The Redmi Note 9 series was not available in China until now, but the series arrives with a bang. The new Pro model costs the same as last year, 1,600 CNY, but the difference in hardware is huge. While that’s a very affordable price, Xiaomi also introduced the Redmi Note 9 with 5G for 1300 CNY and one with 4G for 1000 CNY.
The Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G and Note 9 5G will be available in China from December 1. We’ll get a closer look in a second, but first, here’s how the phones stack up against their predecessors.
Old vs new: Redmi Note 8 Pro vs 9 Pro • Redmi Note 8 vs 9
Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G
The titular feature of the Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G is enabled by the Snapdragon 750G chipset and its X52 modem (same as in the S765G). The storage is UFS 2.2, which according to Xiaomi is twice as fast as the UFS 2.1 used in the previous generation.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G
The new model has a 6.67 ”screen with a resolution of 1080p + and a refresh rate of 120Hz. It is an adaptive display offering 6 different refresh rates ranging from 30Hz to 120Hz. Touch sampling runs at 240Hz to boot. The front and back are protected by Gorilla Glass 5.
The camera is one of the highlights of the phone. The main module is built around the 1 / 1.52 ”ISOCELL HM2, Samsung’s third 108MP sensor. While it is smaller than the HM1 used in the S20 Ultra (which is a 1 / 1.33 ”sensor), it supports the same 9-in-1 pixel binning technology, whereas early Xiaomi models with a 108MP camera did. they did with the 4-in-1 grouping.
The effective pixel size goes up to 2.1 µm (from 1.6 µm on the HMX sensor). That, combined with Dual Native ISO and a new night mode, the phone should offer noticeably better image quality in the dark.
The quad camera on the back also features an 8MP (120 °) ultra-wide camera, a 2MP macro shooter, and a 2MP depth sensor. There’s no telephoto camera, but the high-resolution main sensor can do lossless digital zoom up to 3x. The selfie camera has a 16MP sensor.
The Pro model is equipped with a 4,820 mAh battery. The 33W fast charger can fill the battery from 0% to 100% in just 58 minutes.
There are no less than 11 antennas spread over the phone to ensure good reception of 5G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth signals. Apart from 5G, the connectivity includes NFC and an infrared emitter. There’s also a standard 3.5mm headphone jack along with stereo speakers (plus a Z-axis linear motor).
The Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G starts at CNY1,600 for the base 6 / 128GB model. Two additional gigs of RAM cost CNY 200 and the fully loaded 8/256 GB model costs CNY 2,000. For context, that’s € 205 – € 255, although it is unclear if and when we will see the Pro 5G in the global market (and note that it will involve additional taxes).
Redmi Note 9 5G
Redmi Note 9 5G is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 800U chipset, which turned out to be quite competitive with Qualcomm’s 700 series. Xiaomi’s advertising materials claim that the 800U is twice as fast as the Redmi Note 8 chipset. The storage is UFS 2.2, which is also 100% faster than the storage in the previous phone.
The phone has a 6.53 ”LCD screen with 1080p + resolution and a standard refresh rate. It can reduce its brightness to just 1 nit for night viewing and is TUV certified for low blue light emissions. Gorilla Glass 5 is once again the preferred protection for the screen.
The main camera has a more modest 48MP sensor (1/2 ”, 1.6 µm pixels after 4-in-1 bundling). You can still record 4K video, which (like the Pro) is limited to 30fps. The 8 MP (118 °) ultra-wide camera is joined by a 2 MP macro camera. The selfie camera captures 13MP photos and 1080p videos.
The phone is powered by a slightly larger 5,000 mAh battery, although the charging speed has been reduced to 18 W (the retail package includes a 22.5 W charger).
Like the Pro, this version of the Note 9 has a 3.5mm headphone jack and stereo speakers, plus a linear motor (for better haptic response in games). 360 ° antenna coverage is achieved with 7 antennas around the device.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 5G
The Redmi Note 9 5G starts at CNY 1300 for the 6/128 GB base model. There is an 8/128 GB version for CNY 200 more and the top model with 8/256 GB of memory costs CNY 1,700 (€ 166- € 217).
Redmi Note 9 4G
The Redmi Note 9 4G switches to a Snapdragon 662 chipset, but it retains the 128GB of UFS 2.2 storage featured on the 5G models. RAM starts at 4GB, but this is the cheapest phone of the three.
And yet it has the largest battery, 6,000 mAh, while the weight remains below 200g. The phone comes with an 18W fast charger. With moderate use, the battery should last a little over two and a half days. Xiaomi estimates that the battery is good for 1,000 charge cycles or 4 years of use.
The 6.53 ”LCD screen is similar to the 5G model. It has a resolution of 1080p + and a touch sample rate of 120Hz (the refresh rate is 60Hz). However, this panel is protected by the older Gorilla Glass 3.
The triple camera on the rear is similar too, starting with the 48MP main module (1.6 µm pixels after binning). There is also an 8MP (120 °) ultra-wide camera and a 2MP depth sensor. Please note that video recording is limited to 1080p / 30fps. Also, the 8MP selfie camera is inside a notch instead of a hole punched in the screen.
Like the other two, this model features a 3.5mm headphone jack and stereo speakers. However, there is no NFC.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 4G
The Redmi Note 9 4G starts at CNY1,000 for the 4/128 GB model. You can have the 6/128 GB version for just CNY 100 more and the higher 8/128 GB version for CNY 1,300. Note that the triple card slot has a place for a microSD card.
