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Introduction and Specifications
The Realme 9 series has quite a few relatives this year. We have a 4G and 5G version of the vanilla option, we have a 9i and two Pro flavors. Each represents a different price point, except for the Realme 9 4G and 5G iterations. Both seem to be priced about the same. And to our surprise, the 5G device undercuts the Realme 9 4G by around €30.
However, there is a pretty good reason why. The 4G variant has a better display, faster charging and better main camera and the basic memory variant offers twice as much storage as the 5G. We can immediately say that the 4G version will probably be more popular than its 5G counterpart, especially among people who are not interested in upgrading to the 5G network or in countries where coverage is still scarce.
Realme 9 specifications at a glance:
- Body: 160.2×73.3×8.0mm, 178g; Gorilla Glass 5 front, plastic back and frame.
- Display: 6.40″ Super AMOLED, 90Hz, 430 nits (typ), 1000 nits (peak), 1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 411ppi.
- chipset: Qualcomm SM6225 Snapdragon 680 4G (6 nm): Octa-core (4×2.4GHz Kryo 265 Gold & 4×1.9GHz Kryo 265 Silver); Adreno 610.
- Memory: 128GB 6GB RAM, 128GB 8GB RAM; UFS2.2; microSDXC (special lock).
- Operating System / Software: Android 12, Realme UI 3.0.
- Rear camera: wide (head): 108 MP, f/1.8, 26mm, 1/1.67″, 0.64µm, Dual Pixel PDAF; Ultra wide angle: 8 MP, f/2.2, 120˚, 1/4″, 1.12 µm; macro: 2MP, f/2.4.
- Front camera: 16 MP, f/2.5, 26 mm (wide), 1/3.09″, 1.0 µm.
- Video recording: reversing camera: 1080p@30fps; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
- Battery: 5000mAh; Fast charge 33W, 50% in 31 min, 100% in 75 min (advertised).
- Miscellaneous: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); 3.5mm jack, no NFC.
For around €280 you get a solid 90Hz OLED panel, 5,000mAh battery, 33W fast charging, a 108MP main camera and 128GB of expandable storage. The Realme 9 also runs on a recent Snapdragon 680 SoC, although that particular chip doesn’t have a built-in 5G modem.
With all those specs in mind, the €280 price tag seems pretty competitive. The handset becomes a respectable all-rounder and is even better than the 5G option. But specs aren’t everything, so we’ll run through our usual tests to see how well the hardware performs in the real world.
Unpacking the Realme 9
The device comes in a standard box containing all the usual user manuals, the appropriate 33W charging brick and a USB-A to USB-C cable used for charging and data transfer.
Realme also threw in a transparent protective case as a bonus.