Realme 9i review: practical solution

Content

  1. Specifications
  2. Appearance and equipment
  3. Software
  4. Cameras
  5. Performance and Benchmarks
  6. findings

Everyone is interested in watching technicalbreakthroughs of flagship devices, but not everyone wants to pay for them in hard currency. In this path, the trend of condescension of bright technical chips to much more affordable price segments pleases. Today we will talk about Realme 9i, a practical smartphone with a couple of nice features.

Technical characteristics 

Realme 9i Specifications
Network 2G, 3G, 4G
Firmware realme UI 2.0 on Android 11
Screen 6.6″, 2412 x 1080 pixels, IPS, 90 Hz, 180 Hz touch, 480 nits, DCI-P3
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 680
GPU: Adreno 610
Ram 4 GB (+3 due to ROM)
LPDDR4X
ROM 64/128 GB
UFS 2.2
SIM and memory card 2× nanoSIM + microSD up to 1 TB
Camera Main: Samsung S5KJN1, 50 (→ 12.5) MP, f/1.8, PDAF
Macro: 2 MP, f/2.4
Black and white module: 2 MP, f/2.4
Selfie Sony IMX471, 16 MP, f/2.1
Battery 5000 mAh
Charging USB-C, 33W, Dart Charge
Wireless interfaces Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, 2.4/5 GHz
Bluetooth 5.0
GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, GALILEO
NFC there is
Biometrics Fingerprint scanner in the power button
Sound Stereo
3.5 mm audio jack
Water protection Not declared
Dimensions and weight 164.4 x 75.7 x 8.4mm
190 g

    Appearance and equipment 

    Realme 9i comes with a power adapter33W, USB-A to USB-C cable, transparent silicone case, protective film, SIM eject tool and documentation. The cover is transparent, but the ends are slightly matte and slightly rough for a more tenacious grip. There are protective corners and a board around the camera module. The manufacturer approached the issue of safety seriously, which is good news.

    The smartphone is available in two colors: black and blue. In both cases, the plastic back has an iridescent, striped pattern, while the beveled edges of the body provide pleasant ergonomics.

    Of the features of the interfaces, it is worth paying attention to the following points:

    • SIM-tray allows you to stick three at once!©. Two nanoSIM cards and one memory card up to 1 TB.
    • The fingerprint sensor is combined with the power button at the end. Works accurately and smartly.
    • Multimedia and conversational speakers form a stereo pair of moderate quality.
    • The 3.5 mm audio jack is located oncorrect, bottom end.

    Realme 9i uses 6.6” displayIPS-matrix with a resolution of 2412 by 1080 pixels. Of the strengths, it has support for an increased refresh rate of 90 Hz, DCI-P3 color space and the lack of PWM inherent in OLED panels. Of the weak - not the highest brightness - 480 nits.


    Display settings

    Software 

    The device runs on Android 11 in proprietaryrealme UI 2.0 shell. During testing, I did not encounter any noticeable bugs or stability problems, but I did appreciate the calm colors, sleek design, and lack of built-in advertising. It would seem like simple little things, but after a couple of Poco phones in a row (Poco X4 Pro 5G – review, Poco M4 Pro – review) you begin to appreciate them much more than before.


    Realme UI 2.0

    Cameras 

    Modern marketing race for quantitycameras in smartphones sometimes take on meaninglessly merciless forms… Realme 9i boasts a large photo unit with massive camera embrasures, but the sensors themselves are much smaller. Nominally, the smartphone allows you to shoot with four modules: the main Samsung S5KJN1 (50 (–> 12.5) MP, f/1.8, PDAF), macro (2 MP), B/W (2 MP) and selfie Sony IMX471 ( 16 MP, f/2.1). In reality, it only makes sense to shoot at the first and last.

    Under favorable conditions, the main camera is capable ofon quite good photos, but capturing these conditions is another task. With a lack of light, frames begin to noticeably make noise, in at least somewhat contrasting scenes, a lack of range is noticeable (bright places are “burned out”, shaded ones are blackened), and if there are complex objects in the frame, like trees, you can observe a lack of detail. It would seem that the issue with detail can be solved using the full 50 megapixel shooting mode (without it, the pixels are combined into groups of four), but, surprisingly, the difference is not so significant. On the positive side, I note quite natural colors and good blurring.


    Main camera


    Main camera: zoom


    Main camera: portrait and standard modes


    Main camera: standard mode, night, PRO (16s, ISO-100)


    Detail Comparison: Standard Mode vs. 50MP


    Selfie camera: standard and portrait modes


    Original photos and videos


    Camera app

    Performance and tests 

    Qualcomm is responsible for the performance of Realme 9iSnapdragon 680 with Adreno 610 graphics chip. The chipset, although fresh, is from the category of moderately productive solutions. It is echoed by 4 GB of LPDDR4 RAM and 64/128 GB of permanent UFS 2.2. In addition, the system allows you to give up to 3 GB of permanent memory for the needs of RAM, conditionally expanding it to 7 GB.

    Like most modern skins, Realme UIhas a separate launcher for launching games. As a rule, it can be used to achieve greater performance of iron, due to the corrected behavior under loads. True, in the case of Realme 9i, this scheme produced an unexpected effect. If in the case of the throttling test, the launcher slightly improved the already stable picture, then in the graphic stress test it resulted in some kind of incomprehensible circus of values. Fortunately, in real tasks we did not meet this.


    Throttling test


    3DMark Graphical Stress Test

    A smartphone cannot be called a gaming device,however, he still has his pluses in this field. So, if the user prefers light, casual projects, he will certainly be pleased with the large display, stereo sound and confident autonomy (more on that later). Adherents of the same hardcore and multiplayer gaming, the power of Realme 9i may not be enough. Our measurements showed the following results:

    • COD Mobile: very high graphics settings - 30-40 fps, high - 50-60 fps.
    • Tacticool: medium graphics settings - 60 fps. Above 60 fps does not rise.
    • Genshin Impact: up to 40 fps with constant drops and freezes on minimum graphics settings. It is still possible to run around the initial locations, but in highlevel dungeons it will be difficult.

    On the other hand, the chipset is quite economical, which allows the Realme 9i to “live” for up to a couple of days with moderately active use. Specifically, this is:

    • 60 minutes YouTube (Wi-Fi, 50% brightness) - 8%
    • 30 minutes Tacticool (Wi-Fi, 50% brightness, medium graphics settings) - 8%

    5000 mAh battery is chargingcomplete adapter for 33 W with the following timings: 30 minutes - 51%, 45 -72%, 60 - 91%, 72 - 100%. Not POCO F4 GT with 120 W (video review), of course, but quite smart!

      Conclusions 

      Realme 9i - turned out to be a good balance betweenprice and number of interesting chips. The device offers a large 90Hz IPS display, solid battery life, stereo speakers, a 3.5mm audio jack, fast charging, and a state-of-the-art economical chipset.

      Of the less pleasant features worth paying attention toattention to the lack of a wide-angle camera, albeit not a bad, but rather capricious main camera, as well as the fact that the Realme 8i had a display with 120 Hz and 600 nits of brightness (Realme 9i had 90 Hz and 480 nits). And if the demand from the camera in this segment is low, then it’s a little insulting for the downgrade of the display.

      The device turned out to be convenient and practical. It is possible to recommend taking a closer look at Realme 9i for those whose needs from a smartphone go beyond budget devices, but not so much.

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      © Dmitry Pivnev.