If you think the upcoming Xiaomi Mi 9 is going to cost the same as its predecessor at launch, think again.

Xiaomi founder, chairman, and CEO Lei Jun revealed on Chinese social-media platform Weibo that their 2019 flagship phone will be more expensive than the Mi 8.

In case you didn’t remember, the regular Xiaomi Mi 8 was announced in May 2018 with the following price tags:

• 6GB/64GB: ¥2,699 (around P20,892 or $398)
• 6GB/128GB: ¥2,999 (P23,215 or $443)
• 6GB/256GB: ¥3,299 (P25,537 or $487)

In the Philippines, the 64GB and 128GB models arrived in July with suggested retail prices of P25,990 ($496) and P27,990 ($535), respectively.

According to Lei Jun, they must now focus on making the best products without being constrained by cost — likely why the company made the Redmi lineup a sub-brand.

SEE ALSO: Xiaomi Mi 9: Launch date, phone pictures, camera sample

He reasoned that with the Xiaomi Mi 9, they have opted to use the best technologies, such as the kind of triple-rear-camera system the device has and its improved, fifth-generation fingerprint sensor. Manufacturing and research and development are not cheap, so hopefully, consumers will understand, he said.

The Xiaomi Mi 9 is launching in China on February 20 and is getting an international debut on February 24 at the MWC 2019 mobile-focused tech show in Barcelona, Spain. We’ll be there to cover the event, so stay tuned.

For now, we’ll leave you with these confirmed specs and features to date:

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor
• Adreno 640 GPU
• Game Turbo mode
• 48-megapixel main (Sony), 12-megapixel telephoto, and 16-megapixel ultra-wide-angle cameras on the back (with sapphire-glass lens cover)
• 24-megapixel selfie camera
• Samsung AMOLED full-HD+ screen with a small notch at the top, 90.7 screen-to-body ratio, Corning Gorilla Glass 6, and eye-protection tech
• Chin: 3.6-millimeter wide, 40 percent narrower than the Mi 8’s
• 12×17 super-linear speaker

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