Is the Redmi Note 9 Pro the best RM1099 mid-range smartphone?

The Redmi Note series is probably one of Xiaomi’s most popular product families, with over 110 million units sold worldwide. The recent Redmi Note 9 series should prove to be a pretty popular too, with am excellent spread of features at affordable price points. For those who are looking for a the best that the Redmi Note series has to offer right now, there’s the Redmi Note 9 Pro. It goes without saying that the Redmi Note series is well known for offering great bang-for-buck, but let’s see if the Redmi Note 9 Pro has what it takes to be the best option at the RM1099 price point it is currently occupying.

Beautiful, sleek design

The Redmi Note 9 Pro shares its design with the Redmi Note 9S, which is a very good move. With an aesthetic more akin to flagships rather than mid-range devices, the Redmi Note 9 Pro will easily stand out among its peers in the same price range. The curved glass not only lends itself nicely to a beautiful design, but it is also quite functional as it helps you grip the Redmi Note 9 Pro better.

On its front lies a full 6.67″ DotDisplay, which does away with the notches commonly seen with mid-range devices for a punch hole design. This allows the Redmi Note 9 Pro to offer a large, cinematic viewing experience, without unsightly notches or large pill-shaped punch holes getting in the way. And on top of that, the display is TUV Rheinland-certified, ensuring that you can use the Redmi Note 9 Pro for extended periods without worrying about harmful blue light damaging your eyes.

Covering the display is Corning Gorilla Glass 5, which gives it better durability and resistance against scratches. The rear is also covered in a similar material, so that the beautiful design of the Redmi Note 9 Pro will stay pretty for much longer than its plastic-clad peers. Speaking of being pretty, the Redmi Note 9 Pro comes in three colors: Glacier White, Interstellar Grey and the unique Tropical Green, which sports an exclusive 2-tone color scheme.

Power to game all day

The Redmi Note 9 Pro packs the Snapdragon 720G, which is actually more powerful than the Snapdragon 730G found in the premium mid-range devices of 2019. This chipset is not only powerful enough to deliver great gaming experiences, but it is also a very efficient chipset.

Coupled with the 5020 mAh battery, the Redmi Note 9 Pro offers up to 2 days of usage before you have to plug it in to recharge. Recharging is going to a pretty quick affair as well, as the Redmi Note 9 Pro supports 30W fast charging, letting you go from 0% to 50% in a mere 30 minutes. The Redmi Note 9 Pro’s 30W charging is faster than certain flagships out there! A 33W fast charger comes in the box along with the device, so you don’t have to spend extra money to enjoy the fast charging speeds.

The best cameras in this price segment?

A very important aspect of a mid-range smartphone is its camera. While flagships offer pretty similar camera performance between one another, the mid-range segment offers quite a lot of variance. In our testing, the Redmi Note 9 Pro is currently the best 64MP smartphone in this price segment, and that’s saying a lot when there are quite a number of mid-range smartphones with 64MP cameras.

The 64MP main camera of the Redmi Note 9 Pro touts a large 64MP 1/1.72″ Samsung GW1 sensor, letting you capture more detail with the camera. It is accompanied by an 8MP ultra-wide angle camera, a 5MP macro camera and a 2MP depth sensor. Unlike many smartphones with a macro camera out there, the Redmi Note 9 Pro’s 5MP macro camera sports autofocus, which makes taking sharp close ups a lot easier. Also, it also captures a lot more details than some flagships that offer a mere 2MP macro camera.

Overall, the Redmi Note 9 Pro serves up a very versatile camera setup, letting you capture beautiful images with different perspectives, be it an ultra-wide panoramic view, a close up or a high resolution 64MP image that you can crop in to your heart’s content. And oh, it shoots 4K video as well.

Is the Redmi Note 9 Pro the best RM1099 smartphone out there?

Competition is really stiff in this price bracket, but we can quite confidently say that the Redmi Note 9 Pro offers a very compelling package here. For RM1099, you get a performant yet efficient chipset, a large battery with support for fast charging, an excellent 64MP main camera, and a beautiful, massive display, all packed in a sleek package. I would say that Xiaomi nailed it with the Redmi Note 9 Pro. While it is slightly pricier than the Redmi Note 9S, it offers just enough extra to make it worth your while. And against the competition… Well, it definitely has the upper hand even when compared against some significantly pricier options.

You can check out the Redmi Note 9 Pro on Lazada right now:

This is an exclusive article for Xiaomi Malaysia.