Briefing: Xiaomi to announce its ‘best-looking’ flagship Mi 9

雷军：小米9不仅最好看 而且非常能打 – Netease Tech

What happened: Xiaomi has announced they will reveal their flagship model Mi 9 on Feb. 20 in Beijing. Rumors put the starting price at RMB 2999 (roughly $440). Mi 9 will be the “best-looking Xiaomi smartphone model so far”, the Chinese smartphone maker claimed in a WeChat post (in Chinese) on Wednesday. The upcoming flagship will also reportedly be the first model from Xiaomi powered by Qualcomm’s latest processor Snapdragon 855 and comes with three cameras in the back.

Why it’s important: China’s smartphone market has been increasingly competitive for foreign players, as the top four brands are all Chinese in terms of market share. Figures from research firm IDC show that Huawei, OPPO, vivo, and Xiaomi made up roughly 78% of the China market in 2018, up from 66% in 2017. To be released as Samsung’s Galaxy S10 in the US, the Mi 9 will be yet another premium model for Xiaomi, an area where they’ve historically been weak.

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