TL;DR
- Xiaomi has launched its new Civi smartphone in China.
- The device seems to be a successor to the CC series.
- Expect a slim, light design and a focus on selfies.
Update: September 28, 2021 (1:15 AM ET): Xiaomi has now confirmed to Android Authority that there are no plans to bring the new Civi smartphone to global markets. “Xiaomi Civi remains a Mainland China-only device,” the company told us in response to an emailed query.
Does that mean a rebranded device is out of the question too? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Original article: September 27, 2021 (5:23 AM ET): Xiaomi teased a new smartphone dubbed Civi earlier this month, with subsequent images showing a design-focused phone akin to the CC series. Now, the company has officially launched this device in its home market of China.
The Xiaomi Civi weighs in at just 166 grams and is 6.9mm thin and 71.5mm wide, bringing to mind the similarly light and svelte Mi 11 Lite. So those on the hunt for a more ergonomic phone will want to keep an eye on this one.
The rest of the Civi is pretty solid too, featuring a Snapdragon 778G chipset, a 6.55-inch 120Hz FHD+ OLED panel, and a 4,500mAh battery with 55W wired charging. Xiaomi’s latest phone also serves up a triple rear camera system, namely a 64MP main shooter, an 8MP ultra-wide camera (120-degree field of view), and a 2MP macro lens.
The Chinese manufacturer is also bringing a 32MP camera up-front in a center-mounted punch-hole cutout, complete with autofocus and support for slow-mo videos. Xiaomi claims that the selfie camera offers “pixel-level” skin restoration capabilities. But a comparison posted by Xiaomi suggests this boils down to aggressively removing blemishes and cranking up the skin smoothing effect. Check out that comparison below.
Other notable features include NFC, support for Quick Charge 4+ and PD 3.0 charging standards, Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-Fi 6, and MIUI 12.5 atop Android 11.
Xiaomi’s Civi goes on sale from September 30 in China. Expect to pay 2,599 yuan (~$402) for the 8GB/128GB model, 2,899 yuan (~$449) for the 8GB/256GB variant, and 3,199 yuan (~$495) for the 12GB/256GB model.
We’ve asked Xiaomi whether the Civi will come to global markets, and we’ll update the article if/when it gets back to us. For what it’s worth, the Mi CC9 Pro eventually hit global markets as a Mi Note 10 series device, while the Mi CC9e received stock Android and came to wider markets as the Mi A3. So it stands to reason that the Xiaomi Civi will get a rebrand if it ever leaves China.
What do you think of the Civi? Let us know by voting in the poll below.
