Realme 9 review

Competition

The Realme 9 is a good all-rounder, which even stands out from the crowd with some features. One of them is the excellent (given the price bracket) OLED panel, and the other two are the 108MP main camera and extra-long battery life. The rest of the hardware is pretty much par for the course - a 5,000 mAh battery, three cameras on the back and a Snapdragon 680 SoC, which in practice isn't very different from the rest of the SoCs in the same lineup.

Its biggest omissions are the NFC feature and 5G connectivity. And while the latter might not be a big deal, the lack of NFC chip might pose a problem in most countries where contactless payments are a thing. Interestingly enough, for €280, the Realme 9 faces some in-house competition as well.

The Realme 9 Pro, for example, sells for even less - €260 and so does the €250 Realme 9 5G. They both have the advantage of running more powerful chipsets and support 5G connectivity, but they definitely lack the Realme 9 4G's viewing experience. And the Realme 9 5G has less base storage and slower charging, too. Overall, user experience isn't much different, though, so it depends on how important NFC and 5G are to you.

Realme 9 Pro • Realme 9 5G • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G • Samsung Galaxy A33 5G

And in case you don't like LCD panels but are in the market for 5G and NFC, luckily, there's something for everyone. The Samsung Galaxy A33 5G and the Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G are pretty similar solutions. They come with their own drawbacks, as usual.

The Galaxy A33 5G's Exynos 1280 might be sub-optimal but has more horsepower under the hood. Sadly, the base RAM is just 4GB, charging is just about the same, while battery life falls short of the Realme 9's. On the other hand, the A33 5G will grant you a set of stereo speakers, IP67 dust and water protection, a slightly brighter OLED screen and Samsung's One UI software, in case you prefer that particular skin overlay. It also undercuts the Realme 9 by €20.

As for the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G, it runs a slightly more powerful Snapdragon 695 (just like the Realme 9 Pro and the Realme 9) but also has a faster and brighter 120Hz OLED display. Its 108MP main sensor is bigger too. In addition, Xiaomi's offering boasts a set of stereo speakers, basic water and dust protection, a glass build, and faster charging. Its only disadvantage is the base 64GB storage. And all of that will set you back just €250.

Verdict

Arguably, the Realme 9 is one of the sensible options in the family as it runs overall balanced hardware while being one of the cheapest of the bunch. It's only about €20 more expensive than the Realme 9 5G and 9 Pro. Its bright OLED panel, long battery life and somewhat decent camera performance, thanks to the 108MP main sensor, make a pretty strong case.

However, the lack of NFC, 5G connectivity and the underpowered Snapdragon 680 will most likely steer away some potential buyers, and the competition can accommodate those needs while matching the Realme 9 4G's feature set and adding a set of stereo speakers as well as some sort of ingress protection.

Pros

• Bright enough 90Hz OLED.
• Lightweight and rather comfortable design.
• Record-breaking battery life.
• Dependalbe main camera performance, at day and night, nice 3x zoom.
• Feature-rich Realme UI 3.0 on top of Android 12

Cons

• No NFC and 5G connectivity.
• Main camera daylight photos have a strong blue tinge
• Video recording isn't up to snuff either.
• There are options with more powerful chipsets.
• Occasional UI lag.