Realme 9 Pro+ Review: Excellent Value for Money

The Realme 9 Pro+ is a brand new addition to the corporate’s huge and already complicated lineup of smartphones. Traditionally, Realme has all the time led with the core fashions in its quantity collection collectively, however this yr we acquired the Realme 9i first, in January. With this newest launch, as a substitute of the anticipated Realme 9 and 9 Pro, we’re getting the Realme 9 Pro and a brand new Realme 9 Pro+.

The Realme 9 Pro+ is supposed to tackle the brand new Xiaomi 11 series and the OnePlus Nord collection of mid-range smartphones. So, what’s new concerning the Realme 9 Pro+, and is it well worth the premium over the Realme 9 Pro?

Realme 9 Pro+ value in India

The Realme 9 Pro+ is accessible in three variants. There’s a base variant with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, priced at Rs. 24,999 in India. The second variant has 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, and is priced at Rs. 26,999. The top-of-the-line possibility with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage is priced at Rs. 28,999. I obtained the top-end model for this overview.

Going by the launch costs of the Realme 9 Pro+, there appears to be an overlap with Realme’s personal GT Master Edition (Review), which begins at Rs. 25,999. This telephone gives barely higher core specs similar to a 120Hz refresh-rate show, however lacks the superior major digital camera sensor and optical picture stabilisation (OIS) supplied by the brand new Realme 9 Pro+. It’s nice to have extra choices, however this does nothing to make the lineup much less complicated for patrons. Your alternative will finally boil all the way down to what you prioritise extra, a greater digital camera or show.

Realme 9 Pro+ design

The Realme 9 Pro+ appears to have caught up with the brand new fad of colour-changing smartphones relatively rapidly. This telephone is accessible in three finishes: Midnight Black, Aurora Green, and Sunrise Blue. Of these, solely the Sunrise Blue end adjustments color when uncovered to daylight, similar to the Vivo V23 Pro (Review).

The rear panel of the Sunrise Blue end switches from blue to maroon when uncovered to daylight

Realme’s model of the identical colour-changing course of permits the 9 Pro+ to change from a shiny sky-blue color indoors to a shade of maroon underneath daylight. I did not discover this as interesting as Vivo’s gold-to-green transition on the V23 Pro. The total look would not really feel very premium both, primarily due to the fingerprint-prone rear glass panel.

This colour-changing bit apart, the Realme 9 Pro+’s design seems like that of any Realme smartphone. It has a polycarbonate body with flat sides sandwiched between two sheets of glass. The telephone is sort of slim, measuring simply 7.99mm, and it feels comfy for one-handed use primarily due to its low 184g weight.

The Realme 9 Pro+ has an in-display fingerprint reader, and can be able to measuring coronary heart price

The show is flat and has a hole-punch front-facing selfie digital camera. There’s an in-display fingerprint reader and you can even measure your coronary heart price, which in line with Realme continues to be an experimental characteristic. This is barely usable if enabled within the Realme Lab part of the Settings app. One design element I didn’t like was the noticeably thick chin beneath the show.

Realme 9 Pro+ specs and software program

Realme has gone with the MediaTek Dimensity 920 SoC, which can be discovered within the not too long ago launched Xiaomi 11i collection. This SoC runs at a most clock pace of two.5GHz and is manufactured utilizing a 6nm fabrication course of. The telephone helps a number of 5G bands together with dual-5G standby. It additionally has Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, and the same old satellite tv for pc navigation programs. The gadget is powered by a 4,500mAh battery which might be charged rapidly utilizing the 60W charger that comes within the field.

The new Realme 9 Pro and 9 Pro+ are among the first telephones to run the Realme UI 3.zero software program, which is predicated on Android 12. There are tonnes of preinstalled third-party apps that may be uninstalled and a few Realme-branded ones that can’t be.

Realme UI 3.zero just isn’t as closely customised as Vivo’s Funtouch OS, for instance, and is extra much like inventory Android. This makes it gel nicely with the brand new Material You design of Android 12. While sure options of Android 12 such because the highly effective new search get the boot, the privateness dashboard and associated options have made it. Unlike Vivo or Samsung, Realme’s number of UI widgets has all the time been fairly restricted, so the brand new Android 12 widgets don’t really feel misplaced on the house display screen.

The Realme 9 Pro+ comes with Android 12 and there are some new customisation choices

Realme UI 3.zero nonetheless seems like Realme’s tackle Android. Its design and fonts seem fairly constant, till you leap into the Privacy Dashboard within the Settings, the place you’re greeted with a inventory Material You UI that clearly seems very completely different. According to Realme, sure sections of Android 12 (Privacy Dashboard, Permissions Manager, Digital Wellbeing) are required to have the inventory look, whatever the customized pores and skin utilized to the OS. I additionally got here throughout some minor theming glitches similar to greyed-out textual content in collapsed notifications within the pull-down tray when utilizing darkish mode.

The Realme 9 Pro+ has a dynamic theming system comparable what you’d get with Android 12 working on a Pixel gadget. This characteristic picks colors from the wallpaper you select after which applies them to interface components such because the notification tray toggles, Settings menu icons, and so forth. You may choose the colors you need out of your wallpaper and let the theme engine create a complementary palette from them. However, the implementation is a bit buggy. The revamped Android 12 widgets from Google apps and the Google keyboard do not appear to vary color together with the remainder of the UI, as they do on Pixel units. In brief, a little bit of fine-tuning continues to be wanted.

Realme 9 Pro+ efficiency

The Realme 9 Pro+ incorporates a 6.4-inch AMOLED show with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 defending it. Colours regarded a bit oversaturated on the default ‘Vivid’ color setting, and I most popular the toned-down ‘Natural’ mode. Sunlight legibility was fairly good, and textual content and pictures regarded sharp. Unfortunately, the Netflix app was not accessible as a result of I had a pre-production unit, however I used to be capable of check streaming video utilizing Amazon Prime, which labored nicely. The telephone had some hassle representing correct colors when viewing HDR exhibits, they usually have been pale and muted; nothing like how they need to have regarded. Realme has mentioned {that a} repair for this problem must be rolled out quickly. Standard definition content material appeared simply wonderful, with deep blacks. The expertise got here collectively nicely because of this telephone’s stereo audio system, which sounded loud and clear.

The Realme 9 Pro+ has 6.4-inch AMOLED show with a 90Hz most refresh price

The show refresh price can solely swap between 60Hz and 90Hz. Even when set to the latter, it stays at 60Hz when enjoying video games however goes to 90Hz when shopping by the telephone’s interface. Opening the YouTube app additionally made the display screen’s refresh price lock at 60Hz, despite the fact that the video enjoying on display screen was working at 30fps. This signifies that the show’s optimum refresh price is barely accessible when interacting with the telephone’s software program, and never when enjoying video games, as of now.

When it got here to benchmarks, the Realme 9 Pro+ didn’t disappoint, and carried out on par with the competitors. It scored 5,07,258 factors in AnTuTu and 818 and a pair of,316 factors in Geekbench’s single- and multi-core exams, respectively. Despite the bloatware, Realme UI 3.zero ran buttery easy, and the 90Hz refresh price show made UI interactions really feel fairly fluid.

Gaming efficiency was additionally fairly good. The telephone ran Call of Duty: Mobile on the default, ‘Medium’ graphics and ‘Very High’ body price with none points. I did not discover any drop in efficiency when the graphics settings have been bumped up additional. For some purpose, Asphalt 9: Legends stored crashing on startup, so I attempted Real Racing Three as a substitute. It labored easily with none hiccups.

The Realme 9 Pro+ has three rear-facing cameras

The Realme 9 Pro+ managed a powerful 23 hours and 36 minutes in our HD video loop battery life check. I managed to get a day and half of standard use which concerned some gaming and digital camera utilization. This is nice for a mid-range gadget. Charging was additionally fairly quick. The telephone charged from zero to 80 % in 30 minutes and was absolutely charged in 50 minutes utilizing the bundled 60W charger.

Realme 9 Pro+ cameras

The Realme 9 Pro+ ditches the 108-megapixel digital camera of its predecessor in favour of a 50-megapixel major digital camera, which additionally occurs to have optical picture stabilisation (OIS). It’s not simply any sensor both, however a Sony IMX766, which we have solely seen in costlier telephones such because the Oppo Reno 7 Pro (Review) and the OnePlus 9RT (Review) up to now. There’s additionally an 8-megapixel ultra-wide angle digital camera and a 2-megapixel macro digital camera. Selfie duties are dealt with by a 16-megapixel front-facing digital camera.

The digital camera app is much like what we have seen on latest Realme telephones, however has a number of adjustments. For occasion, among the controls such because the timer for pictures and body price selector for movies are actually moved underneath the three-dot button menu. As with all smartphones working Android 12, additionally, you will discover a inexperienced dot showing close to the standing icons to point that the digital camera is getting used, which is a privateness safety characteristic.

Realme 9 Pro+ daylight digital camera samples. (Tap to see full measurement)

Daylight pictures regarded clear and sharp with good dynamic vary and particulars. HDR was a bit aggressive, and hues have been a bit oversaturated. I ended up turning the ‘AI’ toggle off because it tended to bump the saturation up even additional. Portrait pictures taken with the entrance in addition to rear cameras got here out sharp and fairly detailed, with good dynamic vary. Edge detection was additionally fairly good.

Realme 9 Pro+ daylight digital camera samples. Top: Primary digital camera, backside: Ultra-wide-angle digital camera (faucet to see full measurement)

Photos taken with the ultra-wide-angle digital camera have been surprisingly usable. They weren’t as sharp as ones shot with the first digital camera, however had good dynamic vary together with minimal barrel distortion because of software program correction. The macro digital camera was helpful despite the fact that the outcomes appeared a bit oversharpened.

In low gentle, the Realme 9 Pro+ would mechanically hold its shutter open for a second longer to assemble extra gentle. This was with out turning on the AI mode. Images shot in low gentle, even in Auto mode, got here out fairly sharp and dynamic vary was additionally good because of OIS. Switching to Night mode introduced out much more element.

Realme 9 Pro+ low-light digital camera samples. Top: Night mode, backside: Street mode (faucet to see full measurement)

There’s a ‘Street’ mode within the digital camera app which mechanically units up the publicity so you may seize issues similar to gentle trails. While these options have been current in earlier Realme units (and a few from different manufacturers too), I used to be impressed with how simply the Realme 9 Pro+ allowed me to seize such long-exposure pictures with out the necessity to stabilise it or mount it on a tripod.

Videos recorded at 1080p regarded wonderful and have been stabilised nicely, however have been not as sharp as I anticipated. 4K footage (restricted to 30fps) confirmed good element and sharpness however was fairly shaky and regarded a bit uneven. The outcomes have been comparable in low gentle as nicely.

Verdict

While the Realme 9 Pro+ and the 9 Pro might sound as if they’ve overlapping specs, they clearly belong in numerous classes, given the model’s {hardware} selections for each these smartphones.

The Realme 9 Pro is priced ranging from Rs. 17,999 gives a 120Hz refresh price show, a 5,000mAh battery, and a 64-megapixel major digital camera, which truly make it appear higher than the 9 Pro+ on paper. However, the Realme 9 Pro+ has an AMOLED show that may reproduce deeper blacks, 60W charging help, and a extra superior major digital camera sensor plus OIS. So, regardless of their comparable pricing, the audiences for these two telephones must be fairly completely different. The Realme 9 Pro will attraction to avid gamers who need a larger display screen refresh price, whereas the 9 Pro+ is clearly geared toward these seeking to shoot higher pictures.

As for the competitors, the Xiaomi 11i appears to supply the very best worth at this value level with comparable or barely higher {hardware}. There’s additionally the Xiaomi 11i Hypercharge (Review) which is able to 120W charging. The OnePlus Nord CE (Review) is another choice on this value vary, and gives a succesful digital camera plus a clear software program expertise. As we already know, the OnePlus Nord CE is quickly to be replaced by the Nord CE 2.

The Realme 9 Pro+ may not have very aggressive specs, however the firm has made some wise selections in areas that matter. Key amongst these is the OIS system and flagship-grade sensor within the major digital camera, which ship good efficiency in daylight in addition to low gentle; one thing most smartphones on this phase battle with. The MediaTek Dimensity 920 SoC is a strong performer too. You get Android 12 out of the field and Realme UI 3.zero runs buttery easy. Battery life can be fairly good. All of this makes the 9 Pro+ glorious worth for cash.