triple camera and fast wireless charging for $509

Xiaomi’s Mi 9 isn’t exactly new: The company launched its new flagship smartphone a few days ago in China. 

But at an event ahead of the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona, the company revealed the European pricing for the handset, along with a launch date: February 28. 

The Mi 9 has a 6.39-inch screen with a small, waterdrop-style notch, a Snapdragon 855 chip, a triple, 48/16/12-megapixel rear camera, a 20-megapixel selfie camera, 6/8GB of RAM and 64/128GB of storage. It has a 3,300mAh battery with fast, 20W wireless charging (Xiaomi says it’ll go from 0 to 100% in 90 minutes). It runs Android 9.0 and comes with Xiaomi’s MIUI 10 skin. 

Those specs are pretty much the norm for flagship smartphones these days, but where Xiaomi shines is the price: The Mi 9 costs 449 euros ($509) for the 6/64GB version, and 499 euros ($566) for the 6/128GB version. 

As far as looks go, the Mi 9 looks like a beefed-up iPhone XS on the back. Details like the colored ring around the main camera lens don’t do enough to set the design apart from Apple’s phones, but are a nice touch nevertheless. 

The Mi 9 is available in Spain, France and Italy for pre-order now; it will show up in stores on Feb. 28. It’s available in three colors: Ocean Blue, Lavender Violet and Piano Black.