Can Realme 9 Pro+ Give Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge a Run for Its Money and Battle the OnePlus Nord 2?

We talk about the Realme 9 Pro+ 5G and Realme 9 Pro 5G on this week’s Orbital podcast.

By Jagmeet Singh | Updated: 17 February 2022 19:39 IST

Can Realme 9 Pro+ Give Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge a Run for Its Money and Battle the OnePlus Nord 2?

Photo Credit: Realme India

Realme 9 Pro+ 5G comes with a 50-megapixel primary camera that supports OIS

Realme 9 Pro+ 5G and Realme 9 Pro 5G — launched in India this week — are designed to appeal to young smartphone users, with their colour-changing back panel that shifts from Sky Blue to Red under direct sunlight or ultraviolet light. Plus, it's got triple rear cameras, one of which has optical image stabilisation (OIS). That's very rare in the under Rs. 30,000 segment. On top of that, the Realme 9 Pro+ 5G has a 90Hz AMOLED display, 60W fast charging, and stereo speakers — all very good under Rs. 30,000 where phones such as the Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge and OnePlus Nord 2 are mostly ruling the market.

On this week's episode of Gadgets 360 podcast Orbital, host Akhil Arora speaks with Senior Reviewers Sheldon Pinto and Aditya Shenoy to talk about the Realme 9 Pro+ 5G and Realme 9 Pro 5G — and to understand what the Realme 9 Pro+ 5G offers against the Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge 5G and the OnePlus Nord 2.

Realme 9 Pro+ price in India starts at Rs. 24,999 for the 6GB RAM + 128GB storage variant. The phone also comes in an 8GB + 128GB model that is priced at Rs. 26,999 and the top-end 8GB + 256GB option at Rs. 28,999. The Realme 9 Pro 5G, on the other hand, starts at Rs. 17,999 (introductory pricing) for the 6GB + 128GB model and goes up to Rs. 20,999 for the 8GB + 128GB option.

Both phones come with a "Light Shift Design" that is exclusive to their Sunrise Blue colour option and is responsible for offering the colour-shifting back panel. It is, however, not that valuable if you prefer covering the phone with a case. Naturally.

Realme is also not the first brand to offer the colour-changing back as its sibling Vivo — under the same parent company BBK Electronics — offered a similar experience on the launched Vivo V23 Pro 5G last month. That said, it does make both models stand apart on design from the competition.

Realme 9 Pro+ Review: Excellent Value for Money

The Realme 9 Pro+ 5G is also equipped with an upgraded camera setup that features a 50-megapixel Sony IMX766 primary sensor, with an f/1.8 lens. As I said previously, the primary sensor is also equipped with OIS to provide better stability. Further, it is paired with a proprietary lightning technology called ProLight Imaging as well as AI Noise Reduction Engine 3.0 that both are touted to help deliver an enhanced camera experience — especially in low-light photography.

Apart from the camera side of things, the Realme 9 Pro+ 5G carries a heart rate sensor within its in-display fingerprint sensor that is claimed to help provide heart rate detection and recording. The technology has not been medically approved, though it could help Realme to deliver some uniqueness over the competition.

The feature is, though, not turned on by default as users need to enable it by going to the Realme Lab from the phone. Also, it takes some seconds to detect your heart rate and is not as instant as recognising your fingerprints.

The Realme 9 Pro+ 5G, as well as the Realme 9 Pro 5G, are also available with Android 12 out-of-the-box, with Realme UI 3.0 on top. The latest Android version brings a list of software features that you would not get on the Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge and OnePlus Nord 2 — owing to the fact that both are currently running on Android 11. Both phones are, though, upgradable to Android 12 in the future.

That said, Realme's fast charging on the Realme 9 Pro+ 5G is not as quick as the Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge that supports whopping 120W charging. However, 60W support is good too — given the likes of Apple and Samsung don't go over 45W on their flagship phones.

We also speak about how the Realme 9 Pro+ 5G and Realme 9 Pro 5G perform against models including the Vivo T1 5G and Google Pixel 4a. This is to find out whether the new Realme phones can potentially be your preference if you were looking to buy any of those models.

You can listen to all this and more by play button on the Spotify player above.

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Realme 9 Pro+ 5G

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Crisp AMOLED display
Loud stereo speakers
Slim and light design
Excellent battery life and fast charging
Impressive low-light camera performance
Runs Android 12

Bad
Too many preinstalled apps

Read detailed Realme 9 Pro+ 5G review

Display 6.40-inch

Processor MediaTek Dimensity 920

Front Camera 16-megapixel

Rear Camera 50-megapixel + 8-megapixel + 2-megapixel

RAM 6GB, 8GB

Storage 128GB, 256GB

Battery Capacity 4500mAh

OS Android 12

Resolution 1080x2400 pixels

More Realme mobiles Realme mobiles price in India

Realme 9 Pro 5G

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display 6.60-inch

Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 695

Front Camera 16-megapixel

Rear Camera 64-megapixel + 8-megapixel + 2-megapixel

RAM 6GB, 8GB

Storage 128GB

Battery Capacity 5000mAh

OS Android 12

Resolution 1080x2412 pixels

More Realme mobiles Realme mobiles price in India

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Further reading: Realme 9 Pro Plus 5G price in India, Realme 9 Pro Plus 5G specifications, Realme 9 Pro Plus 5G, Realme 9 Pro 5G, Realme, OnePlus Nord 2, Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge 5G, Xiaomi 11i, Orbital, Gadgets 360 podcast, Podcast