Xiaomi Mi 9 vs Apple iPhone XS Max

Compared 2 smartphones : Xiaomi Mi 9 Manufactured in April, 2019, with display 6.39 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 855, vs Apple iPhone XS Max, Manufactured in September, 2018 with chipsetApple A12 Bionic. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Xiaomi Mi 9
  • Lighter design: 173g vs 208g
  • Higher battery capacity: 3300mAh vs 3174mAh
  • Infrared port
  • Fingerprint scanner
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone XS Max
  • Larger display: 6.5in
  • Higher pixel density: 456ppi
  • Supports Dolby Atmos
  • Built-in eSIM

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 6/64 GB
- 6/128 GB
- 8/64 GB
- 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 4/64 GB
- 4/256 GB
- 4/512 GB

Review

Key Specs Xiaomi Mi 9 and Apple iPhone XS Max
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Camera
Main & front camera tests
Performance
App & system performance
Games
3D gaming performance
Battery
Battery life, charging speed & type
Connectivity
Connectivity features
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
Customize your score
Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison

Display

Display quality comparison
Type AMOLED OLED
Size 6.39 in 6.5 in
Resolution 1080x2340 pixels 1242x2688 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.4:9
Pixel density 403 ppi 456 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max brightness 600 nits 625 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10 Yes Dolby Vision
Touch Sampling Rate n/a 120 Hz
Screen-to-body ratio 85.3 % 85.4 %
Features - Always-On Display
- DC dimming
DCI-P3
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Xiaomi Mi 9
619 nits
Apple iPhone XS Max
657 nits
sRGB gamut95.4 %98.8 %
PWM (Flicker)245 Hz240 Hz
Response time4.2 ms11.2 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite∞ Infinite

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 157.5 mm (6.2 in) 157.5 mm (6.2 in)
Width 74.6 mm (2.94 in) 77.4 mm (3.05 in)
Thickness 7.6 mm (0.3 in) 7.7 mm (0.3 in)
Weight 173 g (6.1 oz) 208 g (7.34 oz)
Water resistance No IP68
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - Black
- Blue
- Purple
- Silver
- Gold
- Gray
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display No
Screen-to-body ratio
Xiaomi Mi 9
85.3 %
Apple iPhone XS Max
85.4 %

Performance

Testing Xiaomi Mi 9 and Apple iPhone XS Max In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Apple A12 Bionic
Max Frequency 2840 MHz 2490 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 4) 6 (2 + 4)
Architecture - 4/1.8 (Cortex-A55 (Kryo 485 Silver))
- 3/2.42 (Cortex-A76 (Kryo 485 Gold))
- 1/2.84 (Cortex-A76 (Kryo 485 Gold))
- 4/1.6 (Tempest)
- 2/2.49 (Vortex)
Process TSMC TSMC
Transistor Size 7 nm 7 nm
Neural Processor Hexagon 690 Neural Engine
Graphics Adreno 640 Apple A12 GPU
GPU Cores 768 256
GPU Frequency 585 MHz 1100 MHz
FLOPS 898.5 GFLOPS 576 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Xiaomi Mi 9
898
Apple iPhone XS Max
1310
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Xiaomi Mi 9
2206
Apple iPhone XS Max
3458
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)8981310
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)22063458
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Xiaomi Mi 9
651041
Apple iPhone XS Max
700191
CPU209300198067
GPU191747185355
Memory113809152138
UX136185164631
NanoReview Score651041700191
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Xiaomi Mi 9
3100
Apple iPhone XS Max
5703
Max Surface Temp.35.6 °C45.2 °C
Stability91 %66 %
Graphics Test18 fps34 fps
Graphics Score31005703
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Xiaomi Mi 9
10649
Apple iPhone XS Max
n/a
Writing score14618n/a
Web score7084n/a
Video editing6715n/a
Data manipulation7931n/a
NanoReview Score10649n/a

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 6 GB 4 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4X LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency 2133 MHz n/a
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage Capacity128 GB- 64 GB
- 256 GB
- 512 GB
Storage TypeUFS 2.1NVMe
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 9.0 (Upgradeable to Android 11) iOS 12 (Upgradeable to iOS 18.3.2)
OS Size 13.5 GB 16 GB
UI Skin MIUI 12.5 n/a

Battery

Volume 3300 mAh 3174 mAh
Max Charging Power 27 W 18 W
Battery Type Li-Po Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (20 W) Yes Qi (10 W)
Reverse Charging No No
Fast Charging Yes Quick Charge 4 (50% in 30 min) Yes (50% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:30 h 03:29 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Xiaomi Mi 9
17:14
Apple iPhone XS Max
17:28
Web Browsing06:08 h06:43 h
Video Playback11:37 h10:28 h
Games04:07 h04:11 h
Standby Mode83 h87 h

Main camera

Matrix 48 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 8000x6000 pixels 4032x3024 pixels
Zoom Optical, 2x Optical, 2x
Flash Dual LED Quad LED
Stabilization Digital Optical
8K Recording No No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 960 fps (1080p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens 117 ° n/a
Lenses count Standard: 48 MP
Telephoto: 12 MP
Ultra-wide: 16 MP
Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix48 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.8
Focal length27 mm28 mm
SensorSony IMX586Apple iSight X
Sensor size1/21/2.5
Pixel size0.8 μm1.4 μm
AutofocusLaser autofocusPhase autofocus
StabilizationDigitalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.4
Focal length54 mm52 mm
SensorSamsung S5K3M5n/a
Sensor size1/3.61/3.4
Pixel size1 μm1 μm
StabilizationDigitalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix16 MPn/a
Aperturef/2.2n/a
Focal length13 mmn/a
SensorSony IMX481n/a
Sensor size1/3.0n/a
Pixel size1 μmn/a
StabilizationDigitaln/a
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Xiaomi Mi 9
112
Apple iPhone XS Max
110
Video quality
Xiaomi Mi 9
99
Apple iPhone XS Max
96
Overall camera score
Xiaomi Mi 9
107
Apple iPhone XS Max
105

Front camera

Matrix 20 MP 7 MP
Photo resolution 5184x3880 pixels 3088x2316 pixels
Aperture f/2.0 f/2.2
Focal length 18 mm 32 mm
Sensor CMOS BSI CMOS
Sensor size 1/3 n/a
Pixel size 0.9 μm n/a
Autofocus No Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 30 fps 1080p (Full HD) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No
Selfie camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Xiaomi Mi 9
n/a
Apple iPhone XS Max
97
Video quality
Xiaomi Mi 9
n/a
Apple iPhone XS Max
119

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5 5
Bluetooth features LE, A2DP SPP, PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HFP, HDP, GAP, GAVDP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C No
USB version 2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- USB-Host mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Galileo
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port Yes No
Connectivity
SIM Count*21
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM Standbyn/a
eSIM Support *NoYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900
3G BandsHSDPA 850, HSDPA 900, HSDPA 1900, HSDPA 2100HSDPA 850, HSDPA 900, HSDPA 1900, HSDPA 2100
LTE Bands*LTE (B800/B900/B1800/B2100/B2300/B2500/B2600)LTE (B700/B800/B850/B900/B1700/B1800/B1900/B2100/B2600)
LTE category2016
5G SupportNoNo

Sound

Speakers Mono Stereo
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos No Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Xiaomi Mi 9
87.1 dB
Apple iPhone XS Max
77.2 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced February, 2019 yr September, 2018 yr
Release Date April, 2019 yr September, 2018 yr
Launch Price ($) 460 1100
Sensors - Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Face Sensor
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

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