Xiaomi to steal Samsung's thunder with Mi 9 launch on same day as Galaxy S10? (Update)

Update, February 14, 2019 (7:12AM): Thought you’d have to wait a while to see the Mi 9 in most of its glory? Well, Xiaomi senior vice-president Wang Xiang has posted images of the device on Twitter. The images show a rather slick gradient color scheme as well as a triple rear camera combination. We don’t see the front of the device in these pictures though, but it certainly gives us a lot to chew on. You can check out the images over here.

The company has also teased more details regarding the Mi 9 triple camera, with a Twitter post suggesting we’re looking at a normal/ultra wide/depth sensor combination. Either way, it looks like you should keep an eye on Xiaomi’s flagship.

Original article, February 13, 2019 (4:47AM): You wait a while for a new generation of flagships and two launch on the same day. That’s thanks to Xiaomi, which has decided to launch its Mi 9 on the same day as the Galaxy S10.

In a post on its MIUI Forum (spotted by XDA-Developers), the company confirmed plans to launch the Xiaomi Mi 9 on February 20 as well. This feels like an intentional move on Xiaomi’s part though, as Samsung revealed their Galaxy S10 launch date weeks before. Fortunately, the Mi 9 launch will take place in China, so you likely won’t need to choose between watching Xiaomi’s event or Samsung’s launch (taking place in London and San Francisco).

Based on a machine-translated version of the official event poster (seen below), it looks like Xiaomi will be promoting the device’s design as a key selling point. In fact, it’s previously been claimed that the Xiaomi Mi 9 will be designed by the same person who designed the Mi 6.

But the company has also teased another key detail in the forum, posting a photo of the back of the Xiaomi Mi 9 (see the main image). And if you look closely, you can make out what appears to a triple camera combination. Camera details aren’t known at this time, although a HUAWEI or LG-style normal/wide/telephoto trio would certainly make for a versatile device.

Little is known about the Xiaomi device though, but we’re expecting a Snapdragon 855 chipset and an in-display fingerprint sensor for starters. Meanwhile, Samsung’s Galaxy S10 has been subjected to a stream of leaks over the past six months. You can check out all the noteworthy Galaxy S10 leaks over here.

Samsung and Xiaomi won’t be the only manufacturers launching a device in February though, as MWC will host several launches too. So you might want to wait until the end of February before committing to a brand-new purchase.

NEXT: More LG G8 ThinQ renders emerge, corroborating other leaks