You can now pre-order a Xiaomi Mi 9 in the UK, but you probably shouldn't

Xiaomi unveiled the Mi 9 for European markets last Sunday at MWC, and now the phone has already gone up for pre-order in the UK, with shipping expected to commence on March 25.

There's a huge catch, however. At the moment Xiaomi's official online store for the UK doesn't have the device for pre-order, it's only third-party retailer Clove that will let you do the deed. And here's the thing - while Xiaomi hasn't officially announced pricing for the UK, for Eurozone countries the Mi 9 should start at €449. That currently translates into £386.

That said, if you want one from Clove you'll need to pay £499, which feels like entirely too big a markup to be worth it. So while you can pre-order, you may be better off waiting for Xiaomi's store to offer this option, as the handset should go for a much better price.

The Mi 9 is Xiaomi's first smartphone with a triple rear camera setup, and one of the first devices with the Snapdragon 855 chipset at the helm. If you want to learn more about it, check out our review.