Recently, realme released two new 5G smartphones under its realme 9 Series – the realme 9 5G and realme 9 5G Speed Edition, the realme 9 Series is the successor to the last year’s realme 8 Series. Talking about the realme 9 5G Speed Edition, it has a whopping 144 Hz adaptive refresh rate, a faster Snapdragon 778G, and supports 30W Dart charging. Here’s our first look at the realme 9 5G Speed Edition.
realme 9 5G Speed Edition Specifications
- Display: 6.6-inch IPS display, Full HD+ resolution, 144 Hz adaptive refresh rate, 144 Hz touch sampling rate
- Software: realme UI 2.0, Android 11
- CPU: 6nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G 5G octa-core SoC (8x Kryo 670 CPUs)
- GPU: Adreno 642L
- Memory: 6 GB OR 8 GB (Up to 13 GB Dynamic RAM)
- Storage: 128 GB UFS 2.2 internal storage, microSD slot
- Main Camera: Triple cameras (48 MP main + 2 MP macro + 2 MP depth), single LED flash
- Selfie Camera: 16 MP wide-angle
- Others: Side-mounted fingerprint scanner, Face Unlock
- Cellular: 5G network, dual SIM, dual standby support
- Battery: 5,000 mAh battery
- Charging: 30W Dart charging
- Price: ₹19,999 (6 GB + 128 GB), ₹22,999 (8 GB + 128 GB)
The realme 9 5G Speed Edition is an upper variant of the realme 9 Pro 5G, it has a faster 144 Hz refresh rate which you won’t easily find in this price segment. The realme 9 5G makes a move in the midrange market with its 144 Hz display that outperforms a majority of rivals with a 90 Hz display under this price bracket.
The speed indicates the faster 144 Hz refresh rate and a faster Snapdragon 778G processor as compared to its sibling realme 9 Pro 5G. The realme 9 SE has a 6.6-inch IPS display with a Full HD+ resolution, however, a faster 144 Hz refresh rate with a 144 Hz touch sampling rate. The smartphone has a 6-level adaptive refresh rate – 30 Hz, 48 Hz, 50 Hz, 60 Hz, 90 Hz, and 144 Hz.
On the rear side of the phone, you will see a glowing back, it has a Starlight Texture design that looks great, we got the Azure Glow variant while the other variant of the smartphone is Starry Glow. You will find a triple camera setup on the top left side with a 48 MP main camera and two 2 MP macro and depth cameras, and a realme logo at the bottom.
The bottom side has a USB Type-C port and a 3.5 mm audio jack as well as dual microphones (one at the top), and loudspeakers. There’s a side-mounted fingerprint scanner embedded in the power button for locking and unlocking the phone. The power button is on the right side while the left side has volume keys and a triple-slot 5G SIM tray that supports dual SIM cards and a dedicated microSD slot.
One of the major highlights of the phone is its CPU, it packs 6nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G 5G octa-core SoC clocked at 2.4 GHz coupled with up to 8 GB RAM and 128 GB onboard storage. A similar setup you will find on the realme GT Master Edition.
The base variant starts with 6 GB RAM and 128 GB storage, and the top variant comes with 8 GB RAM and 128 GB storage. It comes with a RAM expansion technology in which the RAM can be extended up to 13 GB.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G 5G is an upper midrange SoC with 5G support consisting of 1+3+4 core configurations, one high-performance Kryo 670 Prime core clocked at 2.4 GHz, three performance Kryo 670 Gold cores clocked at 2.2 GHz, and four power-efficient Kryo 670 Silver cores clocked at 1.9 GHz. Furthermore, the chip integrates an Adreno 642L GPU for gaming, graphics applications, and GPU-intensive tasks.
The realme 9 5G Speed Edition boots with the older realme UI 2.0 based on the Android 11 operating system. Several realme smartphones offer the realme UI version 2.0, however, a newer version of the operating system already exists, a few realme smartphones have already received the realme UI 3.0 update – realme 9 Pro, and realme 9 Pro+ runs on the latest realme 3.0 UI. On the battery side, the smartphone offers a 5,000 mAh battery with support for 30W Dart fast charging that takes about 25 minutes to charge the battery up to 50%.
Overall, the realme 9 5G Speed Edition offers a better CPU and a smooth 144 Hz refresh rate that seems beneficial for gamers. The price for the 6 GB RAM and 128 GB storage variant starts at ₹19,999 and ₹22,999 for its 8 GB RAM and 128 GB storage variant.
