After launching the realme 9i, the company has also launched the realme 9 Pro 5G Series in India which includes the realme 9 Pro 5G and realme 9 Pro+, the successors to the last year’s realme 8 Pro. Key features include Android 12 with realme UI 3.0 out of the box, MediaTek Dimensity 920 5G octa-core SoC, 60W SuperDart fast charging, 90 Hz Super AMOLED display, and a 50 MP Sony IMX766 camera with OIS support. Take a look at our realme 9 Pro+ 5G review.
realme 9 Pro+ 5G Specifications
- Display: 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display, Full HD+ resolution, 90 Hz refresh rate, 180 Hz touch sampling rate
- Software: realme UI 3.0, Android 12
- CPU: 6nm MediaTek Dimensity 920 5G octa-core SoC clocked at 2.5 GHz
- GPU: ARM Mali-G68 MC4 Graphics
- Memory: 6 GB OR 8 GB LPDDR4x RAM (Up to 2,133 MHz)
- Storage: 128 GB OR 256 GB UFS 2.2 internal storage, microSD slot
- Main Camera: Triple cameras (50 MP f/1.8 Sony IMX766 + 8 MP f/2.2 Sony IMX355 ultra-wide + 2 MP f/2.4 macro), Optical Image Stabilization, single LED flash
- Selfie Camera: 16 MP Sony IMX471 f/2.4
- Others: In-display fingerprint scanner, Face Unlock
- Cellular: 5G network, dual SIM, dual standby support
- Battery: 4,500 mAh battery
- Charging: 60W SuperDart fast charging (also supports 30W Dart charger & 18W PD 3.0 charging)
- Weight: 182 grams
- Price: ₹24,999 (6 GB + 128 GB), ₹26,999 (8 GB + 128 GB), ₹28,999 (8 GB + 256 GB)
- Availability: 21st February 2022
Design, Display, & Build
The realme 9 Pro+ 5G is slightly an upper variant of the realme 9 Pro 5G which is an upgrade to the last year’s realme 8 Pro. If compared to the realme 8 Pro, some of the improved features are its Dimensity 920 CPU, the 50 MP camera with OIS, 90 Hz refresh rate, and 5G support.
Speaking of its design, the realme 9 Pro+ 5G is covered in glass design, it has 2.5D curved Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on its front and back wrapped in a 7.9 mm thin weighing around 182 grams. The side frames are made of plastic, however, the overall design of the smartphone feels solid and premium.
The realme 9 Pro+ 5G uses a Light Shift design, when exposed to sunlight it magically changes color from light blue to red. It also has hybrid stardust layering which gives a stunning effect. It comes in three color variants – Midnight Black, Aurora Green, Sunrise Blue, we have the Midnight Black color variant as you can see.
The backside has a triple camera setup on the top left side with 50 MP Sony IMX766 as the main camera. You will see a realme branding at the bottom of the phone. On the front side, the realme 9 Pro+ flaunts a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display with a Full HD+ resolution (2400 x 1080 pixels), a 90 Hz refresh rate, and a 180 Hz touch sampling rate. The screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5.
The right side has a power key while the left side has volume control and a triple-slot SIM tray supporting two 5G SIM cards and one microSD card. embedded on the power button. The bottom side has a USB Type-C port for charging, a 3.5 mm jack for audio output, a microphone (another at the top side), and a Stereo loudspeaker (one at the earpiece).
Software & User Interface
On the software side, the realme 9 Pro+ boots with the latest Android 12 operating system, you can see the new realme UI 3.0 on top and loaded with features. The realme UI 3.0 was released a few months ago and a handful of realme smartphones have already received the update, unlike the realme 9i, the realme 9 Pro+ (and the realme 9 Pro) comes with realme UI 3.0 out-of-the-box.
The Android 12 on the realme 9 Pro+ uses a security patch dated 5th December 2021 which appears to be the latest, the realme UI 3.0 has been seamlessly optimized for Android 12 and it’s improved over its past versions. The realme UI 3.0 brings a new look and new Fluid Space design, UI personalization, smoother animations, custom Always-On Display, new privacy features, and more.
You can make use of its Sketchpad AOD (Always On Display) for a customized lock screen experience. It also supports Smart Theming with Wallpaper Coloring based on the current theme, Floating Window 2.0 which aids in better multitasking, and Privacy & Safety Features to take control over your data and apps conveniently. Here are some top features of the realme UI 3.0 that you should know.
With the 90 Hz display and the realme UI 3.0’s fluidic design, the realme 9 Pro+ feels smooth and light in weight. You will find bloatware on the phone, but that can be removed as long as you don’t need them. The bloatware on the phone includes a handful of third-party apps like Facebook, Josh, Dailyhunt, Booking.com, Moj, Snapchat, LinkedIn, PhonePe, Amazon, and a few more including apps from realme.
Hardware, Performance, & Gaming
The realme 9 Pro+ competes with the Xiaomi 11i 5G which is the first smartphone to equip the MediaTek Dimensity 920 5G SoC in India. The realme 9 Pro+ equips a 6nm MediaTek Dimensity 920 5G octa-core SoC capped at 2.5 GHz at max along with ARM Mali-G68 MC4 GPU for graphics processing. The CPU is another major highlight of the phone aside from its design, display, and fast charging features.
About the CPU, the Mediatek Dimensity 920 is a fast upper-midrange SoC manufactured in a 6nm process consisting of 2+6 core configurations, two high-performance ARM Cortex-A78 cores clocked at 2.5 GHz, and six power-efficient ARM Cortex-A55 cores clocked at 2.0 GHz. Furthermore, the chip integrates a quad-core ARM Mali-G68 MC4 GPU for gaming, graphics applications, and GPU-intensive tasks.
Speaking of the RAM and storage options, the realme 9 Pro+ has LPDDR4x RAM type and UFS 2.2 storage type. It comes in three variants, the base one with 6 GB RAM and 128 GB storage, another with 8 GB RAM and 128 GB storage, and the top variant with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB storage. The storage can be expanded via a microSD card slot. The price for the realme 9 Pro+ starts at ₹24,999 for its base variant 6 GB RAM + 128 GB variant, ₹26,999 for 8 GB RAM + 128 GB variant, and ₹28,999 for its top variant 8 GB RAM + 256 GB variant.
About the hardware and performance, the realme 9 Pro+ is as good as the Xiaomi 11i 5G due to the identical hardware. It offers fast processing performance and powerful gaming performance, it’s as fast as the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC found in some flagship smartphones. You also get the RAM expansion technology (realme UI 3.0) that helps you increase the RAM to extra 5 GB (total 13 GB). The performance is at par with similar chips so you can expect a fast performance out of it. For gamers, it has a good GPU performance and lets you run many games, if not all, at high to max graphics settings.
Cameras
The realme 9 Pro+ brings big camera improvements, the realme 9 Pro+ comes with a triple camera setup on the backside with two big sensors and one small as you can see. The primary sensor on the realme 9 Pro+ is the 50 MP Sony IMX766 with support for hardware stabilization, it’s one of the rare cameras to offer an OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) in its class. The rest two cameras are 8 MP ultra-wide-angle and 2 MP macro. It uses an 8 MP Sony IMX355 wide-angle sensor and 16 MP Sony IMX471 sensor in the selfie camera.
The camera uses ProLight Imaging Technology, it features Street Photography Mode 2.0 which brings filters like Neon Trail, Light Trail Portrait, Rush Hour, and Light Painting. Other features are the Dual-View Video, Starry Mode, Film, Tilt-Shift alongwith regular features. You can take 2x and 5x zoomed photos, take macro shots, portraits, as well as Slo-mo videos, Time-Lapse, and Panorama.
The camera records up to 4K at 30 fps and 1080p at 60 fps which is quite good since it supports the high-quality 4K recording. The camera has been great so far, we took some shots and they were impressive, take a look at some camera samples we have shared. The camera offers great features and it’s reliable given the price.
realme 9 Pro+ Camera Samples
Battery Runtime & Charging
The battery size on the realme 9 Pro+ is 4,5000 with 60W SuperDart fast charging support. Unlike the realme 9 Pro which has a 5,000 mAh battery, the plus variant has a slightly smaller 4,500 mAh battery due to the 7.9 mm thin glass design.
The smartphone lasts about 2 days on average use, the 6nm CPU plays an important role in battery saving, the realme UI 3.0 has been optimized for better battery performance. The overall battery life is good and reliable, you can extend even more with the battery power-saving options.
It has a 60W SuperDart fast charging which is capable to charge the phone from 0% to 100% in about 44 minutes. If we compare it with Xiaomi’s 120W HyperCharge fast charging, you can say the realme is far behind in terms of speed, the Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge edition wins the game. However, the results of the 67W charging on the Xiaomi 11i 5G and 60W charging on realme 9 Pro+ are quite similar and have no huge difference.
Verdict
The realme 9 Pro+ has been improved in terms of performance, cameras, and software. There’s a chunk of UI features in the realme UI 3.0 that are useful, the Android 12 experience is amazing, you get a 60W SuperDart fast charging which is great, and lastly, it comes with a 90 Hz Super AMOLED display with stereo speakers that will give you a wonderful multimedia experience. For this price (₹24,999 onwards), there’s no doubt the realme 9 Pro+ is the right pick.
Strength
- Glass Design | Slim Form Factor
- 90 Hz Super AMOLED display
- Fast 6nm Dimensity 920 SoC | Good gaming performance
- 60W SuperDart Fast Charging Support
- Good Daylight Photography | Impressive Overall Camera Performance
- Featured-Pack realme UI 3.0 Interface
- Stereo Speakers
- 5G support
- Dedicated microSD card slot
- 3.5mm Audio Jack
Weakness
- None
