Alongside the Mi 9 and Mi 8 flagship smartphones, Xiaomi also offers more affordable variants in each lineup. The Xiaomi Mi 9 SE and Xiaomi Mi 8 SE are great mid-range options for consumers who want a similar experience to the flagship Mi line. Sadly, both smartphones are currently only sold in China, though Xiaomi may start selling the Mi 9 SE internationally. If you've already imported either device and want to start building TWRP or port an AOSP-based ROM, then you'll be happy to know that Xiaomi has released the kernel source code for the Linux kernel binaries that ship with each phone's respective Android Pie releases.

Xiaomi Mi 9 SE ForumsXiaomi Mi 8 SE Forums

The Mi 8 SE launched in the middle of 2018 with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 and Android 8.1 Oreo-based MIUI 9, but received the stable Android 9 Pie-based MIUI 10 release last month. On the other hand, the Mi 9 SE launched late last month with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 712 and Android Pie. The Snapdragon 712 offers a slight bump in the clock speed and Qualcomm Quick Charge 4+ over the Snapdragon 710, but it's the same in every other aspect. That's why Xiaomi has released the updated kernel source code for the Mi 8 SE in the same branch as the Mi 9 SE's release, rather than under its own branch as they did last year. You'll find the kernel source code tree for the Mi 9 SE, code-named "grus," along with the Mi 8 SE's ("sirius") updated kernel sources.

Xiaomi Mi 9 SE/Mi 8 SE Kernel Source Code

Xiaomi once fell short of its commitment to release the kernel source code for new devices within 3 months after launch when they delayed the Mi Pad 4's kernel source code release. The company's goal in 2019 is to release kernel source code more quickly for all of its devices, and we've already seen them release the kernel source code for the Mi 9 on day one. We hope Xiaomi continues to release the kernel sources for all of their devices in a timely manner.