Realme 9, adjusting the price to fight the mid-range [Review]

Realme is one of the smartphone brands that has grown the most in recent months in Spain and South America given its battle to offer products with a good value for money, and it could not be less with its most recent addition, the Realme 9.

We analyze the new Realme 9, a device that aims to rule in the mid-range with a competent price and good specifications. Discover with us all the news about this device, our camera test, performance and much more, as always, an honest analysis where we show you the device so you can decide for yourself if it is worth it or not.

Design and materials

As usual Realme, the device is generally made of plastic, except for the screen, of course. It has a rear camera layout that inevitably reminds us of other brand devices, this time a triple camera that will occupy much of the rear space.

For its part, this rear space has a design holographic wavy, we already know that Realme likes to attract attention in this aspect, as well as in its totally flat bezels, as fashion dictates at the moment.

• Size: 160 x 73,3 x 7,99 millimeters
• Weight: 178 grams
• Colors: Dune Gold; Interstellar White; black meteorite

The device is light (due to the plastic) and quite thin considering its predecessors, strange considering the large battery inside. For its part, we have a front part with a burr in the lower area (small bezel), speaker built into the top bezel to make the most of the screen, and a "freckle"-style selfie camera in the top left corner.

• Additional box contents:
  • 33W Dart Charger
  • USB-C
  • Funda
  • Screen saver

The volume buttons and SIM tray remain on the left profile, while on the right we have the power button. Lower part for the speaker, the USB-C and of course the 3,5mm Jack that Realme does not finish denying that it clings to this glory of the past. Of course, they have decided not to include headphones...

Technical characteristics

The Realme 9 bets on the well-known Qualcomm Snapdragon 680, offered in a variant of 6GB or 8GB of RAM at the consumer's choice, being the one with the highest capacity the one we have analyzed. For its part, we have 128GB of storage USF 2.2 Although it has an acceptable speed, it does not stand out for being the most advanced on the market. As for memory, this can be expanded by microSD up to 256GB.

• In-screen fingerprint sensor
• Corning Gorilla Glass 5

The 6nm eight-core processor will be accompanied by the Adreno GPU 610 for graphics performance, something to be thankful for its proven efficiency and performance. At this point and as you may have imagined, these are the Realme 9 connectivity options:

• WiFi 5
• LTE 4G
• Bluetooth 5.1
• Codecs SBC, AAC, aptX, LDAC
• BeiDOU – Galileo – Glonass – GPS

To move the equipment We have Android 12 under the Realme UI 3.0 customization layer, which we have already talked about at length. A good experience, a light design and a light performance that is undermined by the inclusion of "adware", pre-installed applications that we do not like at all.

Screen and autonomy

We have a SuperAMOLED panel manufactured by Samsung with a size of 6,4″ that takes advantage of the front very well. It offers us a FullHD + resolution (1080 * 2400) with an intermediate refresh rate of 90Hz that is appreciated. The touch sampling speed reaches up to 360Hz, yes. Offers peak brightness up to 1.000 nits that have made it easy to use outdoors and although it is not indicated, I understand (and verify) that it has capabilities to offer HDR content.

The battery, meanwhile, is "huge". We have 5.000 mAh, Although we speak in gross terms, nominally it would fall to 4.880 mAh, which is also a lot. We have a fast charger up to 33W which is included in the package. This is compatible with the reverse charging system through USB-C.

We have noticed that perhaps it gets a little hot if we demand it with video games, but the autonomy is good, I would say remarkable, it will easily accompany you for a little more than a day of use and that in these times is appreciated.

Photographic section

The photographic module will offer all these alternatives:

• 108MP Pro Light camera via a Samsung HM6 sensor with f/1,75 aperture and a 6P lens
• Super Wide Angle Camera 120º and 8MP in total, a 5P lens with f / 2.2 aperture
• macro camera 4cm and 2MP, a 3P lens and f / 2.4 aperture

The video does not have optical stabilization, but the digital one works well enough considering the price of the device. Recordings suffer excessively when natural lighting drops, and despite having better rates, We do not recommend using it above 1080p/60FPS for good results.

we have these modes of photography integrated in the application:

• Night mode
• Panoramic
• Expert
• Picture
• artificial intelligence
• Text scanner
• Tilt Shift

As for the front camera, We have a 16MP sensor with a 78º field of view that takes good shots considering its f/2.4 aperture.

In short, and as often happens on other occasions, it is the main sensor that shines with its own light in almost all tests, while the Wide Angle is relegated to favorable lighting conditions and the macro, well the macro is not used by anyone.

Editor's opinion

This Realme 9 reaches the market with prices between 249,99 and 279,99 euros depending on the option selected in terms of RAM (6GB/8GB), with technical characteristics focused on what is necessary, without 5G but with a good GPU and a well-known processor, accompanied by what is most necessary, a good battery.

For their part, the cameras continue to correspond to the price we pay for the device, with sensors that allow us to play but not do magic.

Pros and cons