Xiaomi’s budget smartphone, the Redmi 9 Prime has been launched in India at Rs 9,999. The key highlights include 6.53-inch Full HD+ display, MediaTek Helio G80 octa-core SoC, quad cameras, and a 5,020 mAh battery. Here’s what you need to know about in our Redmi 9 Prime review.
Xiaomi Redmi 9 Prime Specifications
- Display: 6.53-inch Full HD+ display (2340 × 1080 pixels)
- Software: MIUI 11 based on Android 10
- Protection: Corning Gorilla Glass 3 (front), Splash resistant (P2i coating)
- CPU: MediaTek Helio G80 octa-core SoC
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Storage: 64 GB OR 128 GB, expandable via dedicated microSD slot
- Rear Camera: Quad Cameras, 13 MP main + 8 MP wide-angle + 5 MP macro + 2 MP depth
- Selfie Camera: 8 MP
- Others: Fingerprint sensor, IR sensor
- Colors: Matte Black, Mind Green, Space Blue, Sunrise Flare
- Battery: 5,020 mAh, 18W fast charging
- Price: ₹9,999 (4 GB + 64 GB), ₹11,999 (4 GB + 128 GB)
Design, Display, & Build
The Redmi 9 Prime uses an Aura design as you can see, the backside has a textured design with a quad-camera interface that encapsulates the fingerprint scanner exquisitely. The unibody design with its curves gives you a good grip and feels solid in the hands.
It’s worth noting that the design uses a P2i nano-coating means the phone is spash resistant and can resist water splashes (though it’s not water submersible). The Redmi Note 9 Series offers a fingerprint scanner embedded on the power button whereas the Redmi 9 Prime offers at the rear side.
About the display, the Redmi 9 Prime includes a 6.53-inch IPS display with a resolution of Full HD+ (1080 x 2400 pixels) covered with the Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The Redmi 9 Prime comes in four color options – Matte Black, Mind Green, Space Blue, and Sunrise Flare, we have the Sunrise Flare color variant.
The retail box includes the Redmi 9 Prime, a flexible silicone protective case, a USB Type-C cable, an 18 W fast charger, user manuals, and a SIM tray ejector pin. You don’t get earphones are bundled with the box.
On the right side, you see a power and volume keys, the left side has a triple-slot SIM tray with two 4G SIM slots and one microSD card slot. Another highlight is the USB Type-C port at the bottom with loudspeakers, 3.5 mm jack, and a microphone. The top side has an IR Blaster and another microphone for noise cancellation.
Software & User Interface
The Redmi 9 Prime includes the MIUI 11.0.2 out-of-the-box which is based on the Android 10 operating system. And Xiaomi has deployed its new MIUI 12 update in India for the Redmi Note 9, this indicates that the Redmi 9 Prime may get the new MIUI 12 update soon. The security patch on the Redmi 9 Prime is dated 5th July 2020.
Just like most Redmi’s running MIUI 11, the Redmi 9 Prime is no different, you can see plenty of features and customizations in the new MIUI 11, from dark mode to UI customizations, icon packs, themes, new sounds, and the redesigned interface. The UI performance is fast and runs smoothly in our initial use.
On the backside, you can see a fingerprint scanner attached to the vertical quad-camera design. The fingerprint scanner works fast without any problems faced. The Face Unlock also works as it should.
Hardware, Performance, & Gaming
Moving to the hardware and performance of the phone, the Redmi 9 Prime packs a MediaTek Helio G80 octa-core CPU with 4 GB RAM and up to 128 GB storage. The Redmi Prime comes in two storage variants, 64 GB and 128 GB both with 4 GB of RAM. The price for the 64 GB variant is ₹9,999 and the price for the 128 GB variant, ₹11,999.
Like the most Redmi’s out there, the Redmi 9 Prime also focuses on the hardware, camera, and battery. Rivals, realme Narzo 10 is a close competitor whereas the realme Narzo 10A (Helio G70) falls behind in terms of specs. The Redmi 9 Prime has an edge with its Full HD+ display which is clearly ahead of the above mention rivals.
Gaming can be done on the phone efficiently, the MediaTek G80 can handle games with low to medium to high graphics for some games. If you are going to pick this phone for gaming, then we would suggest you pick a better performer (Snapdragon 720G), the Mali-G52 GPU on the Redmi 9 Prime is only good for casual gaming.
Cameras
As for the cameras, the Redmi 9 Prime equips a quad-camera setup on the back. There’s no fancy 48 MP camera, you rather get a 13 MP main camera, secondary 8 MP ultra-wide-angle, the third 5 MP macro, and a depth sensor of 2 MP. The front side has an 8 MP camera for taking selfies and video calling.
The interface comes with a Pro mode, Portrait mode, Macro, Wide-angle mode, Slow motion (120fps@720p), Short video, Wide-angle video, Macro video, and the rest you see on Redmi phones.
The camera specs appear to be decent on paper however a few smartphones offer 48 MP cameras in this range, the Redmi Note 8 is one instance. Rival realme Narzo 10 also comes with a 48 MP main camera. The Redmi 9 Prime lacks behind in terms of 4K, 1080p 60fps video recording, slow motion 240 fps, and overall camera quality in this segment.
Take a look at the camera samples we took from the Redmi 9 Prime. Due to heavy rains, we didn’t get a chance to take more shots, we will update once the weather is clear.
Xiaomi Redmi 9 Prime Camera Samples
Battery Life
Moving on to the phone’s battery side, the Redmi 9 Prime packs a large 5,020 mAh battery which is one of the most impressive features of the phone. The battery offers 185 hours of music playback, 31 hours of calling, 19 hours of continuous navigation, and 19 hours of video playback.
Speaking of battery life, you can expect the phone to run up to 2 days on average use. Due to the power-efficient hardware Helio G80, the battery can last longer as compared to the similar 5,020 battery on Redmi Note 9 Pro and Redmi Note 9 Pro Max.
For the charging, the phone offers 18W fast charging which is good given the price. It has an edge over the smartphones in this range that offer 10W standard charging (5V, 2A).
Verdict
The Redmi 9 Prime packs an impressive 5,020 mAh battery with fast charging, a crisp 6.53-inch Full HD+ display, and a design that’s water-resistant (P2i nano-coating) all for the price of Rs 9,999 (4 GB + 64 GB). In addition to that, the phone also offers a MediaTek Helio G80 octa-core CPU, and quad cameras with wide-angle and macro mode.
It’s 128 GB variant costs Rs 11,999 which is similar to the Redmi Note 8 price that offers a better 48 MP primary camera, the same with the rival realme Narzo 10 with 48 MP camera. If you are into gaming and want better performance, you can pick the Snapdragon 720G powered smartphones. As far as the pricing is concerned, the Redmi 9 Prime can be considered for its outstanding battery performance and crisp Full HD+ display.
