JOIN USRealme 9 Pro Plus review: Feature-rich phone
Realme is one of the fastest-growing smartphone brands in India, particularly in the budget and mid-range segment.
It has launched a new upper mid-range handset Realme 9 Pro Plus. It comes in three configurations- 6GB RAM + 128GB storage, 8GB RAM + 128GB storage and 8GB RAM + 256GB storage for-- Rs 24,999, Rs 26,999 and Rs 28,999, respectively.
On paper, it has a good set of specifications, and look-wise too, Realme 9 Pro Plus is an eye-turner. Here are my thoughts new phone.
Design, build quality, and display
As I said in the first impression article, the Realme 9 Pro Plus is a very good-looking handset. The shiny sunrise blue model looks gorgeous in the sunlight. The photochromic layer on the back of the device turns into different colours when viewed certain angles. Also, the stary dust prints on the shell add value to the design language.
Also, it is interesting to note the device despite housing a massive 4,500mAh battery, the engineers have managed to keep the phone's thickness to just 7.99 mm. This feat helps users to hold on to the device with a good grip and there are fewer chances of accidentally dropping it.
However, the glass back is super fingerprint smudge-magnet. I had to constantly wipe with my shirt or rub on my pants to clean the phone. Thankfully, the company offers a transparent silicone that not only solves the aforementioned problem but also keeps the device safe from getting damaged due to accidental falls.
On the front, it features a 6.43-inch full HD+ (2400×1080p) AMOLED screen and is protected with Gorilla Glass 5 and another layer of plastic screen guard on top. They will do a good job of keeping the phone scratch-free from things such as pens and keys in the pocket.
As far as the readability on the screen is concerned, it works fine. The display comes with a pixel density of 411 ppi (pixels per inch), supports 90Hz refresh rate, and offers a peak brightness of 1000 nits. This, for me, was more than enough to view content, and browse the internet clearly outdoors under a shade and also with direct sunlight.
The in-screen fingerprint security feature worked smoothly without any issues. Also, it should be noted that the company has incorporated a heart rate tracker within the optical fingerprint sensor. It works fine and the results did vary when compared with the standalone fitness tracker. But, it was of negligible margin ( +/- 5 beats per minute).
However, it is hidden in the Settings has to look for Realme Labs and there you will find the heart rate tracker feature.
Performance
Realme 9 Pro Plus houses a 6nm class MediaTek 920 5G chipset, which can clock up to 2.5Ghz CPU speed. It comes with eight cores (2.5 GHz Cortex-A78 x 2 + 2.0 GHz Cortex-A55 x 2) and comes paired with a Mali-G68 MC4 graphic processor unit.
The company offers the device in three configurations-- 6GB RAM + 128GB storage, 8GB RAM + 128GB storage and 8GB RAM + 256GB storage (UFS 2.2).
This review unit is the top-end model with 8GB RAM + 256GB; it worked fine without any fuss and add to that the device comes with a virtual RAM feature and provided, there is enough storage, users can expand RAM capacity by another 5GB and this means, the device can have a maximum of 13GB and this will reflect in terms of faster loading of the apps and also smoothly perform while playing games such as Asphalt 9: Legends.
The device runs Android 12-based Realme UI 3.0 and the company has promised that it will be offering two years of major OS updates and an additional year of security software support.
Realme 9 Pro Plus supports 13 5G SA/NSA bands: n1/n3/n5/n7/n8/n20/n28/n66/n38/n40/n41/n77/n78 in India.
It should be noted that the central government has announced to hold a 5G spectrum auction soon and we may see the commercial 5G cellular service go live by the end of 2022.
As mentioned before, the device ships with a 4,500mAh battery. During the testing, it was able to consistently offer a full day with normal usage. I have to say, the battery life is subjective to how we use the phone. If the user is streaming high-resolution video content directly from OTT(Over-the-top) apps via mobile data, the device will be able to deliver anywhere between four to five hours, but if used moderately for talking, browsing news, the internet, playing games, the device will be able to last a whole day.
Even if the device's battery drains out due to extreme usage, the 60W charger can come in handy, as it can power up the phone from zero to 100 per cent in around half-hour.
Photography
Realme 9 Pro Plus houses a triple-camera module-- main 50MP (Sony IMX766 sensor, f/1.8, OIS: Optical Image Stabilisation, 1/1.56-inch sensor, 1.0um pixel size, PDAF: Phase detection autofocus) backed by 8MP (with Sony IMX355, f/2.2, 119-degree field-of-view, 1/4.0-inch sensor, 1.12um pixel size) ultra-wide camera and 2MP (f/2.4) 4cm macro camera with Galaxycore GC02M1 sensor and LED flash.
The phone does a pretty decent job of getting the photos of the subject with near-accurate colours and also retaining the details. Even when during low-light conditions, particularly in the evening or early morning, the pictures look nice.
The close-up shots come good too. The photos manage to capture minute details pretty well.
With the ultra-wide-angle mode shot, the phone manages to accommodate more objects into the frame, and also, the camera does not bend structures to include more area.
Whereas in the night mode, the pictures look sharp on the compact display of the phone, but when viewed on the big screen of the computer, there is noticeable noise in the background.
But, given the fact that most people always access social media platforms only through phones, this grainy photo aspect is negligible.
On the front, it features a 16MP (with Sony IMX471 sensor, f/2.4). It performs well in most light conditions and is on par with any of the mid-range phones under the Rs 30,000 range.
Also, like all the phones in the market, it also comes with superficial filters and editing tools to enhance facial smoothness and even adjust bone structure too.
Final thoughts
Realme 9 Pro Plus does a decent job in terms of smooth performance even while playing graphics-intense games and operating the camera. And, people who like to flaunt their prized possessions, would love the shimmering shell of this phone. Overall, the device is worth the asking price.
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