Xiaomi’s sub-brand Redmi is known for its incredible value-for-money smartphones. Recently, the company crossed a big milestone by selling 140 million units of Redmi Note series of phones since the company’s early days in 2014. And today, the much-leaked Redmi Note 9 series went official in China, where it showcased a total of three new phones. Here, I’ll be discussing the Redmi Note 9 5G including its specs, features, expected price, and availability in Nepal.
Redmi Note 9 5G Overview:
| Redmi Note 9 5G is currently exclusive to China and the company has revealed that it doesn’t have any plan to launch the device globally for now. However, rumors suggest that it could launch in the international market after a while under the Redmi Note 9T disguise. |
Design & Display
Starting with the design, the Redmi Note 9 5G sports a very Redmi-esque, a very familiar look. From its circular camera module to a similar color scheme, the phone is quite reminiscent of the Redmi K30 Pro and K30 Ultra. But while those devices come with a motorized selfie camera, the Note 9 5G settles for a punch-hole cutout instead.
Moving on, the phone is protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass 5 on both sides and even though it doesn’t come with an official IP rating (which is unfair to ask from a device of this stature anyway), it does come with anti-splash coating. This should at least keep you from worrying in case of accidental water splashes. Redmi Note 9 5G includes a linear vibration motor as well, for better haptic feedback on your gaming or typing sessions.
Getting to the display, you get a 6.53-inches FHD+ IPS LCD panel here. With minimal bezels and the aforementioned cutout, the phone manages an impressive 90.8% screen-to-body ratio. Another feature I’m impressed by is its ability to dial down the brightness to as low as 1nit. Add that with the TÜV Rheinland Low Blue Light certification, the Redmi Note 9 5G is very easy on the eyes. Unlike its Pro sibling, this panel still refreshes at 60Hz only.
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Performance
One of the major headlining features of the phone lies in its performance. Powered by the Dimensity 800U, the Note 9 5G is an incredibly powerful device. This 7nm silicon from MediaTek consists of 2 high-performance Cortex-A76 cores clocked at 2.4GHz and six efficient Cortex-A55 cores @2.0GHz. Handling the graphics is Mali-G57 MC3 GPU. As the phone’s name itself implies, this is a 5G-ready device since the 800U has an integrated 5G modem.
Redmi Note 9 5G supports dual-5G mode (meaning standby 5G connectivity in both SIMs), and the company has included a 360-degree antenna for optimum signal reception. All this is complemented by 6/8GB of LPDDR4x RAM and up to 256GB of a faster UFS 2.2 internal storage. Besides, there are 7 intelligent temperature sensors that facilitate an effective cooling mechanism.
If you’re eager for a benchmark, Redmi says the Note 9 5G managed to score a whopping 345,370 on AnTuTu, which is a massive leap from the global variant of any of the Note 9 series. The phone runs on the latest MIUI 12 based on Android 10 out-of-the-box.
Cameras
When it comes to cameras, the phone packs a triple-lens setup at the back. There’s a 48MP primary lens, an 8MP ultrawide sensor (with 118-degree field of view), and a 2MP macro lens.
Apart from taking regular photos, Note 9 5G includes various productive camera features like Document mode and ID photocopying mode, which lets you take pictures as a document scanner or get a printable A4 file, respectively. Similarly, the cutout at the top-left corner of the display houses a 13MP selfie shooter.
Battery & others
Redmi Note 9 5G gets its juice from a big 5000mAh battery which supports 18W fast charging via USB Type-C connection. And with features like 5G Ultra Save (that automatically toggles between network to save power), Smart Switch, etc. you should easily get more than a day’s power from the 5000mAh cell. Other notable features of the phone include a 3.5mm headphone jack, dual stereo speaker setup, IR blaster, etc. For security, Note 9 5G comes with a side-mounted fingerprint scanner.
Redmi Note 9 5G Specifications:
- Body: 6.38 x 3.04 x 0.36 inches, 200 gm, Gorilla Glass 5, Anti-splash coating
- Display: 6.53-inches IPS LCD panel, 403PPI, Gorilla Glass 5, 60Hz refresh rate
- Resolution: FHD+ (2400 x 1080 pixels), 20:9 aspect ratio
- Chipset: MediaTek Dimensity 800U (7nm Mobile Platform)
- CPU: Octa-core (2×2.4 GHz Cortex-A76 & 6×2.0 GHz Cortex-A55)
- GPU: Mali-G57 MC3
- RAM: 6/8GB
- Storage: 128/256GB UFS 2.2 (non-expandable)
- Software & UI: MIUI on top of Android 10
- Rear Camera: Triple-camera;
– 48MP primary camera, f/1.8
– 8MP ultra-wide lens, f/2.2, 118-degree FOV
– 2MP macro sensor, f/2.4
– LED flash - Front Camera: 13MP, f/2.3 sensor (punch-hole)
- Security: Physical fingerprint scanner (side-mounted)
- Audio: 3.5mm headphone jack, stereo speaker
- Connectivity: Dual-SIM (Nano), WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (dual-band), Bluetooth 5.0, GPS / AGPS / Glonass / Galileo / BDS, USB Type-C, 4G LTE, sub-6GHz 5G (DSDS)
- Sensors: Accelerometer, Gyro, Proximity, Compass
- Battery: 5000mAh with 18W fast charging
- Colors: Cloud Ink Gray, Flowing Shadow Purple, Castle Green
Redmi Note 9 5G Price in Nepal and Availability
Redmi Note 9 5G is already up for pre-order in China where its price is ¥1,299 for the 6/128GB variant. We expect the price of Redmi Note 9 5G in Nepal to be around NPR 26,000, if and when it launches later on.
| Redmi Note 9 5G variant | Price (China) | Price in Nepal (Expected) |
| 6/128GB | ¥1,299 | NPR 26,000 |
| 8/128GB | ¥1,499 | NPR 30,000 |
| 8/256GB | ¥1,699 | NPR 35,000 |
- Watch our review of the Redmi Note 9.
