The Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G has not yet launched in India but the rumoured price of Rs.18000 will make it the cheapest 5G phone till date beating the Motorola Moto G 5G.Not only that the Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G is also the cheapest phone till date featuring a primary 108MP camera (Samsung sensor).
As is evident the phone packs some very interesting specs which already makes it very attractive.Yes we all were expecting 5G phones to come with lower price tags and the process has already started.But I personally had thought that these cheaper 5G phones would house the new Dimensity chipsets from Mediatek and I was wrong.Maybe those phones would be cheaper but as of now our favourite Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC s are adorning the devices.The Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G is no exception.
Let’s have a look at the specs sheet.
LOOKS
The first glance will make you feel you are holding a Poco X3.That is completely due to the circular camera module on the back.The front has a punch hole selfie shooter.To be very honest the colours,some of them atleast look very dull.The back is of glass which is rounded at the edges making handling the phone easier.The glass on the front and back is Corning Gorilla Glass 5.
The Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G is IP53 certified water repellent.The fingerprint sensor is integrated on the side mounted power button.Like all Xiaomi phones this also has the IR blaster port and a NFC port.Our favourite 3.5mm audio jack is also present as is a single bottom mounted stereo speaker set-up.
The phone is 9mm thick and weighs 215g.
The display is 6.67″ IPS LCD with 2400×1080 resolution.The aspect ratio is 20:9 and pixel density is ~395 ppi.Besides the big size the main attractive feature if the display is that it supports 120Hz refresh rate.This again is a very rare feature for a phone of this price.On a whole video watching and gaming experience will be of a very immersive nature.
PERFORMANCE
Under the hood of the Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G 5G chipset which runs on 8nm technology and clocks a maximum of 2.2GHz.Obviously this is a new chip having 5G modem integrated like the Snapdragon 765G.It is perfect for the midrange price and as you know by now the G in the name stands for gamecentric.Adreno 619 is the GPU.
The phone runs on MIUI 12 based on Android 10 and should easily be upgraded to the latest Android 11.
6GB and 8GB are the RAM variants and internal storage is 128GB and 256GB maximum.The expected price of Rs.18000 INR is for the 6/128 GB variant.You also have the option of expanding storage upto 512GB via micro SD card which shares a SIM slot.
CAMERAS
The main highlight of the Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G is the primary 108MP f/1.8 camera sensor.This is housed in the quad Camera module on the back which also features a 8MP ultrawide sensor and two 2MP macro and depth sensor.I am tired of saying this but I guess I have to.The 2MP sensors are generally of very poor quality and besides increasing the count of cameras has no noteworthy function.
4Kvideos @30fps and 1080p [email protected]/60fps can be captured.Well similar to all other Xiaomi or Redmi phones this device also houses many many camera features which you will find in the settings menu.
The front has a punch hole 16MP selfie shooter which supports HDR.1080p [email protected] fps can be shot with it.
BATTERY AND COLOURS
A 4820 mAH battery powers the phone which supports 33W fast charging.
The Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G is available in Gray, Blue and Red/Mint colours.
CONCLUSION
The smartphone market is now shifting from the flagship 5G devices to the high midrange 5G phones.In this segment the price is a telling factor and the Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G has answered that call superbly.In addition the 108MP camera(quality is yet to be tested),the big 120Hz refresh rate display and the quite big battery makes the deal a very attractive one.It becomes very hard to not recommend it if the price tag is as rumoured.
What are your thoughts? Please let me know in comments.