The Redmi Note series has sold 140 million units worldwide, becoming a veritable phenomenon-level hotspot series. It is worth mentioning that according to the statistical report of the global market research company Omdia, in the global smartphone sales ranking in the first half of 2020, Redmi Note 8 ranked third, followed by Note 8 Pro ranked fourth, and Note 8 The sales of the entire series ranks second in the world, becoming the best-selling domestic mobile phone series.
The previous Redmi Note 7 series sold more than 10 million in 4 months, while the Redmi Note 8 series reached 10 million sales in just 3 months, and then broke the 40 million mark. Quietly, Redmi’s main shipping force has gradually shifted from the ultra-low-end, entry-level Redmi digital series to the mid-range Note series.
What is the reason for the Redmi Note series to be voted with real money and silver by 140 million users worldwide? Naturally, it is inseparable from the product itself. “Products should not be based on price, and user needs should not be treated differently. Everyone has the right to enjoy technological progress.”
Among the models with a price range of 1,000 yuan to 2,000 yuan rooted in the Redmi Note series, most of them are simplified versions of high-end products, which are used as a subtraction method to pursue low costs. The Redmi Note series has always done the opposite:
At the beginning of independence, Redmi Note 7 sunk the 48-megapixel main camera exclusive to high-end flagship products to the entry-level camera starting at 999 yuan; the connected Note 8 Pro made the world’s first 64MP ultra-clear main camera. Redmi is used to arranging thousands of Yuanji leads the industry, with the high matching price and low price matching the same price, far exceeding user expectations.
Now the Redmi Note 9 series is here, and the three models are deadly in the “super-expected” matter, especially the Redmi Note 9 Pro has achieved the ultimate 100-megapixel main camera that was previously exclusive to flagship models. Decentralization, tearing off the “code scanner” label of mid-range models, just means deconstructing high-end and reconstructing cognition.
At the same time, Redmi Note 9 Pro also completed the domestic debut of the new generation of Snapdragon 750G 5G platform, combined with 33W PD fast charge, 120Hz high refresh screen, three-dimensional dual-raising, NFC, infrared, linear motor, Redmi ancestral large battery and other parameters. There is no lack of highlights of concern, and it is very attractive on the basis of 1599 yuan.
Next is our evaluation of the Redmi Note 9 Pro. In addition, the detailed experience of Redmi Note 9 4G and Redmi Note 9 will be provided to you in the future, so stay tuned.
Design & Appearance
The design of the outer packaging can be considered a lot of thought, and the redmi mascot Kino becomes the protagonist. Redmi Note 9 Pro uses a 6.67-inch LCD screen with a resolution of 2400×1080, supports a high refresh rate of 120Hz, a typical contrast ratio of 1500:1, supports a sunscreen 3.0, a 1nit luminous screen, and is covered with Corning Gorilla Glass 5, overall specifications As expected, it is also the mainstream level of models with the same price and the same gear. There is a 2-in-1 speaker opening on the upper frame.
This year, I have been accustomed to seeing various side-mounted perforated designs and the return of water drop screens. These two have been difficult to bring visual freshness. Redmi Note 9 Pro has made some changes to the shape of the non-display area of the forehead. It uses a central punch with a 3.8mm aperture, which has some new ideas compared with the previous generation.
The frame of the Redmi Note 9 Pro is not wide, but due to the LCD screen packaging technology, the black border area is relatively wider. This is the common problem that most mobile phones with LCD screens have no matter the flagship or high-end, medium-end, and low-end.
Redmi Note 9 Pro offers three colors of lake light autumn, blue sea stars, and silent starry sky. We have the lake light autumn colors in our hands, which are relatively rare gradient colors. The antenna is not exposed throughout the fuselage. It is preliminarily inferred that the middle frame of the phone is non-metallic, probably plastic.
From the point of view of weight and thickness, Redmi Note 9 Pro is not thin and light, with a thickness of 9mm and a weight of 215 grams, which is relatively thick in the hand. Fortunately, there is a curved transition on the back of the fuselage and the counterweight is more uniform, and the actual machine is not too tight in the hand.
The four-camera module is protruding from the circular camera frame, and the upper and lower sides are truncated, forming a fresh ID design with a square in the circle, and the previous-generation integrated the fingerprint recognition area higher than the back cover in the camera module. The methods in the group are equally ingenious and recognizable. Speaker opening, rare 3.5mm headphone jack.
Cameras
Due to price and positioning constraints, the imaging system of the Redmi Note series has always been not top-notch, but it is the fastest early adopter and the special existence that leads the big pixel era. Starting with Redmi Note7, the 48-megapixel Samsung GM1, Redmi Note 8 Pro launched the 64-megapixel Samsung GW1.
This time, the Redmi Note9 Pro once again followed the previous line. Although it was not the first to be equipped with a 100-megapixel sensor (the big brother Xiaomi 10 series snatched the title of the first launch), it was the first to bring the 108-megapixel Samsung HM2 sensor main camera, and the other three This lens is the old three we are familiar with-an ultra-wide-angle lens with a 120° angle of view, a 2-megapixel macro lens, and a 2-megapixel depth-of-field lens that is better than nothing.
The telephoto lens is not equipped because the so-called optical zoom within 3X has a 100 Megapixel main camera cropping effect, which may be much better than a fixed focus lens with poor quality (the cost is limited). The so-called optical zoom needs to be realized with the help of a periscope structure. The former is not practical, and the latter explores the cost. Obviously, neither of these solutions is suitable for Redmi Note 9 Pro.
“Bigger level at the bottom crushes people” is the unchanging truth among mobile phone CMOS sensors. The larger the sensor, the more light enters, and the less likely it is to be bound by the brightness of the environment.
So starting with the Samsung GM1, which was launched by the Redmi Note series, the sensor entered the era of popularization of the outsole, and the Samsung GW1, which was first released by the Redmi Note 8 Pro, further achieved a 1/1.72 inch outsole.
Then the industry’s Sony IMX686 was upgraded to 1/1.7 inches, the IMX689 custom main camera reached 1/1.4 inches, Samsung HMX and HM1 entered 1/1.33 inches, and the top flagship Samsung GN1 and Sony IMX700 achieved 1/1.31 inches and 1/1.28 respectively. Inch goal.
Now, Redmi Note 9 Pro has completed the first launch of Samsung’s third-generation 100-megapixel sensor ISOCELL HM2. Compared with the previous two generations of HMX and HM1, Samsung HM2 also has 108 Megapixels, but the unit pixel area is reduced from 0.8μm to 0.7μm, and the sensor size is reduced from 1/1.33 inches to 1/1.52 inches, but it is still out of the bottom. Of the list.
This design makes the HM2 15% smaller in surface area and 10% thinner than HM1 and HMX and occupies much less space on the fuselage. Moreover, the ISOCELL HM2 continues the super dual-core focusing and 9-pixel-in-1 technology. The equivalent unit pixel area can reach 2.1μm, and the 12-megapixel mode is suitable for photography creation in dark light.
Whether it is the previous Samsung HMX, HM1, r Samsung GN1, the HDR capability is particularly emphasized, as is the Samsung HM2 carried by the Redmi Note 9 Pro.
Similar to the technical principle of the previous GN1, each pixel in the four groups of HM2 takes pictures at different exposure times: two pixels for medium exposure, one pixel for long exposure, and one pixel for short exposure. This allows the sensor to capture light from the scene in front of it with higher accuracy.
Combining the information of these three exposure levels, the Samsung HM2 carried by the Redmi Note 9 Pro can generate a clear HDR image in a single photo, and the user can preview it immediately.
It can be seen that during the day when the sun is relatively abundant, the 0.6x and 1x imaging white balance and color adjustment tendency of Redmi Note 9 Pro are unexpectedly consistent, which is quite rare.
Since the camera does not have a telephoto lens, the zoom imaging above 1x is mainly achieved through the main camera cutting. Based on the test firmware of the engineering machine, there are obvious differences in white balance, color adjustment, and the main camera straight out. But the image quality loss is quite small.
One thing to note is that the default output picture of Redmi Note 9 Pro is not 100 Megapixels, but 12 Megapixels. We need to manually turn on the 100 Megapixel mode on the camera interface. At this time, the resolution of the picture is 12000×9000, facing the outdoor I took a picture, about 20MB in size. (Upload pictures are compressed)
The above group is 100 Megapixels straight out and a certain model of 12 Megapixels straight out photos are enlarged and cropped to the same size. The contrast is very obvious. The font of the far sign under 100 Megapixels is still visible after being enlarged. And the high-pixel mode is also conducive to post-production, whether it is self-cutting or with AI retouching, it will be more convenient.
According to Qualcomm’s official statement, the Snapdragon 750G supports up to 192 Megapixels for shooting, and dragging the 108 Megapixels of Samsung HM2 straight out is theoretically no problem. In order to verify whether there is a “small horse-drawn cart”, we also did a test. After clicking the shutter button, we entered the photo album to view it. We found that there was no waiting in a circle. The whole process was quite smooth.
In low light conditions, ISOCELL HM2 combines nine small pixels of 0.7μm into a large pixel of 2.1μm to absorb more light and can take clear and bright 12MP photos under dim light. At the same time, high ISO will be automatically selected to obtain brighter and clearer images in dim environments without excessive noise.
It is worth mentioning that the night scene mode algorithm can cover the ultra-wide-angle end, saving the ultra-wide-angle lens with limited light at night.
Hardware & Performance
Redmi Note 9 Pro also completed the domestic debut of Snapdragon 750G. It can also be seen from the name that the overall positioning of the Snapdragon 750G is under the Snapdragon 768G and the Snapdragon 765/765G, but it adopts a new design and new IP, performance and functions are not weak, the highlight is the first time the A77 CPU core Introduced into the Snapdragon 7 series.
In AnTuTu’s evaluation system, the performance of this machine is comparable to that of many Snapdragon 845 phones (the evaluation machine is not connected to the Internet due to confidentiality)
The Snapdragon 750G is manufactured using an 8nm process, and the CPU is an eight-core design. It includes two A77 Kryo 570, clocked at 2.2GHz, and six A55 1.8GHz. Considering that the A77 can improve the same frequency performance by about 25% compared with the A76, theoretically, the performance of the Snapdragon 750G CPU can basically match that of the Snapdragon 768G-the latter integrates two A76 cores with frequencies of 2.8GHz and 2.6GHz.
In the Geekbench test, the Redmi Note 9 Pro’s Snapdragon 750G CPU has a single-core score of 658 and a multi-core score of 1977. Fast Technology Geekbench 5.0 single-core running score ranking. Fast technology Geekbench 5.0 multi-core running score ranking
In the evaluation system of Geekbench 5.0, the single-core CPU capability of Snapdragon 750G is between Samsung Exynos 980 and MediaTek Dimensity 820, and the CPU multi-core capability is between Samsung Exynos 9810 and Samsung Exynos 980. As far as the CPU is concerned Both single-core and multi-core surpass the Snapdragon 765G.
The Snapdragon 750G GPU integrates Adreno 619, which claims to have about 10% higher performance than the Snapdragon 730G Adreno 618, but it is significantly weaker than the Adreno 620 adopted by the Snapdragon 768G/765G because the evaluation machine has not yet been opened to GFXbench network permissions, it is temporarily unavailable for testing here.
The 5G baseband integrates Snapdragon X52, supports frequency bands below 6GHz (4×4 100MHz carrier aggregation), millimeter-wave frequency bands (2×2 400MHz carrier aggregation), supports NSA/SA networking mode, TDD/FDD standard, DSS dynamic spectrum sharing, Global roaming, global multi-card, and support 4G LTE Cat.24/22 at the same time.
5G VS 4G
The Snapdragon 750G also integrates Hexagon 694 DSP and the fifth-generation AI Engine, with a computing power of 4TOPS (4 trillion operations per second), which is 20% higher than the Snapdragon 730G. Other aspects also support dual Spectra 355L ISP, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.1, NFC, GPS/Beidou/GLONASS/Galileo/QZSS/NavIC/SBAS navigation, 12GB LPDDR4X-2133 memory, 120Hz refresh rate, QC4+ fast Charge (the upper limit of the platform specifications does not represent the mobile phone plan).
It is worth mentioning that all the Redmi Note 9 series are equipped with UFS 2.2 as standard, and it is also the first to be equipped, so that UFS 2.2, which is only heard and invisible, finally landed on mass-produced models.
The biggest change brought by UFS 2.2 is the introduction of WriteBooster writes acceleration to further improve the transmission speed. To some extent, it can be simply understood that UFS 2.2 is equal to UFS 2.1+WriteBooster. In fact, in the transitional era from UFS 3.0 to UFS 3.1, some mobile phone manufacturers added write acceleration to devices equipped with UFS 3.0 flash memory, making the speed approach the level of UFS 3.1, and the same applies to UFS 2.1 and UFS 2.2. The truth.
Battery
The 8nm process of the Snapdragon 750G has a certain difference in power consumption from the 7nm process of many processors in the same gear. Perhaps to make up for the power gap, the battery capacity of the Redmi Note 9 Pro is increased to 4820mAh, which is higher than the previous generation. Note 8 Pro is even bigger.
Video battery life
The author uses the Bilibili client to play online barrage video with 20% volume and 70% brightness. According to the monitored current information, it can be estimated that the online video battery life of the Redmi Note 9 Pro under test conditions can reach more than 10 hours.
Charging
In the test, we started charging at 12%, 30 minutes to 74%, 40 minutes to 90%, and 50 minutes to 98%. Based on the huge base of 4820mAh capacity, the charging speed is quite fast.
Read Also: Huawei Mate 40 Pro+ Review: Cameras are Lit For Till Next Year
Verdict
Based on the performance of Redmi products in the past, the Note series has been focusing on three points for a long time-strong and durable, smooth and not stuck, and long battery life. So in the Redmi Note 9 series, Redmi Note 9 4G and Redmi Note 9 are more in line with our traditional perception of Redmi Note.
Redmi Note 9 Pro is more like a “super-class” existence, it tries to explore some new things on the basis of the above three points has been comprehensively improved.
The most obvious is that through the ultimate decentralization of 100 million pixels, Redmi Note 9 Pro has achieved a leapfrog improvement in image performance. With the support of Samsung’s third-generation 100-megapixel sensor HM2, the 1/1.52 inch outsole is larger than the 1/2 inch of the current mainstream flagship camera of 48MP and 1/1.7 inch of the 64MP.
It can be seen from the actual measurement that with the optimization of the algorithm of Redmi Note 9 Pro, HM2 still continues the ultra-high resolution of HMX, and the details of the photos taken multiple times are still clear, which is convenient for later cropping.
It is worth mentioning that in the experience, we found that based on non-flagship platforms such as Snapdragon 750G, Redmi Note 9 Pro has been able to achieve 108MP ultra-clear photos in seconds, and there is no imaginary “small horse-drawn cart” situation. It can be seen that Xiaomi’s previous experience in the CC9 Pro, Xiaomi Mi 10 series and 100 Megapixel CMOS running-in is quite helpful to Redmi.
Now that we talked about the Snapdragon 750G, we will also briefly discuss some conclusions based on the test results: The overall positioning of the Snapdragon 750G is below the Snapdragon 768G and the Snapdragon 765/765G, but from the actual measurement, due to the introduction of the A77 CPU core, its CPU The performance can basically match the Snapdragon 768G, and far exceeds the Snapdragon 765G (according to the Geekbench 5.0 evaluation system, the single-core exceeds about 7.5%, and the multi-core exceeds about 9.2%)
This is in terms of GPU. Snapdragon 750G integrates Adreno 619, which is obviously weaker than Adreno 620 adopted by Snapdragon 768G/765G. In terms of performance, the Snapdragon 750G platform combined with UFS 2.2 makes Redmi Note 9 Pro an out-and-out flagship.
In addition, the bright spots that the party cares about are not missing in parameters such as 33W PD fast charge, 120Hz high refresh screen, stereo dual-amplification, NFC, infrared, linear motor, and Redmi ancestral large battery.
On the whole, Redmi Note 9 Pro provides a reliable video camera in the same gear, and from the appearance ID to the paper parameters, it is very cost-effective based on the price of 1599 yuan, which is quite attractive.