Huawei has blossomed from an underrated smartphone brand to one of the most celebrated in the industry today. That’s all thanks to the strong line-up that they currently have.
For one, the Mate 20 series is considered as one of the best — if not the best — Android smartphones in the market today. But other than their high-end line-up, the company is also offering a lot of interesting budget alternatives for the masses.
One of them is the newly announced Huawei Y9 2019, a sub-Php13k handset that packs some of the latest technologies that the tech giant has to offer.
But to counter it, Xiaomi has also launched their latest midrange device here in the Philippines. This is the new Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite, the most affordable member of the entire Mi 8 family.
Just like the Y9 2018, the Mi 8 brags a set of features that aims to justify every penny that you’d be spending for it. A mantra that the company is practicing since its conception.
Today we have the Huawei Y9 2019 versus Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite in our specifications and features comparison, a battle between two of the most sought-after midrange handsets in the market today. In this comparison, we want to help you decide which between these two devices are worth your hard-earned money.
| Huawei Y9 2019 | Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Android 8.1 Oreo EMUI 8.2 | Android 8.1 Oreo MIUI |
| SIM | Dual SIM Dual Standby Hybrid | Dual SIM Dual Standby Hybrid |
| Display | 6.5-inch Full HD+ IPS 2340 x 1080 pixel resolution ~396ppi 19:9 aspect ratio | 6.26-inch FHD+ IPS 2280 × 1080 pixel resolution ~400ppi 19:9 aspect ratio 2.5D Curved Glass |
| Processor | 2.2GHz HiSilicon Kirin 710 octa-core | 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 octa-core |
| RAM | 4GB | 4GB/6GB |
| GPU | Mali-G51 MP4 GPU Turbo Technology | Adreno 512 |
| Storage | 64GB expandable via microSD up to 256GB | 64GB/128GB expandable via microSD up to 256GB |
| Front camera | 13-megapixel + 2-megapixel f/2.0 | 24-megapixel AI Portrait Mode Beautification |
| Rear Camera | 16-megapixel + 2-megapixel PDAF f/2.2 AI scene detection LED flash | 12-megapixel + 5-megapixel Dual-pixel AF f/1.9 AI scene detection LED flash |
| Audio | Single loudspeaker Headphone jack | Single loudspeaker No Headphone Jack (Adapter included) |
| Security | Fingerprint scanner Face unlock | Fingerprint scanner Face unlock |
| Connectivity | HSPA+, 4G LTE WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Bluetooth 4.2 GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS USB Type-C | HSPA+, 4G LTE WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Bluetooth 4.2 GPS, A-GPS, BDS USB Type-C |
| Dimensions | 162.4 x 77.1 x 7.9mm | 156.4 × 75.8 × 7.5mm |
| Weight | 173g | 169g |
| Colors | Midnight Black Aurora Purple Sapphire Blue | Sunset Gold Midnight Black Aurora Blue |
| Battery | 4,000mAh non-removable | 3,350mAh non-removable Quick Charge 3.0 |
| Price | Php12,990 | 4GB/64GB: Php13,990 6GB/128GB: Php16,990 |
As you can see, both the Huawei Y9 2019 and the Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite have their own strengths and weaknesses over each other. To know which one is actually better, let’s list down their respective pros and cons.
Let’s start with the Huawei Y9 2019. This handset has a larger 6.5-inch FHD+ screen, while the Mi 8 Lite has a smaller 6.26-inch display. On the downside, both of them has a notch on top. So if you despise that aesthetic feature, you should look somewhere else.
Both devices can deliver an identically capable performance, but we expect Huawei’s bet to run games even better thanks to its GPU Turbo technology.
In addition to that, the Huawei Y9 2019 has a 4,000mAh battery, which is substantially larger than the 3,350mAh battery that the Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite has. Lastly, consumers would really appreciate the fact that Huawei kept the headphone jack on all of its devices, unlike what Xiaomi did by removing it completely.
Now, let’s head on to the things that the Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite has a lead over the Huawei Y9 2019. And probably the most obvious one is seen in the camera department.
Despite the quad-camera buzzword that Huawei keeps on promoting, it’s obvious that the Mi 8 Lite offers a better set of cameras despite being outnumbered. This thing has a single 24-megapixel selfie camera, which offers more pixels than the dual 13-megapixel + 2-megapixel front shooters that the former has.
Related: Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite vs Honor Play: Specs Comparison
Also, despite the more pixel-dense 16-megapixel + 2-megapixel that Huawei’s offering has, the dual-pixel AF and a brighter f/1.9 aperture makes the 12-megapixel + 5-megapixel camera combo on the Mi 8 Lite more worthwhile.
The Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite also offers more flexibility in terms of memory and storage capacity. For a few thousand pesos more, you can get the Mi 8 Lite with 2GB more RAM and twice the storage capacity that the Huawei Y9 2019 has to offer.
In conclusion, if you’re planning on gaming and consuming tons of media in your next smartphone, getting the Huawei Y9 2019 might be the best option for you. And as a bonus, you’ll be saving at least Php1,000 by doing so as it only retails for a price of Php12,990.
But if mobile photography is really your top priority, more space to save those pictures you’ve taken with is what you need. The flexibility of the Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite might be better for you. Unfortunately, you would be paying a little bit more. This phone starts at Php13,990 for the 4GB/64GB model, while the 6GB/128GB variant costs Php16,990.