Realme 9 5G Review – 5G Gaming Phone in Budget

Realme has lately introduced a number of new smartphones to the Indian market. The Realme 9 5G is the latest addition to that. It’s got all the elements to be a good budget phone. It is targeted at the users looking for a 5G option in the budget segment.

The Realme 9 5G is the successor to last year’s Realme 8 5G. As of now, the smartphone is available for Rs 14,999 and competes with other phones offered by Realme. In this Realme 9 5G review, we’ll look at how it stacks up against other devices at a similar price point. So, let’s start with it without wasting any time.

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The Realme 9 5G starts at Rs. 14,999 for the entry-level 4GB RAM + 64GB storage variant, with the 6GB RAM + 128GB storage variant coming in at Rs. 17,499 in India. The smartphone will be available via Flipkart, Realme.com, and retail stores starting on March 14. It will be offered in two colour options: Meteor Black and Stargaze White.

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The Realme 9 5G brings the following items inside the box:

• Realme 9 5G
• 18W Adapter
• Type-C USB Cable
• Sim Card Tool
• Screen Protect Film
• Case
• Important Info Booklet with Warranty Card
• Quick Guide

Before we talk in detail about the Realme 9 5G, let’s see what the on-paper specs look like:

• Display: 6.5 inches IPS LCD
• Chipset: MediaTek Dimensity 810
• RAM & ROM: 4GB RAM 64GB Storage, 6GB RAM 128GB Storage
• Software: Android v11
• Rear camera: 48MP + 2MP + 2MP
• Selfie camera: 16MP
• Battery: 5000 mAh
• Weight: 188 grams
• Dimensions: 162.5 x 74.8 x 8.5 mm

Compared to other smartphones in this market, the Realme 9 5G features what I’d call a rather standard design. I have used a lot of Realme phones in the past, and this one looks like one of them. Unibody polycarbonate build may not feel as premium, but it is clearly more durable in the event of a drop than other materials.

Having a curved back makes it easy to hold, and the camera unit isn’t too large, which is a nice thing. In addition, I appreciated that it was not too bulky. The top-left corner of the big display features a camera hole. The top and side bezels are thin with a chin that’s broader than the rest of the sides.

The back of the phone picks up smudges, but these aren’t very noticeable. The Stargaze White colour option of the Realme 9 5G features a matte finish on the back that is easily scratched if the phone is not protected by a cover. However, you don’t need to worry as Realme includes a clear case in the box.

The phone features a USB Type-C port on the bottom, a single speaker as well as a 3.5mm audio jack.

The power button, which also doubles as a fingerprint reader, is located on the right side of the device, while the volume rockers and the SIM card slot are located on the left.

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If you take a quick glance, you can mistake the Realme 9 5G’s triple camera setup for a quad-camera setup. The Realme 9 5G boasts a 48-megapixel main camera featuring an f/1.8 aperture. The other two lenses are a 2MP black and white portrait camera and a 2MP macro camera. It features a 16-megapixel camera for taking selfies. The Realme 9 5G lacks an ultra-wide-angle camera, which I believe is a big shortcoming.

There is a good amount of detail captured by the 48MP primary sensor, especially in bright daylight. Similarly, the Portrait mode does a nice job of creating a natural-looking blur effect.

In terms of taking close-up photos, the phone was able to take sharp images as long as I was at a reasonable distance. It also did a good job blurring the background. The background blur and sharpness of the portrait shots were both excellent.

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While capturing in the standard ‘Photo’ mode, the camera’s low-light performance was only average. There was no noticeable difference in output when using night mode. The result had a yellowish hue, although it did deliver somewhat better details in darker regions of a scene.

Last but not least, the 16MP front-facing camera is capable of taking excellent selfies and includes a number of customization options in beauty mode. Realme 9 employed a screen flash to improve the quality of images taken in low light.

Both the rear and front cameras of the Realme 9 5G are limited to 1080p video recording at 30 fps. Nothing special here as well.

An impressive 5,000 mAh battery powers the Realme 9 5G and can be fast-charged at 18W; not so fast. The battery life of the Realme 9 5G is excellent, with a full charge allowing you to use it for about a day and a half.

On average, I was getting about 5-6 hours of screen on time in a day, which included surfing social media and watching a couple of videos on YouTube.

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The 18W charging rate is not enough for the big 5000 mAh battery, which takes about an hour to reach 52 per cent. Keep in mind that it will take at least two hours to fully charge your device from 0 to 100 per cent.

The Realme 9 5G sports a big 6.5-inch LCD display with a Full-HD+ resolution featuring a 90Hz refresh rate. The display boasts a touch sampling rate of 180 Hz, which could be beneficial to casual gamers along with a 90.5 per cent screen-to-body ratio.

There is a lot to like about the display, from its brightness to its colour accuracy. Users who prefer to view YouTube videos as well as those who want to surf through social media on a regular basis should find the display to be excellent for the price.

According to Realme, the display has a maximum brightness of 600 Nits. However, while using the phone in direct sunlight, the brightness of the screen got a little low.

With WideVine L1 support, you’ll be able to stream HD content from services like Netflix and other third-party OTT platforms.

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I believe that, for the asking price, Realme should have used an AMOLED display rather than an IPS LCD display. It seems like the company chose an LCD screen rather than an OLED screen as a cost-cutting move.

When it comes to performance, the device is driven by the Mediatek Dimensity 810 5G ready chipset, which is impressive considering that it costs under Rs 20,000. Depending on the configuration, the smartphone can offer up to 6GB of LPDDR4X dual-channel RAM, which is combined with 128GB of UFS 2.1 onboard storage.

Additionally, this phone supports up to 5 GB of virtual RAM, which I found quite appealing. We didn’t notice any slowdowns or lag while multitasking on the phone throughout the day.

Even with a few resource-hungry apps open at once, the smartphone was able to multitask without a hitch. No matter what you’re up to, the phone can handle it all. This is a great option for regular use.

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Playing games like Asphalt 9, Call of Duty: Mobile, BGMI, and Genshin Impact was not a problem on this phone. The device runs BGMI at the Ultra (45fps) frame rate with Balanced graphics. COD: Mobile was playable at high graphics and delivered steady 60 fps for more than an hour.

All of the games ran flawlessly without any lags for nearly an hour before seeing frame drops. During long gaming sessions, the device becomes a little warm, which is to be expected. One of the most strong reasons to purchase the Realme 9 5G is its impressive performance.

This phone has Realme UI 2.0, which is based on Android 11. The lack of Android 12 is a big deal for me, despite the fact that Realme isn’t the only company to make this mistake in 2022. The user interface is easy and simple to navigate, which is great if you are using a Realme phone for the first time.

The new Realme UI 2.0 lets you customise the look of your UI by modifying the icon design, colour theme, fonts, and icons layout. The smartphone has a lot of bloatware, which has been a drawback with Reality UI for a long time. Many of these apps may be removed, which is a welcome relief.

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You have the option of using swipe gestures or the standard three-button layout to navigate. You can access your favourite apps and tasks with a floating carousel in the Smart Sidebar feature.

The Realme 9 5G performs better than average when it comes to software as a whole. Remember to turn off recommendations during setting the Realme 9 5G to see lesser ads.

The device features a single speaker at the bottom for audio, and it sounds about as good as you’d expect for the price. While watching movies was enjoyable, the sound from the single speaker was not particularly compelling. I didn’t have any problems with the Realme 9 5G when I made calls.

The Realme 9 5G includes three SIM card slots: two nano-SIM cards, both of which support 5G, and a microSD card slot for expandable storage. This phone also has dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.1, and GPS as other connectivity options.

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The Realme 9 5G has good fingerprint placement. The fingerprint reader on the phone’s side worked quickly and didn’t need repeated attempts to unlock. Face unlock was likewise a breeze.