It looks like there’s no stopping Xiaomi from climbing up the ladder to become the biggest smartphone manufacturer in the industry.
The Chinese brand keeps on coming up with value-oriented devices, from the flagship segment up to low-end ones. With that, just recently, the company’s local arm just released the Xiaomi Mi 9 SE in the country.
This device, just like its other siblings, wants to be your best option if you’re shopping in the midrange price category.
But the thing is, other prominent brands have started to get their act straight, and finally introduce capable products that are worthy of competition to Xiaomi’s releases. One of them is Samsung and their latest Galaxy A50.
We sure did love the Samsung Galaxy A50 in our full review. Clearly, it’s the best midrange device that the company currently offers.
But the question is, how does it stack up against a device from an enthusiast-favorite brand like Xiaomi? That’s what we’re about to find out in our Xiaomi Mi 9 SE vs Samsung Galaxy A50 specs comparison.
| Samsung Galaxy A50 | Xiaomi Mi 9 SE | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Android 9.0 Pie Samsung One UI | Android 9 Pie MIUI 10 |
| SIM | Dual SIM Dual Standby | Dual SIM Dual Standby |
| Display | 6.4-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED 2340 x 1080 pixel resolution ~403ppi Corning Gorilla Glass 3 | 5.97-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED 2340 x 1080 pixel resolution ~432ppi Corning Gorilla Glass 5 |
| Processor | 2.3GHz Exynos 9610 octa-core | 2.3 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 712 octa-core |
| RAM | 6GB | 6GB |
| GPU | Mali-G72 MP3 | Adreno 616 |
| Storage | 128GB expandable via microSD up to 512GB | 64GB UFS 2.1 non-expandable |
| Front camera | 25-megapixel | 20-megapixel |
| Rear Camera | 25-megapixel + 8-megapixel (ultra wide) + 5-megapixel (depth sensor) PDAF f/1.7 LED flash AI scene optimizer | 48-megapixel (f/1.8) + 12-megapixel (ultra wide) + 16-megapixel (telephoto, f/2.4) PDAF LED flash |
| Audio | Headphone jack Dolby Atmos | No headphone jack |
| Security | In-display fingerprint scanner Face unlock | In-display fingerprint scanner Face unlock |
| Connectivity | HSPA+, 4G LTE WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band Bluetooth 5.0 GPS, GLONASS, BDS, Galileo USB Type-C | HSPA+, 4G LTE WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band Bluetooth 5.0 GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, Galileo USB Type-C |
| Dimensions | 158.5 x 74.7 x 7.7mm | 147.5 x 70.5 x 7.5mm |
| Weight | 166g | 155g |
| Colors | Gradient Black Blue White Coral | Violet Blue Gray |
| Battery | 4,000mAh 15W charger | 3,070mAh 18W charging |
| Price | Php17,990 | Php15,990 |
As what you just saw, it’s been a very close fight between the Xiaomi Mi 9 SE and the Samsung Galaxy A50. So to ultimately decide which one is right for you, let’s digest the facts that we just saw.
To start, both the Mi 9 SE and Galaxy A50 has an identical FHD+ Super AMOLED screens with an in-display fingerprint scanner. However, the Galaxy A50 is much taller at 6.4-inches.
Having a big screen can provide more space for gaming and productivity. But if you have butterfingers, then you might want to settle to the smaller 5.97-inch screen that the Mi 9 SE has as it comes with a sturdier Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection.
Samsung used its own Exynos 9610 processor on the Galaxy A50, while Xiaomi utilized a Snapdragon 712 chipset from Qualcomm. Both processors shall provide an identical speed in terms of basic tasks and gaming.
The two also have the same 6GB of RAM, with the only difference here is the storage. The Galaxy A50 has 128GB of expandable storage out of the box.
Meanwhile, the Mi 9 SE only has half of that at 64GB, and doesn’t have microSD card support. On the upside, it has a faster UFS 2.1 storage technology, which shall provide better overall performance.
We’re also seeing a close fight in the battery department. The Samsung Galaxy A50 has a bigger 4,000mAh battery over the 3,070mAh capacity on the competition. However, the Xiaomi Mi 9 SE makes up for it by having a faster 18W fast-charging (vs 15W on the A50).
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These two devices really went neck and neck in this comparison. But on this next round, we have a clear winner.
The Xiaomi Mi 9 SE sports a 48-megapixel primary camera, which is nothing against the 25-megapixel shooter that the Galaxy A50 has. There’s also the 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera, which can offer sharper details than the 8-megapixel one on the competition.
Lastly, the Mi 9 SE’s trifecta of cameras is completed by a 16-megapixel telephoto camera, while the Galaxy A50 settles for a 5-megapixel depth-sensor.
To Samsung’s credit, the Galaxy A50 does come with a 25-megapixel selfie camera, which is better than the 20-megapixel on the former. It also has a headphone jack, which we’re disappointed to not see on Xiaomi’s offering.
With that all said, I guess it’s clear which is the ultimate winner here. The Samsung Galaxy A50 might be the best midrange device that we saw from Samsung, but it still failed to match Xiaomi’s offering.
The two clearly has tons of similarities, but the Xiaomi Mi 9 SE was able to one-up the competition by having a better set of cameras.
More importantly, it has a more value-oriented price tag. This thing comes at only Php15,990, which is Php2,000 cheaper than the Galaxy A50, which is at Php17,990.