Low-light photography remains the pinnacle of smartphone photography, and even the best camera struggles with low-light scenarios. Most notably the level of noise tends to increase drastically, and photos get visibly blurry. In poor light we found the level of details and focus much better on the Mi Mix 3 than on the Mi 9 and Mi 9 SE.

Thanks to the 4-in-1 pixel binning technology of Sony’s IMX586 sensor low-light photos taken with the Mi 9 series generally turn out significantly brighter than those taken with the Mi Mix. However, focus and details suffer significantly. Low-light photos taken with Sony’s IMX363 are clearer and higher in contrast. Using the integrated night mode, the Mi Mix 3’s brightness approximates the Mi 9 series’ yet the latter still performs worse and has to apply a much stronger soft-focus filter in order to eliminate noise. Photos taken in twilight show the same characteristics.