REALME 9 4G - You will also LOVE his flaws (and he has very few of them)
There was a time when my tech heart was beating fast for Xiaomi-branded smartphones, but it is undeniable that one of the most important phone manufacturers of the moment is the Realme brand, a Chinese company that is recording important numbers and the reason is linked to goodness of their product, able to satisfy the needs of every type of user. So here comes the Realme 9 4G, a mid-range smartphone but able to give top-of-the-range emotions. Let's find out together in this complete review and prepare your credit card, because you will love it and want to have it yours.
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Design and Materials
Realme 9 4G will steal your eyes as soon as you take it out of the sales package, thanks to a wavy holographic design that in the SunBurst Gold color will recall the waves of the desert. A brilliant light effect is the hallmark of this device which in the back cover boasts a wavy and dynamic 3D texture created through an atomic plasma coating and UV nanoprinting process.
Beautiful, beautiful indeed stupendous, detaching itself from the flatness we are experiencing in the sector, although the materials used are plastic, even on the profiles where the on / off button is located on the right while the volume + and buttons are inserted on the left. - as well as the SIM tray capable of hosting 2 SIM cards in nano format and a micro SD card up to 256 GB to expand the internal memory, without giving up the Dual SIM function. Above the profile appears smooth if not for the presence of the second microphone while below we find the main microphone 3,5 mm jack input, Type-C input for charging, data transfer and OTG support (no video output) and the mono speaker.
Returning to the rear, Realme 9 4G offers a triple optical photographic compartment and LED flash, inserted in a rather protruding rectangle compared to the body, but with the supplied cover this difference in height will be smoothed out. The dimensions are equal to 160,2 × 73,3 × 7,99 mm and the weight is 178 grams, which make the Realme 9 4G perfect to use even with one hand.
The only "negative" note could be the presence of only the mono speaker, when now even low cost devices offer stereo sound, but in any case the audio returned by the Realme 9 4G speaker is quite clean and with good volume, as well as the audio coming from the ear capsule is always clear and limpid.
Display
The highlight, one of the many, of the new smartphone of the Chinese brand is undoubtedly the screen, net of frames that are not exactly elegant and in any case disproportionate in size on the 4 sides. In fact, we are in the presence of a 6,4-inch diagonal SUPER AMOLED panel with Full HD + resolution (2400 x 1080) which supports a 90 HZ refresh rate while the touch sampling rate reaches 360 Hz.
The surface occupied by the screen is 90,8% protected by Corning Gorilal Glass 5. Unfortunately there is no support for HDR content but we have instead those with Widevine L1 DRMs recognized on all streaming platforms, including Prime Video. Overall, the colors returned are really beautiful and natural, as are the viewing angles, all in any case customizable at the software level, even if in my experience I have not felt the need.
In short, the display that does not regret more expensive solutions has really been promoted, also due to the efficient fingerprint release sensor positioned under the screen, which also allows heart rate monitoring, checking the number of beats per minute at any time and place, with reliability typical of the most common fitness trackers. Excellent visibility under direct sunlight, even in these days of early summer. Finally, it is worth noting the presence of the Always On Display, which can also be customized with stylized photos.
Hardware and Performance
I don't know why other fellow reviewers felt a bit of a bitter taste in the mouth about the hardware, while I personally was quite happy and amazed. Under the hood of Realme 9 4G, in fact, an octa-core processor with a maximum clock of 2.4 GHz and a 6nm production process is used, namely the Snapdragon 680 which is flanked by an Adreno 610 GPU. In terms of RAM, the company offers two cuts 6 or 8 GB of LPDDR4X type (possible virtual expansion up to 5 GB more) while the internal storage has a single size of 128 GB of UFS 2.2 type, expandable via micro SD.
Performance by no means poor, indeed the hardware combination of the Realme 9 4G allows you to easily perform tasks that go beyond simple daily use, being able to play with good graphic details and constant frame rate even with heavy titles, without particular sacrifices, but above all without ever suffering. of overheating and / or lag, freeze and slowdowns in general.
Connectivity
Nothing seems to be missing, apart from the FM radio and a certification for waterproofing, but after all we find a Bluetooth 5.1, an excellent dual-type WiFi, GPS with Galileo satellite connection and the much loved NFC sensor, to transform the smartphone into a digital wallet. As the name suggests, Realme 9 4G does not support the 5G standard but apparently not even 4G +, in fact with my Very Mobile operator, I was never able to see the dedicated icon that I see on other smartphones, but the connection speed it turned out to be quite satisfying and up to expectations.
Software
Take part in the excellent experience of using the smartphone, the proprietary interface Realme UI 3.0 based on Android 12 and security patches updated to April 2022. By now we know very well the functions offered and the many graphic customizations of the Realme UI, which it has abandoned Eastern customs and habits for some time to present themselves in a completely Western guise, but above all what I appreciate from the brand's software work is the large-scale absence of bugs, which instead generally afflict the devices of the rival brand Xiaomi / Realme.
Autonomy
Realme 9 4G is definitely a winner on the battery front, offering a 5000 mAh unit with 33W DART fast charging support (power supply included in the box). The overall autonomy, even with rather intense uses, also goes up to a day and a half if not even two with less heavy uses. In short, with him you can sleep peacefully without limiting yourself to the use of the phone, indeed in this regard, know that you can turn your smartphone into a powerbank for your friends, as Realme 9 4G supports reverse charging.
Camera
In terms of photographic equipment we are definitely a step above the average, thanks to a 108 MP main camera, a ProLight sensor from Samsung, the HM6 with an aperture of f / 1.75. Here the Nanopixel Plus technology with 9 in 1 "binning" pixel processing is integrated, allowing you to group 9 large pixels in 1, so you can absorb more light in dark environments, decreasing digital noise, resulting in brighter and brighter photos. sharp. At least this is what should happen, but in reality the 108 MPs do not differ much in the yield compared to solutions that adopting "only" 50 MP. Also for photos in low light conditions, I have not noticed all this yield, indeed the result is often fluctuating.
Present a 3X InSensor zoom, which according to the company should give shots similar to what is obtained with an optical zoom. In the video I said that this was not true, but looking at the shots carefully, I must admit that the quality is very high, although not comparable to an optical zoom, but still much better than the competitors. The rest of the optics consists of an 8 MP ultrawide sensor, 120 ° FOV and f / 2.2 aperture as well as a 2 MP macro with 4 cm focus and f / 2.4 aperture, while the selfie camera is entrusted to a 16 MP sensor, f / 2.45.
Without going into long-winded speeches, Realme 9 4G allows you to take respectable shots, with vivid and well-calibrated colors, while at night the shooting dynamics, as I have already said, are not constant and the color balance is not always pleasant. An update from Realme is probably enough to improve overall efficiency.
To behave fairly well both day and night, it is the selfie camera but what makes me turn up my nose is the resolution of the videos that stop only at Full HD at 30 fps and I am not referring to the selfie camera but to the main camera. The focus is still fast but the digital stabilization sometimes goes into confusion and does not return the desired effects. On the other hand, the software is good, which was rich in options and filters, including an Urban Photography mode, ideal for slightly vintage photographic looks.
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Conclusions and price
Realme 9 4G arrives on the market at a price of € 279,99 in the 6 / 128GB version, a decidedly honest price in line with what is offered. It must be admitted, however, that at a lower price there are devices such as the Realme GT Master Edition, which have an extra gear, but if you are looking for a recent smartphone, the brand's latest solution is definitely greedy. In reality, the whole 9 series is particularly advantageous and excellent for the individual needs of the common user, so it's up to you to decide, I just have to say that by choosing Realme, you will always fall on your feet.
