First look at Redmi Note 9 Pro - real top for your money

Xiaomi brought the Redmi Note 9 Pro smartphone to Russia. At a price of 24 thousand rubles, it offers impressive characteristics and is quite capable of pushing the more expensive Xiaomi models, for example Mi Note 10 Lite.

Design

It's nice that Xiaomi wanted to do something original. Redmi Note 9 Pro does not look like a faceless mass of Chinese smartphones, although it has common features with them: rounded body shapes, a glass back and a screen with a hole for the front camera.

The design is recognizable by the textured coloring that divides the back of the device into two parts, as well as the square block of cameras. The latter reminds of the ruler Huawei Mate 20, however, here it protrudes more from the body.

On the front, the novelty is no longer distinguishable from most competitors: 85% of the area is occupied by a display with rounded corners. The bezels are not the narrowest by modern standards, and the bottom margin is wider than the rest: a display cable is hidden under it.

On the right side there is a volume rocker and a power button with a built-in fingerprint sensor. The most convenient way to unlock the smartphone is with your right thumb, which lies directly on the scanner platform. There is also face unlocking.

The smartphone is large and heavy, and the glass back is very slippery. The silicone case from the kit solves the problem, but it further increases the dimensions, so the Redmi Note 9 Pro is unlikely to suit the owners of small palms.

Screen

Redmi Note 9 Pro is equipped with a huge 6.67-inch display with Full HD + resolution. The matrix is ​​made using IPS technology with traditional pixel structure, making the image clearer than OLED screens with the same characteristics. The grain is invisible even in small print.

Other pluses of the display include the lack of PWM flicker, maximum viewing angles without color distortion, and neutral white balance. Of the minuses: not as deep black as on OLED-matrices, as well as a smaller margin of brightness. At the same time, the picture does not "fade" in the sun, for which thanks anti-glare covering.

Sound and vibration

The smartphone retained a 3.5 mm audio jack, but decided not to spoil users with stereo speakers. The multimedia speaker is located at the bottom and is not of good quality. The volume reserve is enough not to miss a call or alarm, but to watch YouTube it is better to connect headphones to your smartphone.

The vibration is surprisingly decent. Usually inexpensive Android-smartphones emit an indistinct rattling, but here the response is very strong and clear. Xiaomi says that they have equipped the new product with a linear vibration motor, and you can feel it.

Cameras

Redmi Note 9 Pro received four cameras from the back. The standard module is equipped with a 64-megapixel sensor and can combine four pixels into one, so the output is 16-megapixel frames with less noise and wide dynamic range.

Also, the smartphone is equipped with an 8-megapixel "width", a 5-megapixel camera for macro shots and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. Front camera resolution is 16 megapixels.

Other features

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G chipset is responsible for the performance in the Redmi Note 9 Pro. Judging by the testsSnapdragon 720G vs Snapdragon 730G: Which Is Better Among the Two?, it is not inferior to the Snapdragon 730G found in the more expensive Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite. The smartphone also received 6 GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal storage. The latter can be expanded using microSD up to 512 GB.

The gadget runs Android 10 with the proprietary MIUI 11 shell. From day to day, the interface will be updated to the 12th version, which will bring new animations, a notification curtain and gesture control.

The system works smoothly, applications start quickly and are in no hurry to unload from RAM. However, it is worth checking how the new product behaves in games. We will talk about this in a full review in a couple of weeks.

The 5,020 mAh battery will definitely last for a day of active use. If you need to quickly recharge, a 30W adapter is included with the smartphone. It will replenish the battery in less than an hour.

Subtotals

By releasing the Note 9 Pro, Xiaomi has “killed” its other novelty - Mi Note 10 Lite. The smartphone under the Redmi brand is cheaper and at the same time offers a recognizable design, a 5-megapixel camera for macro photography and support for memory cards. Perhaps, with prolonged testing, pitfalls will emerge, but so far the model looks like a potential hit.

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The author thanks Xiaomi for the device provided for testing. The company had no way to influence the test result.