When Xiaomi launched in the Indian market in 2014, they blew the competition away with their dirt cheap prices, and high specced phones, and their brand value kept rising continually. But, little did they know that four years later, their business was to be threatened by another competitor in India, a sister company of Oppo, called Realme. The names “Redmi” and “Realme” are a homonym. Realme came to the Indian market as a direct competitor to Xiaomi’s Redmi. It’s that obvious isn’t it? The Redmi vs Realme battle will be continuing for a long time. The head of Redmi recently criticized Realme of being a copycat brand. Guess what? The Chinese are known for their copying, and if they didn’t, their prices would’ve tripled. Thank God for that!
Well, let’s focus less on the brand names and more of the phones themselves…
Redmi Note 9 Pro/ Redmi Note 9 Pro Max:
Both phones, the Redmi Note 9 Pro and Note 9 Pro Max have the same design, just different hardware.
Now let’s take a look at the guts of the phone, and find out what makes them tick.
Redmi Note 9 Pro Specifications:
- Processor: Snapdragon 720G – 8nm process(Lower the number, better the processor, and longer the battery life).
- Ram/Storage: 4/64GB and 6/128GB.
- Rear Camera: 48MP f/1.8 PDAF(Phase Detection Auto-focus), with a sensor size of 1/2″, 8 MP, f/2.2 (ultrawide) with 1/4″, 5MP macro and 2MP depth.
- Front Camera: 16 MP.
- Display: 6.67 inches IPS LCD, normal 60 Hz display.
- Battery & Charging speed: Li-Po(Lithium Polymer) 5020 mAh with 18w charging(~2.5 hours for a full charge).
- Colours: Aurora Blue, Glacier White, Interstellar Black.
- Price: ₹12,999(~$173, €156) for 4/64GB version and ₹15,999(~$213, €192) for 6/128GB version
Redmi Note 9 Pro Max Specifications:
- Processor: Snapdragon 720G (8nm process).
- Ram/Storage: 6/64GB, 6/128GB, 8/128GB.
- Rear Camera: 64 MP, f/1.9 with a sensor size of 1/1.72″, PDAF, 8 MP, f/2.2, (Ultrawide) with 1/4″ sensor size, 5MP macro and 2MP depth.
- Front Camera: 32 MP
- Display: 6.67 inches IPS LCD, normal 60 Hz display.
- Battery & Charging speed: Li-Po(Lithium Polymer) 5020 mAh with 33w (They claimed 50% in 30 minutes)
- Colours: Aurora Blue, Glacier White, Interstellar Black.
- Price: The price isn’t available right now, but we’re expecting it to start at ₹14,999(~$200, €180) for 64/6GB, ₹16,999(~$226, €204) for 128/6GB and ₹17,999(~$240, €216) for 128/8GB
Finally, let’s move onto the Realme 6 series:
Realme 6 Specifications:
- Processor: Mediatek Helio G90T (12nm process)
- Ram/Storage: 4/64GB, 6/128GB and 8/128GB
- Rear Camera: 64 MP, f/1.8, sensor size 1/1.72″, with PDAF, 8 MP, f/2.3 (ultrawide) with 1/4″, 2MP macro, and 2MP depth.
- Front Camera: 16 MP
- Display: 6.5 inches IPS LCD, 90Hz refresh rate with 120Hz touch-sensing.
- Battery & Charging speed: Li-Po 4300 mAh with 30W charging (100% in 55 minutes)
- Colours: Comet Blue, and Comet White
- Price: ₹12,999(~$173, €156) for 4/64GB, ₹14,999(~$200, €180) for 6/128GB and ₹15,999(~$213, €192) for 8/128GB
Realme 6 Pro Specifications:
- Processor: Snapdragon 720G (8nm process).
- Ram/Storage: 6/64GB, and 8/128GB
- Rear Camera: 64 MP, f/1.8, sensor size 1/1.72″, with PDAF, 12 MP, f/2.5(Ultrawide) with 1/4″, 2MP macro, and 2MP depth.
- Front Camera: 16MP
- Display: 6.6 inches IPS LCD, 90Hz refresh rate with 120Hz touch-sensing.
- Battery & Charging speed: Li-Po 4300 mAh with 30W charging (100% in 55 minutes)
- Colours: Comet Blue, and Comet White
- Price: ₹16,999(~$226, €204) for 6/64GB, and ₹18,999(~$253, €228) for 8/128GB
After taking a look at the specifications of the Redmi and Realme phones, we need to find out which one suits you best. So let’s check their features…
Redmi Note 9 Pro:
Features:
- Snapdragon 720G is a steal at this price.
- Cheapest of the lot at 12,999 for 4GB ram and 64GB storage, compared to Realme 6 and 6 Pro
- Ultrawide camera has a wider focal length (f/2.2 compared to the ultrawide of 6 and 6 Pro’s f/2.3), which means better depth in your photos, and clearer night shots.
- Cheapest phone with UFS(Universal Flash storage) 2.1. Most phones below 12k use eMMC 5.1 which is slower
- NavIC, is the ISRO(Indian Space Research Organization)’s Indian GPS system is the latest GPS supported by the Snapdragon 720G, and would benefit us a lot. More chipsets are going to make use of NavIC in the coming years!
- 5020mAh battery sweetens the deal. You have to charge the phone a lower number of times, thus increasing the endurance of the battery.
My Take:
If gaming isn’t your forte, and you just need a phone for casual use, then the Redmi note 9 Pro will be a great contender for a parent or grandparent, as they won’t be able to tell the difference between 60 and 90Hz. While the slower charging speed is a drawback due to taking 2 and a half hours for a full charge, that shouldn’t be a problem for those who are used to charging phones with a slow charge. EIS hasn’t been added, but while the phone is just released, they might add EIS later, in an update. EIS helps smoothen the video, and you don’t get a choppy, laggy playback.
Redmi Note 9 Pro Max:
Features:
- 64MP camera isn’t bad for the price
- 32MP selfie camera compared to 16MP on the non MAX Redmi variant and even on the Realme 6 series
- 33W charging speed compared to 18W on the non MAX Redmi variant
- 5020 mAh battery with 33W charging, on the Redmi Note 9 Pro Max is much better than the Realme 6 Pro with 30W charging and 4300 mAh battery, as you not only get to charge the battery faster, but even have a longer battery life, which is a bonus.
- Dedicated card slot(Triple slot, 2 for sim cards and 1 for memory cards)
My Take:
The Redmi Note 9 Pro Max offers barely any extra features other than a higher megapixel(MP) camera, and fast charging compared to the non Max variant. But if the charging on the non MAX variant is too slow for you, then you could always choose the Redmi Note 9 Pro Max instead.
Realme 6:
Features:
- 90Hz refresh rate makes scrolling across apps smoother, and even makes your games come to life
- 30W fast charging tops up the 4300 mAh battery in 10 minutes past an hour which is amazing!
- You get a 64MP camera which is a tad better than the one on the Redmi Note 9 Pro Max
- 120Hz touch response, is a great feature where you get a faster response when you tap on the screen, and is great for gaming, something which even the Redmi Note 9 Pro and Max lacks.
- Smaller screen size of 6.5 inches compared to the 6.67 inches of the Redmi Note 9 Pro and Max
- 480 nits brightness on the Realme 6 series compared to 450 on the Redmi Note 9 series. This will help in gaming even in sunlight
My Take:
The Realme 6 is a great midrange phone, the Helio G90T’s 12nm process makes you run out of juice compared to the 720G’s 8nm, so it would be great for light gaming. They could have kept the Snapdragon 720G for this phone too. Furthermore, the camera is great on both Realme phones which is a plus compared the Redmi Note 9 series.
Realme 6 Pro:
Features:
- Snapdragon 720G
- 90Hz refresh rate compared to 60Hz on Redmi Note 9 series
- 30W fast charging on this Realme phone too is a bonus
- 120Hz touch response for better gaming
- 480 nits brightness compared to 450 on the Redmi Note 9 series
- Supports dual selfie cameras, and it seems like the 8MP for the ultrawide is way better than the ultrawide on the main camera
My Take:
The Realme 6 Pro is the best gaming phone, and has the most number of features compared to it’s younger sibling, and it’s competitor, the Redmi Note 9 series. Furthermore, they could have bumped up the battery capacity to 5000 mAh or more to have an even longer gaming experience.
Finally, which one is best for you?
After all, it’s time to decide which one suits your needs…
Would you like a budget phone with a large battery?
> The Redmi Note 9 pro is great for you.
Do you prefer to have 90Hz refresh rate for gaming without spending too much?
> The Realme 6 is all yours!
Would you like to game for a longer time and still have the 90 Hz refresh rate?
> Realme 6 pro is what you’re looking for.
Do you feel that the 90Hz refresh rates are an extra feature that isn’t needed?
> Redmi Note 9 Pro Max should be in your buying list.
So, which of these phones did you choose? If so, why? Did they tick all the boxes? If not, do let us know in the comments below. Happy hunting!
The phones are temporarily unavailable right now due to the Coronavirus lockdown, and will hopefully be back by the 15th of April, or if not, then maybe by the end of this month.
