera |
Penta 12 MP + TOF camera f/1.8 20 MP front camera |
| BATTERY | 3300 mAh, fast charging with Quick Charge 4+, wireless charging | 3500 mAh, fast charging | 3320 mAh, fast charging with Quick Charge 3.0, wireless charging |
| ADDITIONAL FEATURES | Dual SIM slot | Dual SIM slot | Dual SIM slot, water resistant (IP67) |
Design
The most futuristic and interesting design is the one found on the Honor Magic 2 3D which comes with a slider mechanism containing the front cameras. The slider, which you can open manually, allows the display to be fully borderless without needing a notch. Further, it allows the phone to be more compact than average. We like its aesthetics even because it comes with a very clean rear side, thanks to the presence of an in-display fingerprint reader. Nokia 9 PureView is not the most beautiful device due to its thicker bezels and the presence of several holes on the back due to its penta-camera setup, but it is the only with water resistance.
Display
Nokia 9 PureView should have the display with the best view quality. First of all, it comes with a higher resolution: 1440 x 2880 pixels, for a higher level of detail. Further, it is HDR10-compliant, so it should offer a very nice color reproduction. However, Xiaomi Mi 9 and Honor Magic 2 3D still come with wonderful displays. They are just Full HD+, but they are HDR10-compliant as well, and they even have DCI-P3 coverage. All the handsets come with a fast and advanced in-display fingerprint reader.
Hardware/Software
Xiaomi Mi 9 comes with a more powerful chipset and it has a better hardware department overall. It is equipped with a faster Snapdragon 855 SoC and up to 8 GB of RAM. The Honor Magic 2 comes with way more internal storage: up to 512 GB instead of just 128 GB, but its chipset is slightly inferior. Nokia 9 PureView takes the last place of the ranking because it comes with the old-gen Snapdragon 845 chipset released in 2018. On the other hand, it has Android One instead of a customized Android fork, that is a stock Android version supported directly by Google with faster and more constant major updates.
Camera
The most impressive camera department is definitely the one found on the Nokia 9 PureView, that is the first phone with a penta-camera setup. It includes 2x RGB sensors and 3x monochromatic sensors that are able to work simultaneously, alongside a 3D TOF camera which captures depth information. Xiaomi Mi 9 comes right after with its impressive 48 MP rear camera. Honor Magic 2 3D wins when it comes to selfies, thanks to its triple front camera including a 3D sensor.
Battery
Honor Magic 2 3D has the biggest battery but it is not said that it lasts more. Nokia 9 PureView may come with better software optimization and it may surprise you, but we still did not test its battery life, so we can not give a definitive verdict.
Price
I would prefer the Xiaomi Mi 9 in this comparison due to its higher value for money, more powerful hardware and its good cameras. It costs just €450 in the global market, while Honor Magic 2 3D starts from €500 in Asia and Nokia 9 PureView will cost €620.
Xiaomi Mi 9 vs Huawei Honor Magic 2 3D vs Nokia 9 PureView: PRO and CONS
Huawei Honor Magic 2 3D
PROS
- Efficient cooling system
- Best selfie cameras
- Slider design
- Bigger battery
CONS
- Worse rear cameras
Xiaomi Mi 9
PROS
- Very affordable price
- Great build quality
- Amazing cameras
- Best hardware
CONS
- Notch
Nokia 9 PureView
PROS
- Fast wireless charging and USB-PD
- Great cameras
- Good display
- Water resistant
CONS
- Lower-end hardware
