The Xiaomi CC9 is a selfie flagship for youths

Xiaomi has been churning out a whole lot of new smartphones in the past few months. Shortly after they announced the Redmi K20 series which is better known as the Mi 9T, the Chinese smartphone maker has announced its new CC series which targets the youth with a host of trendy selfie features.

There are a total of three models – CC9, CC9 Meitu Edition and a compact CC9e. All three comes with a triple camera setup and they all looked like a refreshed version of the Mi 9 flagship.

Xiaomi CC9

At first glance, the CC9 looks like a better looking Mi 9 as it comes with more vibrant colour options that include Black, Pearl White and Blue. The front uses a 6.39″ AMOLED display from Samsung that pushes a Full HD+ resolution and 600 nits of brightness. Like the Mi 9, there’s also an in-display fingerprint sensor and you can also unlock via face unlock.

Under the hood, it runs on a 10nm based Snapdragon 710 processor that comes with 6GB RAM and up to 128GB of UFS 2.1 storage. If you need more storage, the CC9 supports microSD card expansion up to 256GB via a hybrid dual-SIM slot.

For taking pictures, it also gets a triple-camera array but it is different from the Mi 9 and Mi 9T. It comes with a 48MP 1/.79 main shooter (likely Sony IMX582) and an 8MP ultra-wide-angle lens. Instead of a telephoto camera, the third camera is a 2MP shooter for depth of field. The device is capable of capturing 4K videos up to 30fps and 960fps slow-mo in 720p resolution.

Selfies are a huge thing for the new CC series. The tiny notch houses a 32MP f/2.0 selfie camera that can combine 4 nearby pixels to create a larger 1.6-micron pixel. It comes with an array of beautification features including AI portrait mode and other features for makeup and studio lighting effects.

Despite being a “Mi” branded device, the CC9 is still packing all of your essential favourites. Apart from NFC, the device also comes with a 3.5mm headphone jack and an IR blaster.

Powering the CC9 is a generous 4,030mAh battery that charges via USB-C and it supports QuickCharge 4. Out of the box, it runs on the current MIUI 10 OS that’s based on Android 9 Pie.

Xiaomi CC9 Meitu Edition

For those who are serious about selfies, Xiaomi has also announced a CC9 Meitu Edition. It only comes with a single pearl white option that packs 8GB RAM and 256GB of storage.

This special edition comes with Meitu branding at the rear and it comes with Meitu beautification features built-in. It promises to offer natural-looking selfies while preserving the texture of your skin. There’s also a range of real-time full-body beautification features that can be useful for vloggers.

Xiaomi CC9e

For those who prefer a more compact device, Xiaomi has also announced the CC9e. It comes with a smaller 6.088″ AMOLED display that pushes a lower HD+ that still comes with an in-display fingerprint sensor.

The CC9e is running on a 11nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 processor, which Xiaomi claims to be the first device to use it. Despite being a more affordable device, you can configure the device with up to 6GB LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB of UFS 2.1 storage.

In the imaging department, it also retains a similar camera setup as the bigger CC9. It has a 48MP f/1.79 main camera, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera and a 2MP depth shooter. The front notch also comes with a 32MP f/2.0 selfie shooter.

The device is also powered by a 4,030mAh battery and it charges via USB-C. A 10W charger is included but it can support faster QuickCharge 3.0 chargers. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come with NFC but it still gets an infra-red blaster as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack. The device also supports microSD card expansion on its hybrid dual-SIM slot.

Pricing

Below is the official pricing for the CC series in China:

CC9
6GB RAM + 64GB storage – 1,799CNY (about RM1,083)
6GB RAM + 128GB storage – 1,999CNY (about RM1,203)
Meitu Edition 8GB RAM + 256GB storage – 2,599CNY (about RM1,565)

CC9e
4GB RAM + 64GB storage – 1,299CNY (about RM782)
6GB RAM + 64GB storage – 1,399CNY (about RM842)
6GB RAM + 128GB storage – 1,599CNY (about RM962)

It is only available in China at the moment and there’s no word if it will be sold globally.