Xiaomi's new CC9 Pro has a 108-megapixel camera

Let the smartphone megapixel wars begin. Xiaomi has just placed the CC9 Pro up for sale, and the headlining feature for this is undoubtedly the 108-megapixel camera.

Previously speculated to be coming with the Mi Mix 4, this is part of a rear five-camera system that also has a 5-megapixel telephoto with 5x optical zoom and 10x hybrid zoom, a 12-megapixel telephoto camera (50mm focal length) for portrait mode shots, a 20-megapixel ultra-wide camera (117-degree field of view) and a 2-megapixel macro lens for close-ups up to 1.5cm away.

Finally, the front camera is a pinhole-style 32-megapixel camera that maximizes the screen-to-body ratio for the CC9 Pro's 6.47-inch curved AMOLED display.

That 108-megapixel sensor is the same ISOCELL Bright HMX sensor designed with Samsung we reported on earlier. It's a 1/1.33-inch sensor, which makes it even larger than the 1/1.54-inch Cine sensor used by Huawei in their Mate 30 Pro.

It takes 27-megapixel shots that combine four pixels together for better dynamic range, but there's also an option to take pictures at the full 108-megapixel resolution.

The CC9 Pro will run Xiaomi's MIUI 11 skin on top of Android 9 Pie. It's powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G processor with RAM/Storage options of 6GB/128GB, 8GB/128GB, and 8GB/256GB. It will use Xiaomi's first in-display fingerprint sensor and support both NFC and infrared control. It also comes with a 3.5mm audio jack.

Battery life should be good too, with the CC9 Pro having a large 5,260mAh battery. It also has 30W fast charging capabilities that get you back to 58 per cent capacity after just 30 minutes and gets to a full charge after 65 minutes.

The CC9 Pro is selling in China now at 2,799 yuan (S$544) for the 6GB/128GB option, RMB 3,099 for the 8GB/128GB option, and RMB 3,499 for the 8GB/256GB option.

It comes in three colours: Aurora Green, Glacier White and Midnight Black.

No news as to an international release as yet.

This article was first published in Hardware Zone.