Redmi Note 9: design
The Redmi Note 9 comes with the company’s Aura design. It looks similar to other siblings in its series, but unlike them, the Redmi Note 9 does not have a side-mounted fingerprint scanner. Instead, it gets a traditional back fingerprint sensor. The Redmi Note 9 has a large display and hence using this phone with one hand is not that easy. Yes, however, the power and volume buttons fit in the right place, making them not difficult to reach. Like most Redmi phones, the Note 9 also gets an IR emitter.
The Redmi Note 9 measures 8.9mm thick and weighs 199 grams. This is on the heavier side compared to some other smartphones in this price range. Xiaomi says it has used P2i nano-coating on the device along with rubber seals on the ports to provide some protection against liquid exposure. Xiaomi has also bundled a 22.5W charger in the box (though the charging support is currently limited to 18W – more on that later).
Redmi Note 9: specifications and software
Redmi Note 9 Since it is the base model in the series, Xiaomi has opted for the MediaTek Helio G85 chipset for this model. It is an octa-core processor with two Cortex-A75 cores clocked at 2 GHz and six Cortex-A55 cores clocked at 1.8 GHz. For graphics, it gets an ARM Mali-G52 GPU clocked at 1 GHz.
The Redmi Note 9 features a 6.53-inch display with full-HD+ resolution (1080×2340 pixels) and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. The Redmi Note 9 comes in three variants: 4GB RAM with 64GB storage, 4GB RAM with 128GB storage, and 6GB RAM with 128GB storage. These variants are priced at Rs 11,999, Rs 13,499, and Rs 14,999, respectively. We had the top model for review.
The Redmi Note 9 comes with a dedicated microSD card slot. It gets two nano-SIM slots and supports dual 4G and VoLTE. There is Bluetooth 5, Wi-Fi 802.11n, and four satellite navigation systems. The battery capacity is 5,020mAh. The Redmi Note 9 is also capable of 9W reverse charging via the USB Type-C port.
In terms of software, there’s not much new. The Redmi Note 9 runs MIUI 11 based on Android 10 and our unit had the June security patch. The phone comes with a number of apps preinstalled, and also suggests downloading a few more during setup. It also shows ads on the lockscreen. While this is an option that’s enabled by default, we turned it off while setting up the phone.
We also got some spammy notifications from some of the pre-installed apps. Mi Video and Get Apps were the top ones and these things definitely affect your experience a bit.
Redmi Note 9: performance
The performance of the Redmi Note 9 gave us no reason to complain. The MediaTek Helio G85 chipset is a capable processor and can handle our daily tasks with ease. App loading times were decent, and with 6GB of RAM, we could easily switch between different apps comfortably.
We also liked the display of the Redmi Note 9. It offers good viewing angles and gets quite bright when needed. You also get options to change the color output. However, it is not as good as the AMOLED display included on the Samsung Galaxy M21. Its rear fingerprint sensor was also fast. Apart from this, face unlock was also accurate and fast.
The Redmi Note 9 can run games like PUBG Mobile and Asphalt 9: Legends without any issues. In PUBG Mobile, the phone runs the game at medium settings by default, but we were able to run it at high settings without much drop in performance. However, after playing for 20 minutes, the phone started to feel warm to the touch. Apart from this, the battery dropped by 10 percent. Asphalt 9 ran smoothly at default settings, and we only noticed mild lag on a few tracks.
I found the battery life on the Redmi Note 9 to be quite good. It can easily last a day and a half on a single charge. Even if you are a heavy user, the 5,020mAh battery should last you more than a day. It managed to last 15 hours, 45 minutes in our HD video loop test.
After the launch of the Redmi Note 9, there was some controversy over the wattage of the charger included in it. The Redmi Note 9 comes with a 22.5-watt charger in the box, but the device is set to 18-watts. This means that even if the charger is of a higher wattage, the phone will charge with a maximum of 18-watt input. Xiaomi told Gadgets 360 that the Redmi Note 9 currently has a “software lock” installed. It still has to undergo some lab and field tests to charge at higher power, which could not be possible due to the lockdown. Xiaomi says that the company plans to release a software update in the future, which will allow the Redmi Note 9 to charge at 22.5 watts.
Currently, the phone charges up to 29 percent in 30 minutes and 60 percent in an hour. The device takes a little over two hours to fully charge. If Xiaomi unlocks the full charging speed, it should take a little less time to charge.
Redmi Note 9: cameras
The Redmi Note 9 has a quad-camera setup, which includes a 48-megapixel primary camera, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera, a 2-megapixel macro camera and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. For selfies, it has a 13-megapixel camera on the front. The camera app is largely similar to other Redmi phones.
Apart from the normal shooting modes, the app also has a Pro mode for photos as well as videos, which lets you control everything from exposure to ISO. There is also a Document mode that lets you crop the photo and convert it to black and white.
The Redmi Note 9 uses AI that detects outdoor scenes and adjusts the camera accordingly. In daylight, the phone takes good shots. However, the AI tends to make the photos too sharp. Photos taken at the full 48-megapixel resolution had better detail and weren’t as sharp. There was a slight drop in quality in photos taken with the wide-angle camera.
When it comes to close-ups, the AI was quick to identify the subject, but sometimes had trouble with focus. The photos were good though and had a natural blur effect. There is a Pro Color option that enhances the contrast in the output. The macro camera lets you get very close to the subject and take good pictures in favorable lighting.
The portrait mode managed to separate the subject and the background. Edge detection was also pretty good. I didn’t find any way to set the level of blur before taking a shot, but the device did give me the option to change the level of beautification.
In low light, the output was decent, but grains started to show up when you zoomed in. The camera app managed to keep the noise to a minimum. In night mode, the camera takes longer to capture images and you need to stand very still for that duration to get good pictures. However, even then there is not much difference in the output.
Selfies taken in daylight were good and had good detail. You can also take portrait shots in the selfie camera, but here we did not get the option to set the level of blur. The Redmi Note 9 did a good job of identifying edges here. However, the quality dropped in low light.
Verdict
Redmi Note 9 It starts at Rs 11,999 in India and Redmi Note 8 This is much higher than the price of Redmi Note 9, which the company had kept under Rs 10,000. However, the recent GST hike and the weakening of the rupee did result in a price hike. The base variant of the Redmi Note 9 offers good value with its full-HD+ display, powerful MediaTek Helio G85 chipset and 4GB of RAM. It also offers good battery life thanks to a large 5,020mAh battery.
However, the variant we reviewed was the top-end variant. At Rs 14,999, this variant competes with some powerful phones in the sub-Rs 15,000 segment, such as Realme 6 (Review), Poco M2 Pro (Review) and even Redmi Note 9 Pro (Review). These models come with better performance and better features than the Redmi Note 9, making it a little difficult to recommend this variant.