Wednesday, June 3, 2020

Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro Hands-On

When you hear the phone Redmi Note, you already know it’s something. Redmi Note is one of Xiaomi’s most successful series and currently, there are a lot of expectations for the Redmi Note 9 Pro. It has to prove that it’s another awesome bang-for-your-buck smartphone that power users can definitely look forward to. So let’s take a quick look at it.

Just like the Redmi Note 9S and Note 9, the Pro version looks completely different from last year’s Note 8 Pro. It’s catching up with a more modern-looking design with a glass back and plastic frame.

It highlights that rectangular camera module at the back with a square bump to house its quadruple camera module. Below that is its LED flash and some Redmi branding.

The unit we have is in the Glacier White color, and there are also darker shades available—the Interstellar Grey and Tropical Green. For some reason, the Tropical Green variant doesn’t get that black bar underneath the camera module for its LED flash. You might want that.

On the right are its volume rocker and a power button that doubles as a fingerprint scanner.

Meanwhile, on the left, you’ll find its triple card slot for two nano-SIM cards and a microSD card that’s expandable up to 512GB.

Up top are a secondary microphone and an IR blaster. While at the bottom you’ll find its loudspeaker, main microphone, USB Type-C port, and a headphone jack. Thank you!

Let’s talk about the display. The Note 9 Pro gets a 6.67-inch FHD+ DotDisplay screen, with thin bezels and a small punch-hole on the upper center for its front camera. Above that, you can find a call speaker and a tiny notification indicator. As for protection, it’s covered with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 and a pre-installed screen protector.

Now powering this device is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G paired with an Adreno 618 GPU, 6GB of RAM, 64/128GB of internal storage, MIUI 11 based on Android 10, and a whopping 5,020mAh battery with 30W fast charging.

Okay, let’s move to the cameras. At the back, the one on the top left is an 8MP ultra-wide-angle lens, next to the 64MP main shooter. And below them are the 5MP macro and 2MP depth sensors. As for that punch-hole is a 16MP front camera.

We tested its cameras for a quick spin and so far here’s how they look:

We get decent photo quality with good colors. However, I did notice that some photos can look saturated depending on the angles. But we’ll talk more about that in our full review.

As for price, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro is available in two options. The 6GB + 64GB is priced at PHP 12,490, while the 6GB + 128GB option is available for PHP 13,990.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro specs:
6.67-inch FHD+ (2400 x 1080) DotDisplay
Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G 2.3GHz octa-core CPU
Adreno 618 GPU
6GB LPDDR4x RAM
64GB, 128GB UFS 2.1
microSD up to 512GB (dedicated slot)
Quad-rear cameras:
• 64MP F1.89 4-in-1 Super-Pixel (main)
• 8MP F2.2 (ultra-wide)
• 5MP F2.4 (macro)
• 2MP F2.4 (depth)
16MP F2.48 front camera
Dual-SIM (nano)
4G+ LTE
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth 5.0
GPS, A-GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, Beidou
NFC
USB Type-C
IR Blaster
3.5mm audio jack
1216 X max0.5mm high amplitude ultra-linear speaker
Smart PA 10V
Fingerprint scanner (side-mounted)
MIUI 11 (Android 10)
Splash-proof nano-coating
5,020mAh battery w/ 30W fast charging, (33W charger included)
165.75 x 76.68 x 8.8 mm
209 g
Glacier White, Interstellar Grey, Tropical Green