Realme 9 5G Speed edition hands-on review

GSMArena Team, 4 July 2022.

Introduction

The Realme 9 5G Speed Edition is currently exclusive to the Indian market. It is actually a re-branded Realme Q3s from the Chinese market and comes in as sort of a successor to the Realme 8s 5G and the Realme 8 5G before that. Though, it is admittedly quite hard to follow the company's lineup these days.

Realme 9 5G Speed edition hands-on review

The Realme 9 5G Speed is an ambitious device that pushes the company's feature set to new levels as a whole, while also punching a bit above its price grade in some ways. Its 144Hz IPS display officially marks the first time the company has reached such a high refresh rate on one of its devices.

Realme 9 5G Speed specs at a glance:

  • Body: 164.4x75.8x8.5mm, 199g; Glass front (Panda Glass), plastic back.
  • Display: 6.60" IPS LCD, 144Hz, 480 nits (typ), 600 nits (HBM), 1080x2412px resolution, 20.1:9 aspect ratio, 400ppi.
  • Chipset: Qualcomm SM7325 Snapdragon 778G 5G (6 nm): Octa-core (4x2.4 GHz Kryo 670 & 4x1.9 GHz Kryo 670); Adreno 642L.
  • Memory: 128GB 6GB RAM, 128GB 8GB RAM; UFS 2.2; microSDXC (dedicated slot).
  • OS/Software: Android 11, Realme UI 2.0.
  • Rear camera: Wide (main): 48 MP, f/1.8, 26mm, 1/2", 0.8µm, PDAF; Macro: 2 MP, f/2.4; Depth: 2 MP, f/2.4.
  • Front camera: 16 MP, f/2.1, 26mm (wide), 1/3.09", 1.0µm.
  • Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
  • Battery: 5000mAh; Fast charging 30W, 50% in 25 min (advertised).
  • Misc: Fingerprint reader (side-mounted); 3.5mm jack.

The Snapdragon 778G chipset is also great to see in this segment. It is a truly potent chip both in terms of raw CPU and GPU performance, as well as advanced connectivity - both network and local and extra features.

Realme 9 5G Speed edition hands-on review

Compared to its Realme 9 5G Indian sibling, the Realme 9 5G Speed clearly punches up a notch. Beyond the major specs advantages we already mentioned, the Speed Edition also has 4K video capture, UFS 2.2 storage, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2 and faster 30W charging for its big 5,000 mAh battery to outpace its sibling.

Unboxing

The Realme 9 5G Speed Edition has a pretty rich retail package by modern standards. It ships in a sturdy bright-yellow box, which is quite eye-catching and gets the job done when it comes to protecting its contents.

Realme 9 5G Speed edition hands-on review

Speaking of contents, beyond the phone itself, Realme also bundles in a 30W (5V@6A) DART charger in the box so you can use the full 30W fast charging the phone is capable of. There is a thick USB Type-A to Type-C cable alongside it which is rated to handle 6A of current and is hence not exactly standard. You should hold on to it.

Realme 9 5G Speed edition hands-on review

Realme is also nice enough to throw in a thick and solid transparent TPU protective case in the box. It's a great little addition that lets you start using the phone worry-free immediately.

Reader comments

  • Anonymous
  • 25 Feb 2024
  • CbE

Realme 9 5G Speed edition hands-on review

  • Shanta
  • 07 Jul 2023
  • X{X

This phone is not good because this phone app crush problem and battay issu phone hot issu im using only 2week

  • Mr. Beluga
  • 13 Feb 2023
  • xjH

Buy the Oppo Reno 7 5G It has the fastest charging and best battery life among the 3 (according to GSMArena) It also has the best camera skills (although the vivo has it for selfies) But still the Oppo is the better option.