Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro Review: Features, Specs, and Price in Nigeria

Xiaomi has released the Redmi Note 9 Pro to remind us of how good they’ve been in the business. The smartphone sticks tight to Xiaomi’s formula of offering a value-for-money experience with its suite of tech products. The Redmi Note 9 Pro brings solid performance and impressive image capturing to a price that meets the budget of most buyers.

The “Note” series of Xiaomi’s Redmi lineup has been pushing the company forward. In this series, you’ll find most of the company’s best-selling smartphones which have made the Chinese company secure its spot among the best smartphone producers across the globe.

Many brands like Oppo and Realme have been as good as Xiaomi in delivering reliable smartphones. However, the rivalry is something Xiaomi have been aware of, so they’re also making efforts to stand firm at the top with the release of the Redmi Note 9 Pro.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro comes with a new design language and a battery capacity that can power the phone throughout the day. In addition to the 5,020mAh battery capacity, the smartphone also features a faster 720G chipset which is among the flagship chipsets of 2020.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro is a very good smartphone that meets the demands of every user. Though it missed out on some advanced features of today like 5G network connectivity or water-resistant support, it’s still among the best phones in its category.

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Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro: Price in Nigeria and Availability

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro was released in May 2020 as one of the company’s top-tier smartphones. However, the likes of the Redmi Note 10, Note 11, and the Xiaomi 12 series have taken the spotlight as the company’s flagship phones, so the Redmi Note 9 Pro might not be widely available.

The Redmi Note 9 Pro is selling at ₦130,000 ($171) which is within the reach of every buyer. The smartphone is currently available in 6GB /64GB and 6GB /128GB, and 8GB /128GB storage variants with specific prices.

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Design

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro looks very attractive in its glass body. The glossy Gorilla Glass 5 panel on the rear brings a design language that is being iterated upon the recent smartphones of today, even those that have a plastic body. The Glacier White variant of the phone can possibly double as a mirror due to its reflective finish.

We’re pretty sure you know what comes with this type of design, so the provided case in the box will be very useful if you want to keep the rear clean and safe from smudges and fingerprints. Asides from that, the design of the Redmi Note 9 Pro feels very solid to use even though it weighs slightly much at 209g.

Instead of the usual vertical arrangement, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro has its camera module placed in the centre. The rectangular camera module houses four sensors and a LED flash below it. The raised camera module will also need the provided case to sit flat on a table, but it still stands nicely on the rear of the Redmi Note 9 Pro.

Turning to the right corner of the phone, there’s a side-mounted fingerprint scanner that is integrated into the power button while the volume rocker is placed above. You’ll also find a dual-nano SIM slot on the opposite corner which supports a micro SD card slot. An IR blaster is on the top while a USB Type-C port and headphone jack sit at the bottom of the phone.

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Display

On the front panel, you’ll find a 6.7-inch screen that features a punch-hole cutout for the selfie shooter. The slightly bigger screen is another upgrade we saw on the Redmi Note 9 Pro. It also features a 20.9 aspect ratio, a Full HD+ resolution, and an IPS LCD panel that delivers vibrant colours.

While comparing the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro with competitors like the Poco X2 and Realme 6 Pro, you’ll find the IPS LCD technology and lower refresh rate keeping the Redmi Note 9 Pro behind these phones. Though the smartphone delivers an impressive viewing experience, the absence of a higher refresh rate will be noticed at some point.

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Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro: Camera

The shooting capabilities of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro put many smartphones of the same price range to shame. The smartphone retains the same quad-camera specs as the previous Redmi Note 8 Pro, but a different selfie camera. Xiaomi has built the Redmi Note 9 Pro with a smaller 16MP front camera sensor than the 20MP sensor on its predecessor.

Interestingly, the smartphone’s “Max” model (Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro Max) features a higher 32MP sensor and faster-charging support. The 64MP sensor on the Redmi Note 9 Pro is supported by an 8MP ultra-wide camera, a 5MP macro lens, and a 2MP depth sensor.

The results of the four cameras in daylight shooting were decent. Images look very natural with good dynamic range and fine details, but most times a different story, especially with the auxiliary sensors. The 64MP primary sensor captures good-looking images, even while it uses 16MP due to pixel-binning.

It took several captures to deliver pleasant results while taking ultra-wide images with the 8MP sensor. Though we expected that due to the lower pixels, the Realme 6 Pro does quite better with that. If you want to capture quality ultra-wide photos with the Redmi Note 9 Pro, you can use the main camera instead because it performs better than the ultra-wide sensor.

For good selfies, use the 16MP sensor on the front which also enables you to record videos at 1080p resolution. In addition to that, improvements have been made to the video mode of the main camera which can record up to 4K videos and delivers crisp and neat video outputs with the upgraded software.

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Performance, Storage, and Software

Xiaomi has switched back to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon platform for the Redmi Note 9 Pro. Unlike its predecessor that runs Mediatek Helio G90T, the new device uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G chipset that’s supported by Adreno 618 GPU for handling graphics.

With this mid-range chipset, the Redmi Note 9 Pro is power efficient to handle games like PUGB without showing any sign of lag or stutter when graphics is at their maximum. The day-to-day performance feels smooth even while you’re running multiple apps on the phone.

Depending on the amount you’re willing to pay, you can get any of the 6GB /64GB, 4GB /128GB,  6GB /128GB, and 8GB /128GB storage variants. While the internal storage remains the same on each of these storage options, you can expand it using the provided micro SD card slot.

Out of the box, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro ships the company’s MIUI 11 interface based on the Android 10 OS. The MIUI interface is good at offering customization features. In this phone, the interface allows users to tweak gestures, and set wallpapers and themes.

In the course of offering an enhanced user experience, the MIUI 11 interface brings tons of third-party apps which is not that necessary. Though you can just go to settings and get rid of these apps, not all can be removed which might not be the kind of UI experience some users wants in a phone.

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Battery

While many brands are still upgrading to 4000 and 4500 mAh battery capacity, Xiaomi has taken it a lot further on the Redmi Note 9 Pro. The smartphone is equipped with a huge 5020mAh battery which is powerful enough to last all day long. The battery also takes a few minutes to charge using the 30W fast charging support.

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