Realme 9i 5G review: Affordable phone done right

With the imminent arrival of 5G, Realme is prepared to capture a portion of this market by releasing the affordable new 9i 5G. Not only does it have a striking appearance, but it also comes with powerful internals.

Design

The design is where Realme has tried to make the 9i 5G stand out. Its shimmery back texture, which is claimed to be inspired by a compact disc, is quite dazzling and will grab many eyeballs.

There is no camera island at the back and the three lenses are integrated into the back panel instead.

This phone also emulates some premium phones with its flat sides, although its construction is entirely plastic.

However, I will admit that this phone is not particularly ergonomic to hold because of its large size and flat edges. Also, the volume rocker is placed on the left side of the device which I found less than ideal.

From the front, the Realme 9i is your standard budget smartphone with its V-shaped notch and a thick bottom bezel.

Display & Utility

The 9i 5G has a 6.6-inch LCD display. It is one of the better displays in this segment because it offers both, an FHD+ resolution and a fast refresh rate of 90Hz. The colour output of the display is also quite good by this segment's standards.

However, typical of budget phones, I do wish that its sunlight legibility was better.

As for utility, the 9i 5G has a side-mounted fingerprint that works really quickly as long as you have dry fingers.

It has a single bottom-firing speaker which is loud but lacks depth, so the audio can sound tinny at times. On the bright side, the Realme 9i 5G retains a 3.5mm headphone jack.

It's a dual sim smartphone with a dedicated micro SD card slot too.

Performance & Software

The Dimensity 810 SoC that’s found on the Realme 9i 5G is one of the powerful budget phone chips on the market today, and this is pretty evident on the 9i 5G as well.

You’ll find nothing to complain about when it comes to performance.

The phone has enough grunt to handle graphic intense games. For instance, I got medium graphics and a high frame rate on call of duty mobile, which is pretty respectable.

On the software front, you get Android 12 with Realme UI 3.0 on top. Realme UI, while nowhere close to stock, is a pretty customisable Android skin that many of you would appreciate.

Also watch: Nothing Phone 1 Review: A Glowing Debut!

But you should know that there is a lot of bloatware on this phone, but fortunately, you can uninstall most of it. I also did not witness any UI ads which is always a positive.

The 6GB RAM on our review device did ensure smooth multitasking as well.

Realme promises 2 major Android updates on this phone which is about what you’d expect in this segment.

Cameras

The Realme 9i 5G has three snappers on its back - a 50MP primary camera, a 2MP macro camera and a depth sensor.

Most of the heavy lifting is done by the main camera and it is a good performer for this segment. The images showcase accurate colour reproduction and good levels of dynamic range.

The night mode on the 9i 5G actually works and is not namesake like on some of its rivals. It reduces noise and controls highlights from blowing out in low-light scenarios.

The videos at 1080p 30 fps also come out to be quite good, but one must keep in mind that there is no form of stabilisation here at all, which is fine keeping this phone’s price in mind.

The 8MP selfie camera takes pretty good pictures, but I wish they were a little bit sharper.

Battery Life

The Realme 9i 5G comes with a large 5,000mAh battery. This, combined with the power-efficient Dimensity 810 chip ensures that you’ll easily get between 6-7 hours of screen on time with medium to heavy usage.

There is an in-box 18W fast charger in the box but I wouldn't exactly call it fast as it takes a little more than 2 hours to fully recharge the device.

Verdict

The Realme 9i 5G is a budget phone done right. Despite its low price tag, it does not feel compromised in most areas.

While I do wish that the phone’s optics included an ultra-wide camera instead of a macro camera, the 9i 5G still makes for a pretty convincing buy if you are in the market for a 5G phone on a tight budget.