With the release of Mi 9, Xiaomi redefines the flagship category. One of the first phones with Snapdragon 855, Mi 9 packs a 48 MP shooter with up to 12 GB of RAM (on the special ‘Transparent Edition’).

Xiaomi includes an in-display fingerprint sensor, but embraces the notch for the selfie camera. Unlike Samsung’s punch hole design, Xiaomi opts for a minimal waterdrop like notch with Mi 9.

mi_9_front_back
The waterdrop style notch of Mi 9 on the official render

The phone was announced in China before global release, which is common for Xiaomi. After interacting with the device physically, several users noted that the notch looked substantially circular which is altogether different from the marketing materials.

mi_9_in_hand_circular_notch
Mi 9 in hand; the notch is more circular than a waterdrop (Click/Tap to zoom)

After posting the same in Xiaomi forums, a moderator assured the users that subsequent OTA updates would fix the issue.

mi_9_notch_fix_mod
Translated using Google Translate

In an earlier article today, we discussed about the availability of the first official MIUI builds for the Chinese models of Mi 9 and Mi 9 SE. The development team of Xiaomi seems to be on fire, as the first incremental update for Mi 9 is now live!

A Weibo user has shared the details of the update. The changelog clearly mentions ‘waterdrop’ as an improvement.

mi_9_miui_10.2.11.0_china_changelog

A quick English translation gives us the following:

Changelog
MIUI-V10.2.11.0.PFACNXM

System

– Optimize waterdrop screen mode

– Optimize low-latency ear return

Camera

– Added AI camera moon mode

– Added motion and shooting function is recording mode

– Optimize camera quality

The new update is carrying the version number 10.2.11.0, which is a minor increment from the initial build (10.2.5.0). The translated changelog, however, looks way overweight for a minor update.

mi_9_update_waterdrop_weibo
Translated using Google Translate

The same user has posted a side by side comparison of the new notch of Mi 9 after applying the update with that of OnePlus 6T.

mi_9_update_waterdrop_notch
Clip/Tap to zoom

TBH, looks more like a waterdrop to me now – doesn’t it?

Presumably Xiaomi engineers added a new overlay to handle the notch section, which was missed (?) on the build installed from factory.

Kudos to the Xiaomi Firmware Updater project and its developer yshalsager, we now have the link of the full update zip. Here we go:

  • Device: Mi 9 (including Transparent Edition)
  • Codename: cepheus
  • Channel: China Stable
  • Version: V10.2.11.0.PFACNXM
  • Android: 9.0
    • Type: Recovery
      • Download: Link
      • MD5: 4f19972866698334753c5b35e8ee8984

You guys should know the drill: download the package and use it for manual system update.

xiaomi_local_update
Click/Tap to zoom

Moreover, Xiaomi has announced recruitment for beta testing the developer builds for Mi 9 and Mi 9 SE in their Chinese forums.

mi_9_9_se_beta_testing
Translated using Google Translate

The global release of Mi 9 is scheduled on February 28. Just before that, the call for beta testing is pretty significant.

Few days ago, Xiaomi engineer Ivan suggested that the Chinese OEM is planning to tune up the FOSS development and release kernel source codes as soon as possible.

xiaomi_ivan_kernel_2019
Translated using Google Translate

Well, posting the kernel source of Mi 9 on launch day was not a gimmick then. Expect some serious development with these phones in near future.

Update (28th February, 2018)

Xiaomi is currently rolling out a similar update, targeting European Mi 9 variant.

mi_9_eu_10.2.12_changelog
Image source: @andreamen97
  • Device: Mi 9 (including Transparent Edition)
  • Codename: cepheus
  • Channel: European/Global Stable
  • Version: V10.2.12.0.PFAEUXM
  • Android: 9.0
    • Type: Recovery
      • Download: Link
      • MD5: Incoming

Looks like users did poke them hard. ?

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Kingshuk De
896 Posts

I came from a mixed background of Statistics and Computer Science. My research domains included embedded computer systems, mobile computing and delay tolerant networks in post-disaster scenarios. Apart from tinkering with gadgets or building hackintosh, I like to hop on various subreddits and forums like MyDigitalLife and XDA.

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