I researched new Android phones for six weeks. I started out looking at Android One phones, which, if you don’t know, are phones that have pure Android OS and get three years of updates as quickly as Pixel phones. That’s where I became curious about Xiaomi because they offer an Android One model, but it’s had some connectivity issues in the US, so I passed.
I looked at Motorola, Pixel, Asus, Honor, Sony, Huawei, Nokia, and several others. I read innumerable reviews and checked forums for complaints and issues when I became interested in a certain model. After a while I gave up. Each phone I looked at seemed to have either well known issues or was too expensive. Then I did a search for “best Xiaomi model for the US”, and the mi 9T popped up. I hadn’t heard of that model. It’s set up for the US market and US carriers and comes with the proper charger, or at least mine did.
I was close to getting a Pixel 3 on sale for 499.00, but considering all the reported problems and Google’s crappy warranty, ( If your phones needs warranty repair, they replace it with a used phone) and I was just about to give up and stick with my Asus, but at the last minute I thought I’d take a chance on the Xiaomi mi 9T.
The mi 9T is an unbelievable phone, price notwithstanding. It has a truly full screen, Gorilla Glass 5front and back which the Pixel phones have, a wickedly fast processor, an amazing three cameras, and it’s beautifully crafted. The in-screen fingerprint reader is fast and accurate. The popup selfie camera is way ahead in design which is a feature I’ll never use, but it's cool nonetheless. The speaker is loud and very clear. It’s a much better phone than anything in the Pixel line, and blows Moto away in all categories.
Any concerns about connectivity can be dismissed. I have ATT. I just returned from Montana. I had a strong connection everywhere I went.
If the lack of warranty is a concern, here are my thoughts; cell phone warranty service is a joke, no matter the manufacturer. They fight you tooth and nail, and if they do cave in, often you get a crappy repair or a used phone, even if your phone is only a few weeks old. That’s why I never spend more than 200.00 for a new Android, except in the case of the mi 9T. I had $80.00 in Amazon points, so I broke my own rule a bit, but it was close enough. I’d rather risk 200.00 with no warranty than $500.00 or more for a phone with a useless warranty.
Yes, the mi 9T comes with 25 applications specific to their version of Android. Many are duplicates of Google apps. There is a way to delete them, but it sounds a little risky to me. I installed Nova launcher inorder to get an app drawer. I edited the names of all the bloat apps, giving them all the single letter z as a name. That dropped them to the bottom of the app drawer where I won’t see them. That’s my quick fix.
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Reviews with images
Great all around phone! Very good camera! Love it!
I really like this phone. It's much faster than my Huawei Honor 7x (GPS died on that one) with a much better camera. I like the little pop-up selfie camera and the dedicated wide-angle lens. I haven't been able to get the Google Pay to work for some reason but it might not be the phone's fault. It charges quickly and holds a charge well, has some neat graphics when you are charging, using the thumbprint sensor, etc. I don't see how you could beat this thing, but, by all means, go ahead and pay an additional $800 for an iPhone, I'm sure it will be worth it.
