Realme 9 Pro+ Review

This Realme 9 Pro+ is the latest update to the company’s huge and confusing line of mobile phones. Traditionally, Realme has always been the leader with the main models in its number series, and this year, however, we received the Realme 9i as the first phone, which was released at the beginning of Jan. With this latest release instead of the usual Realme 9 Pro and 9 Pro, we’re getting the Realme 9 Pro as well as the brand newly released Realme 9 Proplus.

the Realme 9 Pro+ is intended to compete against the brand new Xiaomi 11 series and the OnePlus Nord series of mid-range smartphones. So, what’s new in this version of the Realme 9 Pro+, and is it worth the extra cost in comparison to its predecessor, the Realme 9 Pro?

Price

The Realme 9 Pro+ is available in three versions. There’s a basic model that comes with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal memory, priced at the price of Rs. 24,999 across India. The second model includes 8GB of RAM as well as 128GB internal memory, and costs the price of Rs. 26,999. The most luxurious model that comes with 8GB of RAM and an internal storage capacity of 256GB is priced at the price of Rs. 28999. I was provided with the highest-end version to conduct this review.

Design

The Realme 9 Pro+ seems to be catching up to the latest trend in color-changing phones quite rapidly. This phone comes in three different finishes: Midnight Black, Aurora Green along with Sunrise Blue. Of these three finishes, it is only one of them, the Sunrise Blue finish changes color in sunlight exposure, exactly like that of the Vivo V23 Pro.

Realme’s version of this process for changing color allows users of the 9 Pro+ to switch from a glare sky blue color indoors to a dark shade of maroon in the sun. I didn’t like this as much as Vivo’s green-to-gold transition in the V23 Pro. The overall design does not feel luxurious at all mostly due to the fingerprint-prone back glass panel.

Specification

Realme has chosen to use the MediaTek Dimensity920 SoC which is included in the newly launched Mi 11i line. The SoC operates at a maximum rate that is 2.5GHz and is produced with a fabrication process that is 6nm. It supports a range of 5G bands and dual 5G standby. The phone also has WI-Fi 6 Bluetooth 5.2 in addition to the traditional GPS satellite systems. The phone runs on a 4500mAh battery that is recharged quickly with the 60W charger included inside the package.

The brand new Realme 9 Pro and 9 Pro+ are the first smartphones to run the Realme UI 3.0 software, which is built upon Android 12. There is a myriad of third-party apps preinstalled which can be removed, and certain Realme-branded apps that can’t be.

Performance

The Realme 9 Pro+ features a 6.4-inch AMOLED display that has the Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protecting it. Colors looked slightly oversaturated at the default color setting ‘Vivid and I prefer the toned-down ‘Natural’ setting. Sunlight legibility was excellent as well as the images and text looked well-lit. However, I was able to try streaming videos using Amazon Prime, which worked very well.

The phone had issues with accurately displaying colors when watching HDR shows. They appeared muted and pale; not at all like they ought to have appeared. Realme has stated that a solution to this issue is expected to roll out shortly. Standard definition content looked good and had dark and dark blacks. The experience was well-constructed thanks to the stereo speakers that sounded well and loud.

Cameras

The Realme 9 Pro+ ditches the 108-megapixel camera in its predecessor to get an enlarged 50-megapixel camera, that also has OIS. (OIS). It’s not just any camera also, but the Sony IMX766 that we’ve only seen in expensive phones like the Oppo Reno 7 Pro and the OnePlus 9RT so far. The phone also comes with an ultra-wide-angle camera with 8-megapixels as well as a macro camera with a 2-megapixel resolution. Selfie duties are taken care of by a 16-megapixel front-facing camera.

The camera application is similar to the one we’ve seen on the latest Realme phones, but it has some modifications. For instance, certain controls, such as the timer for pictures and the frame rate selection for videos have been moved to the menu of three dots. As with every smartphone that runs Android 12, you will see an orange dot appear in the icons for status to show that the camera has been utilised as a private security feature.

Conclusion

Although both the Realme 9 Pro+ and the 9 Pro might seem as having overlapping specs, however, they are clearly in different categories due to the choices of hardware offered by the company for both phones.

the Realme 9 Pro is priced starting at just Rs. 17,999 offers a 120 Hz refresh rate and a battery that is 5,000mAh as well as a 64-megapixel primary camera which appears superior to Pro+. ProPlus when compared on Paper. However, the Realme 9 Pro+ has an AMOLED display that can provide more blacks, has 60W charging capability as well as a higher-end primary camera sensor and an OIS. So, even though they are priced similarly, however, the target audiences for both phones will be different.