REDMI NOTE 9 PRO FULL REVIEW & SPECIFICATION

REDMI NOTE 9 PRO :

The Redmi Note 9 Pro has just been launched in India, and its starting price of Rs. 12,999 is surprisingly low because Xiaomi has made a few very interesting decisions in terms of positioning and features. It isn't easy to stay ahead of the game, and the Redmi Note 9 Pro goes up against the formidable Realme 6 and Samsung M30s. Longtime fans of the series might be surprised at how Xiaomi has actually held back a little with this model, since

expectations are always when a new generation of Redmi Note smartphones is announced.

Previous models, most notably the Redmi Note 8 Pro (Review), have been defined by their positioning above the standard Redmi series and the aspirational features they offer. While prices are still very reasonable, Xiaomi has made a habit of delivering things that people will be tempted to spend a little more money on, such large displays, high-capacity batteries, multiple cameras, premium styling, and class-leading specifications.

The tradeoff for that new low price is that the Redmi Note 9 Pro does not offer many of today's most buzzworthy features – a 90Hz display, extremely fast charging, and high-resolution cameras. This phone is more about core specifications and the overall usage experience. In an interesting shuffle, though, some of these features can be found in a new higher-tier device, the Redmi Note 9 Pro Max.

REDMI NOTE 9 PRO DESIGN:

By any standard, the Redmi Note 9 Pro is a bulky phone. At 8.8mm thick and 209g in weight, many people will find this device bulky and unwieldy. That's where Xiaomi's new ‘Aura Balance' design philosophy comes in – the company says that weight is distributed perfectly evenly and the exterior design is symmetrical to make usage more comfortable. We found one-handed use difficult but not impossible.

In terms of looks, Xiaomi has gone with three relatively simple colours – Interstellar Black, Glacier White, and Aurora Blue. You won't find any graidents or patterns here, though the appearance is anything but subtle. Our Aurora Blue unit was bright and vibrant, with a very shiny, reflective rear panel. You'll see light play across the surface when using this phone, giving the feeling of depth. Thankfully the rear panel isn't too slippery, but it does pick up fingerprints as soon as you touch it

Xiaomi has come up with a distinctive new camera bump design which plays into the theme of symmetry. Even the flash is centred below the four camera lenses. This is a nice design touch that will set the Redmi Note 9 series apart and make this phone and its siblings recognisable. The camera module does stick out quite a bit though.

The front and rear of the Redmi Note 9 Pro are both made using Gorilla Glass 5, while the frame is polycarbonate. The most distinctive feature on the front is of course the new embedded selfie camera, which is centred at the top of the screen. It is somewhat distracting, and the screen's backlighting is a little uneven around it. Interestingly, we noted that the picture of the Redmi Note 9 Pro on the cover of its box seems to show a smaller hole and narrow chin than the device actually has. That said, the phone still looks modern and definitely defies expectations for its price category.

The next interesting design touch is the side-mounted fingerprint sensor, which is embedded into the power button. This sits in a slight recess on the right of the phone which lined up fairly well with the thumb of our right hand. You'll find this inconvenient if you're left-handed, and we'd suggest registering multiple fingers so you can unlock this phone whether it's in your hand or lying on a table.

Xiaomi says that this approach was chosen because it's quicker than an in-display sensor and more convenient than having one on the back, plus it doesn't disrupt the design of the rear panel. This is definitely a trend in the budget segment right now, though. We also have to note that the choice of an LCD screen rather than AMOLED plays into how an in-display sensor can be implemented.

The volume buttons are placed awkwardly above the sensor, and aren't easy to reach while on a call. On the left, there's a tray with slots for two Nano-SIMs and a microSD card. Xiaomi's trademark infrared emitter is on the top, and can be used to control several home appliances. There's the usual USB Type-C port, 3.5mm audio socket, and speaker on the bottom. Many people will be happy to note that there is in fact a notification and charging LED hidden in the earpiece.

Xiaomi has done well in terms of design, and the Redmi Note 9 Pro does feel fresh without actually changing too much for a phone in this segment. There's also a P2i coating for splash resistance, though of course no proper waterproofing.

REDMI NOTE 9 PRO SPECIFICATION AND SOFTWARE:

Redmi Note series phones typically have impressive specifications, and Xiaomi has gone with a larger screen and battery than ever before. You get a 6.67-inch full-HD+ (1080x2400-pixel) screen which has a tall aspect ratio to accommodate the front camera. What might surprise many fans who follow current trends, because it is a standard 60Hz panel and doesn't have a 90Hz refresh rate like some other recently launched devices, most notably the Realme 6 (Review).

Xiaomi claims that there aren't many apps that take advantage of a high refresh rate, people can't really tell the difference, it isn't worth the battery life tradeoff, and the Snapdragon 720G SoC isn't powerful enough. We don't necessarily agree with all these points, but we do have to remember that some compromises are to be expected at Rs. 12,999.

The 5020mAh battery is also interesting. Xiaomi claims 29 hours of VoLTE calling and 14 hours of gaming per charge. You get an 18W charger in the box – faster charging is reserved for the Redmi Note 9 Pro Max.

The Snapdragon 720G is a modern SoC with two high-performance 2.3GHz cores and six power-efficient 1.8GHz cores, all manufactured on an 8nm process which is said to result in greater power efficiency and lower heat dissipation. Buyers will note that the Redmi Note 8 Pro's support for Amazon's Alexa alongside Google Assistant has been dropped – Xiaomi tells us that this relied on specific capabilities of the MediaTek processor used for the previous model.

REDMI NOTE 9 PRO PERFORMANCE AND BATTERY LIFE:

At this point, with the kind of hardware used at even the low end of the market, there isn't much that can be said about everyday usage. The Redmi Note 9 Pro is more than powerful enough to handle anything from basic calls and messaging all the way up to heavy 3D gaming, with no trouble whatsoever. Multitasking was also smooth and trouble-free. If you're used to a higher display refresh rate you might find that missing, but most people shouldn't really mind – other than the feeling of missing out on something.

Ergonomically, this isn't the easiest phone to use, as we've said. The large screen does work nicely for videos and games, but the size and placement of the camera bump make holding the Redmi Note 9 Pro in landscape while playing games just a little uncomfortable. Holding it up to take long calls could also get fatiguing. The side-mounted fingerprint sensor and face recognition were both quick and effective in our experience.

The screen is reasonably bright and crisp. Colours do look vibrant, and there are some adjustments in the Settings app if you want to play with them. We did find the camera hole a little distracting when watching videos full-screen. Some apps are designed to mask notches at the top of the screen with a black band, and these might need to be updated to account for the size and placement of camera holes like the one on this phone. We weren't very impressed with the speaker though – sound was loud, but harsh and tinny.

As for benchmarks, there were no surprises. The Snapdragon 720G does offer class-leading performance for a budget phone. We saw scores of 279,978 in AnTuTu as well as 568 and 1,761 in Geekbench's single-core and multi-core tests respectively. 3DMark gave us 3,665 points in its Slingshot Unlimited test, and GFXBench's Manhattan 3.1 and Car Chase game simulations ran at 27fps and 15fps respectively.

PUBG Mobile defaulted to the High quality preset. We played a few rounds for about 20 minutes and found that the Redmi Note 9 Pro did get a little warm, contrary to Xiaomi's claims. The phone never got too uncomfortable but we didn't want to play for too much longer. Graphics were consistently smooth though, and gameplay was enjoyable. Asphalt 9: Legends didn't give us any trouble either.

We were eager to test this phone's battery. With ordinary use, we were very pleased to see the Redmi Note 9 Pro easily lasting through a full day and nearly half of the second day before needing a recharge. During this time we played some games, streamed video, and took lots of photos and videos. Our HD loop video test ran for 16 hours, 2 minutes which is good but not as great as we were expecting, considering that some competitors in this space can boast of scores that cross 20 hours.

REDMI NOTE 9 PRO CAMERAS:

The squared-off camera bump on the rear might also surprise some Redmi Note series fans. The primary shooter has a 48-megapixel resolution and f/1.79 aperture, and uses the new Samsung Isocell GM2 sensor. You don't get a 64-megapixel camera like the one on the Redmi Note 8 Pro or other recent value-segment phones. That's primarily a result of the Redmi Note 9 Pro addressing a lower market tier with its lower prices – you do get a 64-megapixel camera with the Redmi Note 9 Pro Max.

Next to it you'll find an 8-megapixel wide-angle camera, which is pretty standard for this price level. The 2-megapixel depth sensor in the lower row is also basic and commonplace. What is interesting is the fact that the macro camera has a 5-megapixel resolution, which should be a nice bump up from the barely-useful 2-megapixel ones we've seen in most phones of late.

Xiaomi boasts of an improved Night Mode, super phase detection autofocus, and a colour profile optimised for Indian tastes. Video can be recorded at 4K 30fps or 1080p at 60fps. 720p slow-mo recording goes up to 960fps. One of this phone's primary target audiences is video content creators, especially TikTok users, so there's a Short Video mode with a 15-second cutoff. You can also shoot video using the macro camera, or save RAW 8-bit footage for external processing.

Rear Camera

48MP Quad Camera Array

48MP primary camera
1/2.25 inch CMOS image sensor, 1.6μm 4-in-1 Super Pixel, f/1.79

8MP ultra-wide angle camera
1.12μm，f/2.2，FOV 119°

5MP macro camera
1.12μm, 2cm focus distance

2MP depth sensor
2MP，1.75μm

Zoom:10x digital zoom
PDAF
Single-tone flash

Rear camera photography features

Rear camera video features

Short video editing | ultra-wide angle video recording | macro video recording
4K recording - 30fps
1080P recording - 60fps / 30fps
720P recording - 30fps
1080P ultra-wide angle video recording - 30fps
720P ultra-wide angle video recording - 30fps
1080P slow motion recording - 120fps
720P slow motion recording - 960fps / 240fps / 120fps

4K recording	30fps
1080P recording	60fps / 30fps
720P recording	30fps
1080P ultra-wide angle video recording	30fps
720P ultra-wide angle video recording	30fps
1080P slow motion recording	120fps
720P slow motion recording	960fps / 240fps / 120fps

Front Camera

16MP Front Camera

1μm

Front camera photography features

Front camera video features

Front camera video Beautify | Short videos (speed adjustment beauty filters and popular music)

1080P/ 720P recording	30fps
Slo-mo video recording	120fps

Processor

Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 720G

2x Gold 2.3GHz + 6x Silver 1.8GHz
Adreno A618 @750MHz GPU
6/8 GB LPDDR4x RAM

Operating system

MIUI 11

Storage and RAM

6GB + 128GB

largest available for Redmi Note 9 Pro

RAM: 4GB/6GB LPDDR4x
ROM: 64GB/128GB UFS2.1 flash storage

Display

16.9cm (6.67) FHD+ Resolution DotDisplay

Resolution: 2400 x 1080 FHD+
Brightness: 450nit (typ)
Contrast: 1500:1 (typ) | NTSC: 84% (typ)
Standard mode | Sunshine mode | Night mode | Color temperature adjustment
Corning® Gorilla® Glass 5
Anti-oil and anti-fingerprint protective coating

Charging and battery

5020 mAh (typical) Li Polymer

Built-in rechargeable battery
USB Type-C reversible connector port

Includes an 18W Fast Charger

Max 18W fast charging

Network & Connectivity

Both cards can access 4G connectivity simultaneously

nanoSIM + nanoSIM + microSD
microSD expandable up to 512GB
Triple slot tray
Supports 4G+/4G/3G/2G
Supports dual SIM VoLTE HD calling②

Note: Dual 4G SIM requires the support of local telecom operator services,
and may not be available in all regions.

Network & Connectivity

GSM：B2/3/5/8
WCDMA：B1/2/5/8
LTE FDD：B1/3/5/8
LTE TDD：B40/41（2535-2655MHz）
DLCA：40A+40A,1C,3C,40C,41C
ULCA：3C,40C,41C

Wireless Network

Supports protocols: 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Supports 2.4G Wi-Fi / 5G Wi-Fi
Supports 2 x2 WiFi MIMO
Wi-Fi Direct / Wi-Fi Display
Supports Bluetooth 5.0
Support VoWiFi

Dimensions

Height: 165.75mm
Width: 76.68mm
Thickness: 8.8mm
Weight: 209g

Navigation and positioning

NavIC support/ GPS/ A-GPS / Galileo/ GLONASS / BeiDou

Audio

Single (bottom opening) speaker
3.5mm headphone jack
2 microphones (for noise cancellation)
Smart PA

Multimedia

MP4 | M4V | MKV | XVID | WAV | AAC | MP3 | AMR | FLAC | APE

Sensors

Ambient Light Sensor
Proximity Sensor
E Compass
Accelerometer
Gyroscope

Package contents

Net quantity 1 U
1 U Contains:
Redmi Note 9 Pro 1 U ,
18W Power adapter 1 U ,
Soft protective case 1 U ,
USB Type-C cable 1 U ,
SIM ejection tool 1 U ,
User guide 1 U ,
Warranty card 1 U