Redmi 9 Power Review: A Power Packed Phone with Long Endurance

Xiaomi launched its new budget phone Redmi 9 Power in Nepal a few weeks ago. It is the rebranded version of the Redmi Note 9 4G that was launched in China.

Redmi 9 Power is available in two variants: 4/64GB (Rs. 18,999) and 4/128 GB (Rs. 20,999). The one I used was the 64GB variant and I used it for more than a week.

With Redmi 9 and Redmi 9 Prime already being one of the best in this segment. We’ll take a look at the things that makes the Redmi 9 Power different.

Redmi 9 Power Review

Pleasing Design

• 162.3 x 77.3 x 9.6 mm
• 198 g
• Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)

Redmi 9 Power has the same design as the Redmi Note 9 4G. The material used and the texture feel similar to that of the Redmi 9.

There’s a rectangular camera module on the rear along with a big “Redmi” branding. The fingerprint sensor is mounted on the power button and it works well. As expected, it is fast and consistent.

On the front, it’s using the waterdrop notch design. Furthermore, the side bezels and chin are quite thin for a budget smartphone.

Ergonomically, I like how it fits in the hand. It isn’t slippery and I can easily use it with my single hand. But it is a chunky phone as it measures 9.6mm in thickness.

FHD LCD Display

• 6.53 inches FHD IPS LCD
• 1080 x 2340 Resolution
• 19.5:9 Aspect Ratio, 395 ppi
• 60Hz panel, Corning Gorilla Glass 3

The Redmi 9 Power has the same 6.53 inch 1080×2340 (FHD+) LCD panel used on the Redmi 9. It’s a 60Hz IPS Panel so you won’t be getting deep blacks and saturated color reproduction.

The color reproduction is pretty good with a neutral color scheme. You can also opt for slightly saturated colors from the display settings menu if you want to.

As for the brightness, Xiaomi claims max brightness of 400 nits. While I did not have any problems using the phone outdoors, the display is not too bright. The bezels are quite minimal and the display is relatively big at 6.53 inches, so I enjoyed watching videos on the Redmi 9 Power.

Camera

• Rear Camera: 48 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/2.0″, 0.8µm, PDAF
  • 8 MP, f/2.2, 118˚ (ultrawide), 1/4.0″, 1.12µm
  • 2 MP, f/2.4, (macro)
  • 2 MP, f/2.4, (depth)
  • Video: 1080p@30fps
• Front Camera: 8 MP, f/2.0, 27mm (wide)
  • Video: 1080p@30fps

48 MP MAIN SENSOR

One of the main changes is the availability of a 48MP sensor instead of the 13MP sensor used on the Redmi 9 and Redmi 9 Prime.

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The main sensor captures decent photos in daylight with good details. The dynamic range is fine and the color is slightly saturated. However, a couple of photos came out a bit out of focus.

As for the 48MP photos, it doesn’t have a good dynamic range and the contrast is also not good. I prefer normal photos to 48MP photos.

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As we move on to low light situations, we can notice noise in the images. The images lose out lots of detail and the dynamic range falls short. Night mode helps with dynamic range and the image becomes sharper but this results in loss of detail and texture.

ULTRAWIDE ANGLE CAMERA

Redmi 9 Power has the same 8MP ultrawide angle sensor as the Redmi 9 and it is quite good for the price.

Of course, the details are only average and you can notice noise even in daylight. But, I do not expect the ultrawide angle camera at this price segment to be really good.

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It has a nice FOV of 118 degrees and you will be happy with its images during daylight. You can notice slight distortion on the ultrawide angle photos but it’s not that bad.

ALSO READ: Samsung Galaxy M21 Review: Value Packed Mid-Ranger

PORTRAIT AND MACRO MODE

Redmi 9 Power has a 2MP depth sensor and a 2MP macro sensor. Talking about the portrait photos, they come out decent with good edge detection and good enough background blur. HDR also helps to keep the highlights under control.

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As for the macro photos, they lack detail and do not look appealing. I would not use the macro photos from Redmi 9 Power on social media platforms.

FRONT CAMERA

Now on to the front camera, I like it. The 8MP sensor takes some good photos under good lighting. The details are fine and the HDR works really well. Your selfies won’t be blown out even if there’s plenty of light in the background. The front camera does a good job indoors as well but the details take a massive drop under low lighting.

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The portrait mode on the front camera is also surprisingly good. It works well most of the time and has good edge detection. But, the background will get blown out if there’s too much backlight.

Video

Redmi 9 Power can capture videos up to 1080p 30 fps. The video quality is not as impressive as the videos look soft and lack details. On top of that, there’s no video stabilization.

You can capture videos with the Ultra wide-angle sensor and it has a macro video feature too.

Performance

• Qualcomm SM6115 Snapdragon 662 (11 nm)
• Octa-core (4×2.0 GHz Kryo 260 Gold & 4×1.8 GHz Kryo 260 Silver)
• Adreno 610
• 64GB (UFS 2.1) 4GB RAM, 128GB (UFS 2.2) 4GB RAM

Redmi 9 Power features a Snapdragon 662 chipset. And, it comes in two configurations: 4GB RAM + 64GB ROM / 4GB RAM + 128GB ROM.

Snapdragon 662 is a good chipset for the price but it is definitely not the best when it comes to gaming. It is made in a 12nm process and has Octa-core (4×2.0 GHz Kryo 260 Gold & 4×1.8 GHz Kryo 260 Silver) CPU along with Adreno 610 GPU.

Redmi 9 Power did not feel smooth while browsing app. The animations are not as smooth as it were on the Redmi 9. This could be due to poor optimization of the MIUI 12 on Redmi 9 Power.

Regarding gaming, I tried PUBG and COD Mobile on the Redmi 9 Power. I played COD Mobile on medium graphics and high settings. The gameplay was quite smooth as it was getting around 55-60 fps. The frame drops were rare.

As for PUBG, I was getting around 35 fps in smooth graphics and high fps setting. The gameplay in PUBG did not feel as good as COD mobile. The likes of the Redmi 9 and Redmi Note 9 can provide better gaming performance than the Redmi 9 Power.

Speaker

The speaker quality on the Redmi 9 Power is pretty good. It has a stereo speaker setup with two dedicated speakers. The loudness is quite good but the highs don’t sound pretty. Overall, it’s a nice speaker for the price.

Battery and Charging

• Non-removable Li-Po 6000 mAh battery
• Fast charging 18W support but comes with 22W charger
• USB 2.0, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector, USB On-The-Go

The 6000 mAh battery on the Redmi 9 Power has to be its best feature. I would usually get one and a half-day of battery life out of it on average usage. With moderate usage, you could get 2 days of endurance.

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It comes with a 22W charger but it only supports 18W charging which takes more than 2 hours to charge it from 0 to 100.

Software

• Android 10, MIUI 12

Redmi 9 Power runs on MIUI 12 on top of Android 10. I have mentioned a lot about MIUI 12 in my reviews of Redmi 9.

While the experience remains the same, Redmi 9 Power has more bloatware than the recent Redmi phones that I’ve used. Also, the UI feels unpolished. The animations do not feel smooth even while browsing the app.

Should You Buy Redmi 9 Power?

Of course! You can go for this phone if you need outstanding battery life.

Redmi 9 Power is good in every department and is one of the best phone under Rs. 20,000. It provides an upgrade in terms of the camera when compared to the Redmi 9 and Poco M2.

Also, it has better battery life. However, the Snapdragon 662 is not the best gaming chipset for this price. The Helio G80 on the Redmi 9 and Poco M2 can do a better job. Or you can even go with the Redmi Note 9 with Helio G85.

At last, if you want a better battery and a 48MP camera under Rs. 20,000, you should opt for the Redmi 9 Power.

I hope you like our review of Redmi 9 Power. If you have any questions regarding this device, then drop them in the comments below.