iQOO 9 vs Xiaomi 12: Which is the better phone for the price?

Vivo recently launched iQOO 9 in China. So, it would be great to compare it with other decent similar specification phone like the Xiaomi 12. These two phones have not launched in India. So, lets see which is the better phone.

Color and Design

iQOO 9 comes in three color variants : Legendary, Sharp, and Track Version. It is 8.4 mm thick with a weight of 206 grams. Dimensions : 164.5 x 76.7 x 8.4 mm.

While, Xiaomi 12 comes in four color variants : Black, Green, Blue, Pink. It is 8.2 mm thick with a weight of 179/180 grams. Dimensions : 152.7 x 69.9 x 8.2 mm.

Color of a phone is a subjective matter but Xiaomi 12 provides more color options and is slightly thinner and lighter.

Display

iQOO 9 comes with 6.78″, 1080×2400 resolution, 120 Hz, 360 Hz Touch sampling rate, E5 AMOLED display with HDR10 and comes with 88% Screen to Body ratio. It has 1500 nits peak display brightness.

However, Xiaomi 12 comes with 6.28″, 1080×2400 resolution, 120 Hz, Dolby Vision, OLED display with HDR10+ and comes with 89.2% Screen to Body ratio with Gorilla Glass Victus protection. It has 1100 nits peak display brightness.

iQOO 9 is slightly better than Xiaomi 12 in display department because of bigger display and higher display brightness.

Processor

Both phones come with Qualcomm SM8450 Snapdragon 8 Gen1 (4 nm) which is an octa core processor with a clockrate of 1800 – 2995 MHz and Adreno 730 GPU. iQOO also has Independent display chip Pro.

Camera

iQOO 9’s camera setup : 50MP primary ( Samsung S5KGN5, 1/1.57″, OIS), 13MP ultra wide angle (Samsung S5K3L6, 120°), 12MP portrait (Sony IMX663) back camera setup with 16MP front camera.

While, Xiaomi 12’s camera setup : 50MP primary ( Sony IMX 766, f/1.9, 26mm (wide), 1/1.56″, 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS), 13MP ultra wide angle (123°), 5MP telephoto macro back camera setup with 32MP front camera.

Xiaomi 12’s camera setup appears to be better because of better front camera.

RAM and Storage

iQOO 9 comes in 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM variants with LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage with no card slot. It also has 3923 sq. mm VC soaking board.

While, Xiaomi 12 comes in 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM variants with UFS 3.1 storage and no card slot.

Audio

Both phones come with stereo speakers and no 3.5 mm jack.

Battery and Charging

iQOO 9 features 4700 mAh battery with 120W fast charging, 100% in 21 min (advertised) and USB-C.

While, Xiaomi 12 features 4500 mAh battery with 67W fast charging, 100% in 39 min (advertised) and Fast wireless charging, 100% in 53 min (advertised). Its also has 10W reverse wireless charging.

In this department Xiaomi 12 is better.

Other features

iQOO 9 features optical, under display fingerprint scanner and Android 12, Origin OS 2.0 with Dual X-axis linear motors.

While Xiaomi 12 features optical, under display fingerprint scanner and Android 12, MIUI 13.

Price

iQOO 9’s starting price in China is 3999 CNY while Xiaomi 12’s starting price in China is 3699 CNY.

Winner and Conclusion

So, we can conclude that these two phones are quite similar in terms of specifications. However, iQOO 9’s some specifications like camera and display are slightly better than Xiaomi 12. However, it would be better to make a choice between these two phones based on pricing and availability.

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