What's good (and it's really good) about the new Redmi smartphone, and what has changed compared to Redmi Note 8 Pro
Redmi Note 8 Pro was an incredible hit last year. And continues to be! Despite some shortcomings (we described them in detail first in the Redmi Note 8 Pro review, and then in a separate article), the Redmi Note 8 Pro turned out to be really excellent, and finding an alternative to it is not so easy.
And now Redmi Note 9 Pro has appeared on the scene - a smartphone that inherited the main advantages of the “eight”, and in which much of what infuriated Xiaomi fans was corrected (spoiler: but not all).
In this review, I will talk about how Redmi Note 9 Pro differs from Redmi Note 8 Pro, why it is good, what its creator should thank for, and what its users will definitely curse for.
How Redmi Note 9 Pro differs from Redmi Note 8 Pro
Let's first go through the key differences between Redmi Note 9 Pro and last year's hit Redmi Note 8 Pro.
The new Redmi smartphone has become:
- More . The screen diagonal has increased, and as a result, the size and weight have increased.
- Faster . Redmi Note 9 Pro received a new Qualcomm Snapdragon processor - more powerful and already manufactured using an 8nm process technology.
- Hardier . The battery capacity has increased, and the power of the charging unit has increased noticeably.
- Expensive . In official retail, Redmi Note 8 Pro 6/128 GB now costs from 20,990 rubles, and Redmi Note 9 Pro can be purchased for 23,990 rubles. However, in unofficial retail it can be purchased for 18 thousand.
Which model should you choose?
There are many similarities between the devices. So, outwardly they are practically no different, with the exception of only the color scheme. They have identical main and front photo modules installed, and the body sizes differ only in thickness due to a more capacious battery.
If we compare performance, then the championship will be for the Pro modifications, which deservedly belongs to the category of the best gaming smartphones. Its RAM and built-in memory indicators also look more impressive. To increase battery life, it was decided to increase the battery capacity by equipping it with a 45-watt charger. Naturally, such impressive technical equipment influenced the cost of the device, which is noticeably more expensive than its predecessor.
About the amazing design of Redmi Note 9 Pro
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- Dimensions: 165.8 x 76.7 x 8.8 mm
- Weight : 209 grams
- Housing colors: white, green, gray
The first thought when you take the Redmi Note 9 Pro in your hand is: “How healthy it is!” The new smartphone is very heavy and just as poorly balanced as the Redmi Note 8 Pro. If the hand got tired from the “eight”, then from the “nine” it gets tired even more and faster. Moreover, the glass surface of the smartphone is quite slippery, and this is also annoying when you take the smartphone in your hand.
The second thing that surprises you about the Redmi Note 9 Pro is the fundamental differences in appearance between the different color versions. Pay attention to the photo below, the green version has a completely different camera design than the white and gray ones (and by the way, it looks better). This, by the way, means that when choosing a case you should be more careful, because the cutouts for the camera will be different.
The main camera block itself again protrudes strongly above the body. But it seems that Xiaomi still took into account the complaints of Redmi Note 8 Pro owners about how quickly the protruding camera lenses get scratched. True, they did it in an original way - they simply included a thick silicone case in the kit. He compares the protrusion of the cameras, which is true, but it makes the smartphone look even more hefty.
It is also worth saying that the green version differs from the others in the design of the camera unit . This can be seen in the official photo of Redmi Note 9 Pro. This did not affect the functionality of the camera in any way.
About connectors and buttons in Redmi Note 9 Pro (hurray! everything is here as you like)
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- Connector : USB Type-C
- SIM card slot: separate
- 3.5 mm jack: yes
- Stereo speaker : no
The main news: the separate card slot has returned to Redmi Note 9 Pro. The inability to install two SIM cards and a memory card at once greatly upset many people in the Redmi Note 8 Pro; it’s good that Xiaomi abandoned this bad practice in the new model.
The second good news: there is a notification light and an infrared port. The first one, of course, is a bit small (a modest silver dot is almost on the very edge, so it’s not even visible when the smartphone is lying on the table). There are no complaints about the second one: it connects quickly and works without failures.
And the last key change: the fingerprint scanner button is now built into the power button. It seems that Xiaomi noticed this in Huawei smartphones, and did the right thing: it’s much more convenient than a scanner shoved under the display,
The headphone jack was not removed. As before, it is located at the bottom end.
There are no changes in the placement of buttons and connectors. As before, on the right side there is a volume rocker and a power button, and on the left is a card slot. At the bottom there is a lone speaker, a USB Type-C connector, a headphone input and a microphone (it has become smaller). On top is another microphone and an infrared port.
Sound and multimedia
Despite the presence of only one speaker, the sound of the RN9 Pro is quite loud and clear. There is no wheezing or crackling even at maximum volume. The sound through the speaker is especially good when watching videos. But to listen to music, you will have to connect headphones via a 3.5 mm jack, into which top-end wired models can be connected.
By default, the smartphone is capable of playing almost all popular audio and video formats. Moreover, he does this using the standard player of the stock MIUI firmware.
| Speakers | Mono |
| 3.5 mm jack | Yes |
| FM radio | Yes |
| Dolby Atmos | No |
| Sound formats | MP3, FLAC, WAV, M4A, APE, AAC, OGG Vorbis, AMR |
| Video formats | MP4, MKV, AVI, 3GP, WEBM, ASF |
About the display of Redmi Note 9 Pro - everything is good here
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- Diagonal : 6.67 inches
- Display aspect ratio: 20:9
- Matrix : IPS
- Resolution : 2400 x 1080(395 ppi)
- Brightness : 450 nits (standard)
- Glass : Corning Gorilla Glass 5
- Oleophobic coating: yes
As befits fashionable smartphones of 2022, the Redmi Note 9 Pro has a cutout kept to a minimum - an “eye” in the center. However, here the developers offer as many as three alternatives: if you don’t want a peephole, make a strip and, if desired, put an information line on it. The frames of the Redmi Note 9 Pro are quite thin, but not so thin that false positives start to infuriate you, everything is fine here.
The declared standard brightness is low, and the automatic backlight adjustment works with a slight delay. But overall, the light sensor works well, and the display remains comfortable on the eyes in any lighting conditions. Color rendition is regulated quite flexibly, and you can, without bothering, turn on “Auto” in the settings, and then the smartphone itself will adjust the colors and contrast depending on external conditions.
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Among the interesting things in the screen menu are special settings for VR, and in the screen lock menu you can set up a wallpaper carousel . Then a photograph and a link to an educational article, for example, “Why a person cannot sleep standing up” or “Which is healthier - margarine or butter,” will be displayed on the screen of the turned on but not unlocked Redmi Note 9 Pro.
High quality screen module
The diagonal size of the AMOLED screen is identical - it is 6.39 inches with a resolution of 2340x1080 and a pixel density of 402 ppi. Among the advantages of the devices, it is worth noting the NTSC 103.8% color palette, DCI-P3 color space coverage and HDR10 support.
A pleasant impression is made by the almost complete absence of frames, due to which the screen occupies 90.7% of the front surface, as well as the presence of blocking harmful blue radiation.
There is one innovation in Xiaomi Mi9 Pro, which is to improve behavior when exposed to sunlight. Sun Screen 2.0 technology provides excellent visibility even in very bright lighting, which the second hero of our review cannot boast of. Among the advantages of the new product is the fact that it has become the owner of a certificate confirming the absence of chromatic aberrations on the screen that are harmful to the human visual system.
The teardrop neckline is present in both versions.
The cameras in Redmi Note 9 Pro are amazing!
- Main module: 64 MP, 0.8 micron, 1/1.7-inch CMOS sensor, 79.8 degree viewing angle, tenfold digital zoom, phase detection autofocus (PDAF), AI support.
- Additional modules: Ultra wide-angle lens 119 degrees (108.3 degrees after distortion correction), 8 MP, 1.12 µm, f/2.2; Macro lens 5 MP, f/2.4, autofocus (from 2 to 10 cm); depth sensor 2 MP, f/2.4.
- Front camera: 16 MP, 1 micron, f/2.4, AI support.
- Video : 4K, 30 fps, ultra-wide-angle video 1080p/720p, slow motion 1080p/720p. Front camera: 1080P/720p, 30 fps, Slo-Selfie function.
I took my first photo with Redmi Note 9 Pro late in the evening, under the light of a table lamp, and I was amazed. In nightmarish lighting conditions, the smartphone took a wonderful portrait - with excellent detail and good color rendition. Just for fun, I repeated it, but with the iPhone 11, and the “Apple smartphone” lost in all respects.
The merit here, of course, is not so much the “pieces of glass” as the “brains” of the smartphone, which are responsible for post-processing the images. Xiaomi smartphones have long been criticized for their shooting quality, but now, forget it: they really learned how to take good photos, and the power of the processors they contain is quite enough for fast and high-quality post-processing of pictures.
The camera demonstrates adequate color rendition, wide range and good detail
Shooting in 64 MP resolution
The maximum 10x zoom is not much, but it's fair
When shooting in night mode, color rendition is also quite good, although detail is expectedly lame
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Of course, when I started testing the Redmi Note 9 Pro cameras further, the initial delight smoothed out. The Redmi Note 9 Pro has the same problems as other mid-price smartphones - noise when shooting wide, inability to focus when shooting macro at the stated 2 centimeters (and it doesn’t always work at 5), I was not impressed with the increase in detail and a 64-megapixel module, there are problems with night photography, etc., etc.
When shooting wide, the camera starts to lather. Notice how the brick pattern near the house opposite has disappeared - this can be seen when you enlarge the photo
The smartphone cannot focus at 2 centimeters in macro mode, and at a greater distance the effect is so-so
In portrait mode, the camera has a slight error in separating the subject from the background
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And yet, I repeat, I really liked the way the Redmi Note 9 Pro shoots. It has everything you need to take good photos with a smartphone - correct color reproduction, a wealth of settings, including in the “Pro” mode, support for RAW format. And the problem of lack of optical stabilization can be solved with a tripod.
A few words about the front camera. It’s not bad here either: the default delicate beauty feature is pleasing (but if you turn the settings to maximum, you’ll get a celluloid doll), again good color rendition, but the limited shooting angle is not pleasing.
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Performance and operating system in Redmi Note 9 Pro
- Processor: 8-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G, 8 nm (2 cores x 2.3 GHz Kryo 465 Gold and 6 cores x1.8 GHz Kryo 465 Silver)
- Graphics : Adreno 618
- RAM: 6 GB
- User memory: 64/128 GB (in Russia only the Redmi Note 9 Pro 6/128 GB version is officially sold
- Operating system: Android 10 with MIUI 11 shell
- Sensors : accelerometer, light, proximity, magnetometer, pedometer, gyroscope, orientation, gravity, linear acceleration
Redmi Note 9 Pro received a fresh Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G processor, and this is another difference from the previous model, where instead of a mid-level Qualcomm processor, a powerful Mediatek “gaming” processor was installed. Apparently, Xiaomi has not yet been able to overcome user prejudice about MTK processors, although the company continues to experiment with them, and in the new Redmi Note 9 line, the younger model still runs on the “gaming” MediaTek Helio G85 processor.
Battery and operating time in Redmi Note 9 Pro
- Battery capacity: 5020 mAh
- Fast wired charging: supported
- Wireless charging: no
- Reverse charging: supported
- Charger included: 33 W
Despite the large screen, the Redmi Note 9 Pro did not disappoint: its battery capacity is sufficient for active use of the smartphone throughout the day and even for recharging older devices from it; fortunately, reverse charging is supported here.
The powerful charging unit is another joy. It’s very sad to look at a smartphone in 2022 with a powerful battery of 5000 mAh and at the same time with a puny charger included. The Redmi Note 9 Pro is fine here - in half an hour the smartphone charges 66%, and to reach 100% it will take a little over an hour.
Unlock methods for Redmi Note 9 Pro
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- Fingerprint scanner: yes
- Face recognition: yes
- Unlock via Bluetooth: yes
The scanner in Redmi Note 9 Pro is located on the power button - a very good solution: the physical fingerprint scanner is still more responsive and more accurate than the one hidden under the display. In the settings, you can choose the fingerprint recognition method - touch or press. When selecting touch, you don’t need to press the power button at all (although you still do it on the machine)
The fingerprint scanner itself works very quickly and accurately , and the shutdown button turned out to be very ergonomically located, at least for my fingers.
No complaints about facial recognition either . It is no less accurate than using your finger, although a little slower. It also works in the dark by turning on the screen backlight.
There is a third way of recognition - via Bluetooth . It will come in handy if you have other Xiaomi devices, such as the Mi Band.
What can cameras do?
When choosing between Mi9 or Mi9 Pro based on photo quality, it is not possible to determine the winner, since absolutely identical photo modules are installed. The main sensor is Sony IMX586 with a resolution of 48 megapixels and an autofocus option. A 12-megapixel S5K3M5 telephoto lens with 2x zoom is responsible for portrait photography. Wide-angle shooting mode is provided by the Sony IMX481 module with an angle of 117°.
To such impressive technical equipment, it is worth adding that the developers have implemented many useful software options. Among them, it is worth noting group face correction, applying a custom watermark, night mode and other functions that have become a reality thanks to the introduction of artificial intelligence AI.
The 20 megapixel front camera with AI and HDR is also worthy of praise, which is capable of applying nude makeup, creating a studio lighting effect, determining the optimal settings for portrait children's and adult photos, as well as many other options.
Communication in Redmi Note 9 Pro
- LTE bands: B1/2/3/4/5/7/8/20/28/38/40/41 (2535 to 2655 MHz)
- 5G support: no
- eSIM support: no
- Wi-Fi: 2.4 + 5 GHz
- Bluetooth : version 5.0
- Navigation: GPS | A-GPS | Galileo | GLONASS | Beidou
The modest single speaker in the Redmi Note 9 Pro is not very loud, and incoming calls are hard to hear from a distance . The vibration is also quite weak, so the likelihood of missing a call when the phone is under your pillow or in your bag is quite high.
But there are no complaints about the quality of communication: the subscriber can be heard perfectly, the smartphone picks up the signal perfectly. Navigation is also good.
In conclusion, we will answer some popular questions about Redmi Note 9 Pro
Wireless capabilities
What's in the Note nine Pro (for example, white):
- NFS - instead of payment cards, you can use smart cards and pay for purchases in places where contactless payment terminals are installed. You will need to download and install Google Pay on your phone, where you need to add a card.
- Wi-Fi - dual-band 2.4G and 5G.
- Bluetooth 5.0. — for connection and wireless data transfer between a smart phone and another phone, tablet, TV and other gadgets.
- Infrared port - smart can be used instead of one remote control for various equipment, for example, for an air conditioner.
Good to know: How to connect your phone to TV: TOP 10 ways
How Redmi Note 9 Pro differs from Redmi Note 9 and Redmi Note 9S
There are the fewest differences with the Redmi Note 9S - the latter has a 48 megapixel camera module, not 64 megapixels, a more modest charging unit - 18 W, and most importantly, there is no NFC support.
Redmi Note 9 looks much more modest: Mediatek Helio G80 chipset instead of Snapdragon, only a 13-megapixel main lens (but also a quad camera). It is also worth noting that Redmi Note 9 has a smaller screen diagonal - 6.53 inches and interesting memory configurations: 3/64 GB or 4/128 GB. By the way, there is NFC support.
What can you buy instead of Redmi Note 9 Pro?
Redmi Note 9 Pro turned out to be so successful that you should look for an alternative only if you are categorically unhappy with the weight and dimensions of the smartphone, or its price seems too high to you.
The obvious answer here is: “Then take the previous generation model,” but I will unexpectedly suggest looking towards the Xiaomi Mi 9T , a very nice model from last year. It is a little smaller and lighter, while pleasing in design, comparable in shooting quality, and the processor is much more powerful (flagship Snapdragon 855), and at the same time, the Xiaomi Mi 9T is now significantly cheaper than the Redmi Note 9 Pro. The disadvantages are the smaller battery capacity and the less powerful charger included.
Why is it worth buying Xiaomi?
Just a few years ago, this brand did not inspire much confidence among the majority of users in our country. Perhaps the main reason was that it was China. Although everyone knows that a large number of brands, and not only phone manufacturers, are located in this country. At the same time, the manufactured products receive a large number of positive reviews. Likewise, smartphones from the Chinese brand have product quality quite comparable to other well-known companies.
The most important reason why people buy Xiaomi mobile phones is the price. Regardless of what level of gadget you buy, it will definitely be good value for your money. Moreover, it is likely that in terms of cost it may not even have any sensible competitors.
And another reason for purchasing may be the presence of certain interesting functions. It could also be a banal infrared port for controlling home appliances, which comes with most models. And for some, the “smart home” system will become the main point for purchasing a device from the Chinese.
In any case, everyone can always find for themselves what they like or don’t like about this brand.
Now let’s move on directly to comparing three interesting options from the manufacturer.
