Introduction
Xiaomi's Redmi lineup is the crowd's favorite in markets across the world as it took over shortly after the Moto G lineup lost its magic and the latest generation Redmi Notes came early this year with major design overhaul, better processors, bigger batteries and all the MIUI 11 features at your disposal. And as always, at a reasonable price point.
Today's subject of our review is the Redmi Note 9 - a device that's a close relative to the Redmi Note 9S. It feels almost as if the two handsets are just different configurations of one model. The vanilla 9, for example, is slightly more compact as it has a smaller screen, employs a MediaTek G85 SoC, has NFC in most markets and there's a resolution drop in the macro and selfie shooters.
Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro specs
- Body: 162.3 x 77.2 x 8.9 mm, 199g; Gorilla Glass 5 front, plastic back and frame, water-repellent coating.
- Screen: 6.53" IPS LCD, 1080 x 2340px resolution, 19.5:9 aspect ratio, 395ppi.
- Chipset: MediaTek Helio G85 (12nm): Octa-core (2x2.0 GHz Cortex-A75 & 6x1.8 GHz Cortex-A55); Mali-G52 MC2 GPU.
- Memory: 3GB/8GB RAM, 64GB/128GB storage, dedicated microSD slot.
- OS/Software: Android 10, MIUI 11.
- Rear camera: Main: 48MP, f/1.8 aperture, 1/2.0" sensor, 0.8µm pixel size, 26mm equiv., PDAF. Ultra wide-angle: 8MP, f/2.2, 1/4.0" sensor, 1.12µm pixels, 118Ëš FoV, fixed focus; Macro: 2MP, f/2.42, AF; 2MP depth sensor.
- Front camera: 13MP, f/2.3, 1/3.1", 1.12µm.
- Video recording: Rear camera: Full HD 1080p@30fps. Front camera: Full HD 1080p@30fps.
- Battery: 5,020 mAh, 18W fast charging, supports reverse charging at 9W.
- Misc: NFC (market dependant); rear-mounted fingerprint reader, IR blaster;
On paper, the Redmi Note 9S seems like the better deal but there are some things to consider here before jumping into any conclusions. The vanilla Note 9 might appeal to someone looking for a handset with smaller screen or the feature that makes the phone act as a power bank. Yep, one curious feature disparity between the Note 9S and the Note 9 is that the latter can charge another device at 9W.
It's also important to see how the the ISP stacks against the Note 9S. Since the two devices share mostly the same camera hardware, the ISPs on the SoCs are what makes them different. And as we know, that could make a huge difference, case in point Snapdragon vs Exynos debate with the current Galaxy S20 family. Of course, we expect different battery endurance as well. We are sure it will do just fine with that chunky 5,020 mAh battery but will it be better than the Snapdragon 720G-powered Note 9S? Let's find out.
Unboxing the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9
The device comes in a box containing the usual user manuals, a USB-A to USB-C cable for charging and data transfer, a transparent silicone protective case, and a power adapter. The last one is rated at 22.5W, but the phone itself caps at 18W. Xiaomi says it uses that charger for more than one device, so you could say it's a universal plug for Xiaomi devices.
Design
The Redmi Note 9 doesn't depart too far from the this year's Redmi Note aesthetics, it looks almost the same as its sibling but adds a bit more to the camera module to fit the rear-facing fingerprint reader. Oh, and instead of a centered punch-hole, you get one that it's in the upper-left corner of the screen.
The back of the device feels like it's made of glass but we can't say for sure as Xiaomi hasn't explicitly said it's glass. The front, however, is Gorilla Glass 5 while the frame is plastic, this we can say with certainty. Strangely, the handset feels a bit heavier than you'd expect from a sub-6.6" phone. Perhaps the large battery has to do with that .
It feels rather well-balanced in the hand with the bottom half feeling a tad heavier, but that's a good thing as it tends to stay in your hand without tipping over. The back curvature helps with the grip, and the front bezels are well-trimmed. Still, it's a big device to use with just one hand, and it is slippery - just like every other glass sandwich phone these days.
Fingerprints and smudges do stick quite easily so it may require some frequent wiping. Or at least the Forest Green color we got makes them a bit more visible in certain lighting conditions. The color itself is really nice, though - it's easy on the eye, gentle, and the gradient changes at different lighting angles. The side frame looks a bit plain, though and fails to fully blend with the rest of the phone.
The camera bump isn't as big as we expected - it only sticks out a little and doesn't get in the way.
We aren't fans of the fingerprint reader placement, though. While the previous generation Redmis had convenient FP scanner placement, this one disappoints. It's far too high to our liking and we were often reaching for it, which isn't nice for a phone that's tall and heavy at the same time.
Going around the sides, we find the down-facing speaker grille, 3.5m audio jack, and the USB-C connector. The top holds an IR blaster (neat!), and the right side houses the power button and the volume rocker. Unfortunately, these two are placed too high.
Despite some of the misfires with the design, the phone feels solid in the hand and more importantly, doesn't feel cheap. And the rear camera design gives it a distinct look too.
And we appreciate the splash-proofing that the water-repellent coating on the internals provides.
LCD IPS panel with an off-centered punch-hole
The Redmi Note 9 uses a 6.53-inch IPS LCD panel with a 1080 x 2340px resolution making for a trendy 19.5:9 aspect ratio. The bezels are thin enough, so they don't distract while the cutout for the front-facing camera seems of the smaller kind compared to other LCD-based solutions. It's also neatly tucked away closer to the upper-left corner of the screen, so it doesn't eat away too much of the screen real estate.
Unfortunately, the Redmi Note 9 falls victim of that typical LCD glare around the punch-hole. It's barely visible in most cases and wouldn't bother most of you, but it's there, and you can see it on a white background. Turning on the dark mode paints the system menus in black so you won't be seeing it most of the time. Also, it's important to note that we've seen way worse glares even around the bottom lip.
What's more important is the max brightness. Sadly, the Note 9 falls behind the competition in this regard. It's advertised that the screen can go up to 450 nits, and we found that to be true but only in Auto mode peaking at 466 nits. Cranking up the slider manually to 100% will only get you up to 370 nits. On an LCD, these values might not be enough for the most comfortable reading outdoors.
The contrast ratio is not stellar either but it's fine for a budget phone.
Here's how it stacks against the competition.
| Display test | 100% brightness | ||
| Black, |
White, |
||
| 0.303 | 421 | 1389:1 | |
| 0.42 | 575 | 1369:1 | |
| 0.355 | 456 | 1285:1 | |
| 0.487 | 616 | 1265:1 | |
| 0.298 | 370 | 1242:1 | |
| 466 | :1 | ||
| 0.343 | 451 | 1315:1 | |
| 0.328 | 528 | 1610:1 | |
| 0.317 | 477 | 1505:1 | |
| 0.395 | 581 | 1471:1 | |
| 0.341 | 500 | 1466:1 | |
| 0.53 | 741 | 1398:1 | |
When it comes to color accuracy, the Note 9 is no champion either. With the default color mode, the phone had 7.7 average dE2000, while the maximum dE2000 was a whopping 15.6. Most of the blue colors, along with cyan and white, appeared to be way off.
Surprisingly, the "Saturated" mode can lower the average dE2000 to 5.7 while "Standard" brings it down to 3.7 which is a rather good value if you are into color-accurate reproduction.
HDR10 support is non-existent, whereas the Note 9S can give you that. We've checked the Netflix app, and the phone is compliant with the Widevine L1 standard and supports Full HD playback.
Battery life
As expected, the Redmi Note 9 has outstanding battery life owing to the large 5,020 mAh unit and power-efficient chipset. We found that the overall battery score is quite similar to the Redmi Note 9S. You can rely on long video playback and web browsing without the need of charging.
Our battery tests were automated thanks to SmartViser, using its viSerDevice app. The endurance rating above denotes how long a single battery charge will last you if you use the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 for an hour each of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily. We've established this usage pattern so that our battery results are comparable across devices in the most common day-to-day tasks. The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritty. You can check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.
When it comes to fast charging, however, the Note 9 isn't a great performer. The 18W charging limit can only get you this far with a battery that's rated at 5,020 mAh. About 2:33 hours will get you from 0 to full while in 30 minutes, you can get just 31% of the charge back.
Speaker test
The Redmi Note 9 offers just one bottom-firing loudspeaker, which isn't the loudest one around, but the sound quality is somehow decent. It sounds flat, but the vocals are clear. We weren't expecting a stellar audio playback experience anyway.
Use the Playback controls to listen to the phone sample recordings (best use headphones). We measure the average loudness of the speakers in LUFS. A lower absolute value means a louder sound. A look at the frequency response chart will tell you how far off the ideal "0db" flat line is the reproduction of the bass, treble, and mid frequencies. You can add more phones to compare how they differ. The scores and ratings are not comparable with our older loudspeaker test. Learn more about how we test here.
Audio output quality
We've recently discontinued our audio output quality test.
The reason for that is that most phones that arrived for testing were already excellent in this regard and whatever difference there was, it was marginal and probably indistinguishable to anything but our lab equipment.
Android 10-based MIUI 11
If you are familiar with MIUI, you will find this iteration of the Xiaomi's software easy to use. There aren't any major design changes compared to the previous version of the software, but it does borrow some aesthetics from vanilla Android. The quick toggle icons in the notification shade are one example, as well as the inclusion of an app drawer. The latter is a big deal because you can now choose between the option of having all icons on the home screen or tuck them away in the app drawer and that's not available on all Xiaomi phones.
And the app drawer itself is quite well-designed too. You can sort your apps in different categories, the search bar is at the bottom of the screen for easier reach and also customize the background of the drawer. It can be white, black and set custom transparency.
App drawer and options
The recent apps menu is vertical instead of horizontal with the apps moved closer to the lower part of the screen reserving some space for quick actions at the top of the menu such as deep cache clean, security scan, split screen and cleaner.
Home screen, notification shade and recent apps menu
Of course, dark mode is also available, and it can be applied to all system apps and third-party ones that support the functionality. Unfortunately, the nature of the LCD panel won't let you save a noticeable amount of power, but it will put less stress on your eyes when using the phone at night or in a dark environment. There are also dedicated reading and night mode to ease your reading experience even more.
General settings menu
In case the punch-hole in the upper-left corner is too much to bear, you can hide it with a black bar without losing the extra space next to the camera or you can just cut out the whole area and move the status bar just below it. However, this would make the screen shorter while the top frame thicker losing some of that symmetry between the top and bottom bezels.
Punch-hole and status bar options
Another cool thing about MIUI 11 is that it takes Android 10's granular control over notifications even further by offering a few extra options like the way notification cards appear in the drop-down menu.
Notification settings
MIUI is quite generous with battery features as well. Aside from the usual battery saving features, there's also per-app background activity control. You can blacklist apps that don't behave or whitelist ones that you feel essential. A nuke option to clear the cache with each screen lock is available too.
As far as biometrics go, the phone's rear-mounted fingerprint reader is almost flawless. If we ignore the fact that it's a bit too high up the back and it's hard to reach, the fingerprint scanner itself works great - it's fast, accurate, and reliable. Just a light touch is enough to unlock the phone in less than a second.
Sadly, not all is great with this particular installment of MIUI. The whole experience wasn't exactly "fluent," and we had a couple of choppy animations and delays here and there. It wasn't the prevalent behavior but we felt it's important to share. Either the software needs better optimization or the Helio G85 chipset struggles at times.
Performance
Speaking of the chipset, the MediaTek Helio G85 is a small hardware refresh over the Helio G80, as the name implies, and the benchmarks are here to prove it. It has essentially the same CPU and GPU setup - 2x Cortex-A75 cores running at 2.0 GHz and six Cortex-A55 cores clocked at 1.8 GHz paired with a Mali-G52 MC2 GPU. The only difference is that the latter is clocked at 950 MHz on the Helio G80, while the G85's GPU is clocked at 1000 MHz. Not a tangible difference, to be honest.
The Redmi Note 9 also comes with 3GB of RAM as a standard while the 9S starts at 4GB, so that might be a consideration for future-proofing. You can still grab the 4GB/128GB Redmi Note 9 variant, though.
GeekBench 5.1 (multi-core)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S
1785 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro
1785 - Realme 6
1726 - Motorola Moto G8 Power
1394 - Motorola Moto G8 Plus
1385 - Realme 6i
1349 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 9
1292
GeekBench 5.1 (single-core)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro
571 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S
570 - Realme 6
548 - Realme 6i
388 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 9
361 - Motorola Moto G8 Power
311 - Motorola Moto G8 Plus
310
AnTuTu 8
Higher is better
- Realme 6
288931 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro
279625 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S
254000 - Realme 6i
202275 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 9
200414 - Motorola Moto G8 Power
173607 - Motorola Moto G8 Plus
168699
And as expected, there's not much of a difference between the Helio G80 and G85 in benchmarks. And the latter falls behind the competition too. Single and multi-threaded tasks are handled better by the similarly-priced Snapdragon alternatives, and the same goes for the graphics performance.
Four cameras on the back, punch-hole on the front
The quad-camera setup is almost the same as on the Note 9S but with one small difference - the 5MP f/2.4 camera has been swapped for a 2MP f/2.4 one with autofocus, which is a very welcome feature because it makes macro photography that much easier.
The main camera has been borrowed - 48MP with f/1.8 aperture as well as the ultra-wide unit - 8MP with f/2.2 aperture. The ultra-wide's sensor is quite small measuring at 1/4.0" with 1.12µm. And, of course, the 2MP depth sensor, which serves more of an aesthetic purpose than functional one.
When it comes to selfies, a 13MP f/2.0 shooter sits in the cutout. It's 1/3.1" big and has 1.12µm as opposed to the 16MP unit with similar specs on the Note 9S.
Camera menus
The camera navigation is pretty straightforward, and there's nothing out of the ordinary. Swiping left and right takes you through the different camera modes and, of course, there's a Pro menu, which not surprisingly gives you full control over the camera settings. There's also a 48MP toggle in there as well as the option of shooting in RAW.
Camera menus
The so-called hamburger menu in the upper-left corner of the viewfinder gives you a couple of more options as well as the general settings menu.
Interestingly, the macro mode is in that hamburger menu. Strangely, the dedicated macro lens doesn't get a camera mode of its own.
Daylight samples
Main camera
The main camera produces nice, lively colors with satisfactory sharpness in the better part of the images. It tends to get soft in the shadows. Noise can be seen only from up close.
The dynamic range leaves a bit more to be desired and there's not enough detail in the scenes which we usually take photos of. At least compared to the similarly priced Realme 6.
Main camera daylight samples
Ultra-wide camera
The ultra-wide camera understandably produces lower quality photos. They are noticeably softer, noisier, the highlights look clipped, and details get lost in the shadows as well.
On the other hand, the lens correction algorithm is doing a great job and subjects that are close to the camera and are in the center look pretty sharp.
Ultra-wide camera daylight samples
2x zoom
The 2x zoom photos have identical processing to the main camera as they are just a crop from it. Don't get fooled by the 2x zoom toggle - it's still a crop. This means that pictures appear noisier, softer, and the edges are jagged if you look close enough.
On the bright side, the 2x photos are quite alright for use on social media assuming that they will be viewed mostly on smartphone screens.
2x zoom daylight samples
Macro camera
It seems like the autofocus bit does wonders on the macro photography. It's a must-have feature on a macro camera because it makes shooting that much easier. You don't have to be absurdly close to the subject for the phone to focus and moving objects like flowers in the wind are much easier to capture.
Macro camera samples
Still, the 2MP resolution might be a bit too low for detailed close-ups, but our overall impression of the macro camera is positive. At least compared to other dedicated macro solutions in the price range.
Low-light samples
Main camera
To our surprise, we were more satisfied with the low-light samples than with the daylight shots. Part of the reason might be the excellent Night mode.
Even without the Night mode, we found that low-light photos look quite good. Sure, the noise is aplenty and the photos are generally soft but that's expected in this price range. We were, however, impressed with the dynamic range, good contrast, juicy colors, and how the light sources are handled. There's definitely some HDR at play here because you can see a lot in the shadows, while the highlights don't look clipped. We noticed that it takes some time for the photo to be processed when taking low-light photos using the standard Photo mode which seems to support our guess.
Low-light main camera samples
With the Night mode on, the noise is still there, but the dynamic range and sharpness are vastly improved. There's even more detail in the dark, and highlights are well-contained. We recommend that you use the Night mode in all low-light situations. The wait for the phone to stack all the images is well worth it.
Night mode main camera samples
Ultra-wide camera
Unfortunately, we can't say the same for the ultra-wide camera. Photos look like they are out of focus, muddy and noisy with washed-out colors. And there's no Night mode to make things better.
Ultra-wide camera low-light samples
2x zoom
The 2x zoom photos that are actually cropped from the main camera look surprisingly usable. Surely, there's even more noise and are noticeably softer but there's also a Night mode that can improve dynamic range and take care some of the noise. However, the Night mode makes the images look like they are out of focus - considerably softer. So you might want to stick to standard 2x zoom photos if you are really compelled to do 2x zoom night photos at all.
2x zoom low-light samples: Normal • Night mode • Normal • Night mode • Normal • Night mode
You can also take a look at our photo compare tool and see how the Redmi Note 9 stacks against some of its rivals.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 vs Redmi Note 9S and the Realme 6 in our Photo compare tool
Portraits
The portraits look really decent with satisfactory sharpness, accurate colors and natural skin tone. When light starts dropping, the detail and quality starts to deteriorate fast. We are particularly impressed by the edge detection and the dynamic range. It seems that in both aspects, the software fares quite well. You can see that even with more challenging background - or even foreground - the subject is well separated.
Portrait samples
Selfies
The selfies aren't particularly impressive in terms of sharpness and detail, but colors pop and the dynamic range is wide. We even snapped two side by side photos - one with HDR on and one without. The difference is night and day. You will get the best results in well-lit conditions. If it starts to get dim, image quality goes down fast.
Selfie samples: Normal • Portrait • Normal • Portrait • Normal • Portrait
Selfie samples: HDR off • HDR on
Video recording
Unfortunately, the phone supports video recording only up to 1080p at 30 fps. There aren't many modes in which you can shoot in either. A cinematic aspect ratio is available to add some dramatic effect to the video, but that's pretty much it.
The Full HD video itself is a bit on the soft side and the dynamic range seems a bit too narrow. You can't see anything in the shadows and clouds in the sky are just a tad brighter than they should.
The ultra-wide video offers similar processing, but it gets even softer towards the edges of the frame.
There's also a 2x zoom video that's cropped from the main camera, but as you expect, the result isn't great.
You can also take a look at our video compare tool and see how the Redmi Note 9 stacks against some of its rivals.
1080p: Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 vs Realme 6i and the Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 in our Video compare tool
The competition
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 sits comfortably at the lower end of the mid-range spectrum with only a few alternatives in sight, and most of them are even from the same company. The phone is currently on sale in Europe for about €200, either from Xiaomi's Mi store or from other retailers. This is also the price at which the company is selling the Note 9S in the same markets. India, for example, doesn't get the vanilla Note 9.
So which one to get? This is rather simple, to be honest. If NFC isn't a feature you care about, the Note 9S is clearly the better option. For the same price, you get bigger, brighter and overall better IPS display, considerably faster Snapdragon 720G chipset and you can do 4K@30fps videos. Not to mention that the photos look a lot better even though the two share mostly the same camera hardware. We blame the ISP on the Helio G85. The Redmi Note 9 only has the NFC on its side.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S • Realme 6 • Xiaomi Poco X2
If you happen to have the Xiaomi Poco X2 available in your region, this one is a viable option as well. In India, the handset sells roughly around the €200 equivalent adding a 120Hz IPS display into the mix, Snapdragon 730G chip, bigger 64MP main camera, dual front-facing camera setup and proper fast charging.
But perhaps the biggest challenge the Redmi Note 9 and 9S might face on the European market is the Realme 6. It's a bit costlier on the official website but you can find it for €200 from other retailers. The Realme 6 wins in almost all of the key departments - performance, display (still not very bright but has 90Hz refresh rate), camera, and fast charging. Sure, it has a smaller battery, but it can also be fully charged in under an hour. Realme's contender gives the Redmi Note 9 a good run for its money.
Verdict
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 isn't a bad phone, it's far from it. But we find ourselves hard to recommend it because it's offered in the very same markets where the Note 9S is being sold. And the latter is hands-down, the much better version unless the lack of NFC is hard to swallow.
Our main complaints are regarding the screen brightness and rather under-powered SoC for the price range. You can depend on the phone's Night mode and battery life, though. That's for sure.
Pros
- Rather sturdy design.
- Chart-topping battery life.
- Good Night mode and the macro camera has AF.
- 3.5mm audio jack, dedicated microSD card and IR blaster.
- Mature and feature-rich MIUI 11.
Cons
- The screen is a bit dim.
- Falls behind the competition in terms of performance and charging speed.
- The camera performance could be better overall.
- No 4K recording.
- The UI doesn't feel fast and smooth.
No comments:
Post a Comment