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Xiaomi announces Redmi Note 9 and Note 9 Pro

by on01 May 2020


Coming globally next month

Xiaomi has officially announced the global launch of the Redmi Note 9 and the Redmi Note 9 Pro smartphones. Both smartphones live up to the Redmi brand, bringing a lot of bang for the buck.

The Redmi Note 9 Pro, which is not exactly a new smartphone as we already have seen it launch in India, under the Redmi Note 9 Pro Max, but unless you are living in India, this is what you should be looking for in the market. On the other hand, the Redmi Note 9 is not a global version of the Redmi Note 9S or the Redmi Note 9 Pro launched in India, but rather a brand new global Redmi smartphone.

The Redmi Note 9 gets Mediatek G85 octa-core SoC

Measuring 162.3x77.2x8.9mm (6.39x3.04x0.35-inch) and weighing in at 199g, the Redmi Note 9 should appeal to those looking for a "smaller" budget-oriented smartphone, as it is built around a 6.53-inch 2340x1080 resolution IPS screen with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on the front and plastic frame wrap. Such a screen leaves it with around 83.5 percent screen-to-body ratio and 395ppi of pixel density.

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In all fairness, the Redmi Note 9 looks like a decent smartphone and has a punch-hole in the top left corner of the screen for a 13-megapixel selfie camera. Xiaomi is going for a so-called symmetrical design with center placed rear main camera system. It has a quad-camera system with a 48-megapixel Samsung sensor, 8-megapixel ultrawide one, and two 2-megapixel sensors; one for macro and other for depth.

The fingerprint sensor sits just below the rear camera system, and you also get IR blaster, standard headphone jack, NFC, 802.11ac WiFi and Bluetooth 5.0, USB 2.0 Type-C port, as well as a hefty 5,020mAh battery with 18W wired charging.

The heart of the Redmi Note 9 is Mediatek's "new gaming-oriented" octa-core SoC, the 12nm Helio G85. Basically, the Helio G85 is pretty much the Helio G80 with slight clock tweaks to the GPU core. It has a 2+6 core design with two big Cortex A75 cores, clocked at up to 2.0GHz, and six small Cortex A55 cores, and comes with Mali-G52 MC2 GPU clocked at 1,000MHz.

The Redmi Note 9 will be available in two versions, one with 3GB RAM and 64GB of internal storage, and 4GB of RAM with 128GB of internal storage.

The Helio G85 should do a bit better in games, as well as benchmarks, especially if the "sports setting" is included with this chipset as well. In case you missed it, UL has already delisted more than 50 devices and blacklisted them on PC Mark.

Redmi Note 9 Pro goes for Qualcomm's Snapdragon 720G

Unlike the Redmi Note 9, the Note 9 Pro gets a few more goodies, including Qualcomm's Snapdragon 720G, a bigger screen, a better camera, and faster charging, but it will cost a bit more as well.

Just as the Redmi Note 9 Pro Max in India, it also gets a 6.67-inch 2400x1080 resolution 20:9 aspect ratio IPS screen. Coupled with 165.8x76.7x8.8mm dimensions and 209g weight, the Redmi Note 9 Pro is a neat smartphone with a center placed punch hole on the screen for a 16-megapixel selfie camera.

Justifying its higher price, the Redmi Note 9 Pro has Gorilla Glass 5 on both the front and the back, but still uses a plastic frame. The screen and size leave it with around 85 percent screen-to-body ratio and 395ppi of pixel density.

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As noted, Xiaomi decided to go for Qualcomm's 8nm Snapdragon 720G SoC for Redmi Note 9 Pro. It is an octa-core SoC with two Kryo 465 Gold cores clocked at 2.3GHz and six Kryo 465 Silver cores clocked at 1.8GHz. It features Adreno 618 GPU and is paired up with 6GB of RAM and either 64GB or 128GB of internal storage.

The Redmi Note 9 Pro also has a quad rear main camera system but uses a 64-megapixel main sensor, paired up with an 8-megapixel ultrawide, 5-megapixel macro, and 2-megapixel depth sensors. Xiaomi is once again going for the so-call symmetrical design, but the fingerprint sensor is now moved to the side.

The rest of the features include IR blaster, USB 2.0 Type-C port, 802.11ac WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, and the same 5,020mAh battery, but this time with 30W fast-charging.

Both coming next month at affordable price points

The Redmi Note 9 will start selling globally next month at $199/€180 for the 3GB/64GB model, and $249/€230 for the 4GB/128GB. It comes in green, white, and grey color options.

The Redmi Note 9 Pro is a bit pricier and starts at $269/€250 for the 6GB/64GB version and $299/€275 for the 6GB/128GB model. The Redmi Note 9 Pro will come in green, white, and grey color options.

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Last modified on 01 May 2020
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