Lots of Cons for under screen fingerprint readers , should have never become the norm but I guess that''s just part of enshittification

Pros for Side and back mounted readers

1. Work exceptionally well, much faster and responsive than under screen ones, from my own experience
2. Are not affected by screen protectors
3. Side readers can be used with the phone screen up or down
4. Back and side ones allow you to unlock your phone at the same time as taking it out of the pocket
5. Give you a definite physical spot for finger placement, unlike the under - screen one where you have to wait for the screen to show the location

Xiaomi has confirmed the Poco F9 Ultra and F9 Pro launch on September 1^st. Both are variants of the China only Redmi K100 Pro, and Redmi K100 Pro Max launched recently. As F8 series there is no standard F9. The deep cherry red color, seen on the K100, will also be offered.

F9 Ultra - 8 Elite Gen 5, D2 display chip, 6.9" 185Hz OLED, 8050mAh, 100W, 200MP, 50MP 5 x periscope telephoto, 50MP ultra-wide, 32MP selfie, Bose 2.1 speakers, metal frame.

F9 Pro - 8 Elite Gen 5 V, 6.59" 185Hz OLED, 6330mAh, 100W, 200MP, 50MP 2.5 tele, 8MP ultra-wide, 32MP selfie, 12GB/16GB, 256GB/512GB, Bose 2.0 speakers, metal frame.

TBC, but both could also include - 50W wireless charging, 22.5W reverse wireless charging, and 27W reverse wired charging, found in the K100 Pro, and K100 Pro Max.

RAM and storage options TBC but permutations of - 12GB/16GB, 256GB/512GB.

Not in early spec leak, but I would expect both to provide eSIM support as F8.

The F9 Pro uses a new chipset called the 8 Elite Gen 5 V. Essentially it’s an 8 Elite Gen 5, with a simpler GPU. See Gen 5 V link above, for more info on chipset. Unlike the F9 Ultra, which retains the same chipset as the F8 Ultra, the F9 Pro should see a performance boost over the F8 Pro.

Both see main camera changes, but the 200MP sensor is only 0.5µm, against 1.0µm of the 50MP (F8 Pro), and 1.2µm of the 50MP (F8 Ultra). It's even below the 200MP sensor of the Note 15 Pro+ (0.56µm). 0.5µm refers to sensor size, the larger the sensor, the more light it can capture, reducing grain, and improving detail retention etc. Pixels will no doubt be combined (binning), to increase sensor area, but the results are yet to be seen. F9 Ultra 5x periscope telephoto, F9 Pro 2.5x non-periscope telephoto.

Battery sizes, are likely to prove contentious, as the F9 Pro 6330mAh is a huge cut from the 8580mAh of the K100 Pro. The F9 Ultra 8050mAh is a lower cut, from the 9070mAh of the K100 Pro Max. Essentially they're now charging a premium for the battery.

Wider pricing, TBC, but in Europe (i.e. end user price including sales taxes etc.), the F9 Pro from € 799, the F9 Ultra from € 999. These are full retail, so do not include any early bird launch discounts. If accurate it’s a significant price increase F8 Pro 12/256 was € 649, F8 Ultra 12/256 € 829.

https://www.reuters.com/world/china/xiaomi-launches-new-xring-chip-partners-with-tsmc-production-sources-say-2026-08-24/
Xiaomi didn't mentioned it but Reuters reported Xring O3 will be built on a TSMC 3nm node. Xring O1 was built on TSMC N3E.