RAINCHECKS | The realme 9i Style, Power and Features

realme 9i launched on May the 4th here in the Philippines is set to provide emphasis on style, power and function that is envisioned to capture the hearts of practical smartphone users from all age groups.

The latest from the number series phones of realme is packed with features that promotes efficient power and storage usage, a smoother display, a sleek minimalist design plus all the latest innovations in basic mobile photography.

HANDS ON: realme 9i Prism Black

Unboxing – realme 9i

Unboxed! The realme 9i with its signature black and yellow cardboard packaging, comes with a clear silicone phone case, a wall charger and type C cable, a SIM ejector tool and its product info and warranty booklet.

POWER

The biggest come-on of the realme 9i is probably the combination of its powerful processor and huge battery paired with a super fast charger.

The power-efficient Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 Processor adopts the advanced 6nm production process and houses 4 Cortex-A73 Cores, 4 Cortex-A53 Cores and an Adreno 610 GPU. All these features allow for effectively extending the battery life of the phone even with the use of an LCD Display with a high refresh rate.

The power source on the other hand is a massive 5000mAh Battery which allows for up to 694.25 hours (roughly around 29 days) of standby battery life paired with a 33W Dart Charge that can make 0% to 100% charging in only 70 minutes (a little over an hour).

This is really an on-the-go smartphone! You can go an island-hopping trip and you won’t even need to worry if you forgot your charger back at the hotel.

In addition to its power efficient processor and its massive battery with fast charging, the realme 9i can also make use of up to 5GB of its internal storage to act as virtual RAM, giving it up to 11GB total RAM for better multi-tasking and solves the drawbacks caused by the lack of memory on your smartphone. The techs call this technology as DRE or Dynamic RAM Expansion. What this translates to is that you can use whatever apps you have on your phone and multi-task without worrying about your phone slowing down due to the lack of memory. However 6GB RAM and 128GB of storage (expandable up to 1TB via microSD) in my experience is more than enough already for heavy users. Gamers will need more and that’s probably what DRE is for.

Game Test – realme 9i

We tested the realme 9i for games and played PUBG Mobile. For lagless experience, I suggest you switch your phone to mid graphics – it won’t be as immersive but it’s hassle-free.

DESIGN

The realme 9i comes in an aesthetic called Stereo Prism. The design is inspired from the light and its refractions that generate light prisms, the back of the phone creates different patterns depending on the angle of light reflecting on it presenting a dynamic effect of three-dimensional light and shadow transformation. The kind of smartphone you wouldn’t want to hide in a hard case hence the free transparent silicone case provided in the package. It has two color variations – Prism Black and Prism Blue.

The premium-looking unit is also tall, slim, thin and lightweight. Overall thickness is at 8.4mm and weighs only 190g. The back panel is polycarbonate where its rear triple camera lens and LED flash are mounted.

Another thing that I like about the realme 9i is how it achieved a minimalist look by integrating functions. For example its power button on the right side of the phone doubles as its Ultra-Fast SideFingerprint Sensor while its front camera is on the display. The right side has the volume buttons, nothing is on the top and at the bottom you’ll see the speaker grill, Type-C port and a 3.5mm headphone jack for those who still prefers to go wired.

The realme 9i has a 6.6-inch FHD+ TrueView Punch-hole AMOLED Display with up to 90Hz ultra smooth adaptive refresh rate that supports 5 levels of refresh rate (30Hz, 48Hz, 50Hz, 60Hz, 90Hz) that adjust depending on the current activity to ensure a smooth and responsive experience for users.

Screen is Corning Gorilla Glass 5 with an added layer of screen protection which provides your phone greater durability from drops and scratches but lighter, thinner and more touch sensitive.

PHOTOGRAPHY

realme 9i features a high resolution 50MP AI Triple Camera which houses three lenses starting with a 50MP ultra-high pixel main camera for clearer photos, a 2MP secondary black & white lens for professional portrait mode, and a 2MP 4cm ultra-close Macro Lens. Front camera is at 16MP.

Sample Photos

ZOOM

SELFIE

The realme 9i’s camera interface also comes with trendy photography functions such as Portrait Mode, Night Mode, a dedicated 50MP Mode and an Extra HD Mode so you can capture sharper images. Video recording is 1080P at 30FPS.

Video Test – realme 9i

realme 9i also features the latest realme UI 2.0 based on Android 1 and added Dual-Stereo Speakers for a richer and more immersive sound experience for music and games.

Priced at PHP 11,990.00 the realme 9i may appear to be not so extraordinary for a new release or some might assume that it’s a downgrade from the previous versions but on the contrary, the user experience and performance of this phone has greatly improved. it lasts longer and a lot smoother compared to its predecessors and other phones in the same price range.

SPECS

6.6-inch FHD+ TrueView Punch-hole AMOLED Display, 90Hz refresh rate, Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection
Octa-core (4×2.4GHz Kryo 265 Gold + 4×1.9GHz Kryo 265 Silver) CPU, Adreno 610 GPU, Qualcomm SM6225 Snapdragon 680 4G 6nm chipset
6GB RAM DRE Up To 11GB
128GB storage, expandable up to 1TB via MicroSD
Dimensions: 164.4 mmx 75.7mm x 8.4mm
Weight: 190 grams
realme UI 2.0 based Android 11
50MP f/1.8 PDAF main + 2MP depth + 2MP macro triple rear cameras, 1080p video recording at 30fps
16MP f/2.1 front camera, 1080p video recording at 30fps
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
Bluetooth v5.1
USB Type-C 2.0 with OTG function
GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, Galileo
Multimedia Player
Hi-Res Audio
Dual Stereo Speakers
3.5mm audio jack
Sensors: fingerprint (side-mounted), light, proximity, accelerometer, gyroscope
Battery: 5,000mAh non-removable lithium-ion polymer; supports 33W fast charging
Dual SIM, dual standby, supports 5G connectivity