Realme 9 Pro Plus Detailed Review and Specification

Introduction: 

The photochromic design, smooth AMOLED screen, flagship-grade camera, and super rapid charging make the Realme 9 Pro Plus stand out. Realme is known for producing solid phones at low rates, and the Realme 9 Pro+ is shaping up to be one of the best mid-range options available right now.

The Realme 9 duo arrived about a year after the Realme 8 series was launched. Until now, the corporation had followed a six-month release schedule. Another difference is the model names: the Realme 9 Pro+ is a follow-up to the Realme 8 Pro, whilst the 9 Pro appears to be a spin-off of the Realme 8.

Aside from the timing and name, the Realme 9 Pro+ appears to be a worthy advance over the Realme 8 Pro, and it has swayed many people even before they read the reviews. The Realme 9 Pro+ is what the Realme 8 Pro should have been from the start: an HRR display, more powerful technology, a better camera, and stereo speakers.

The Realme 9 Pro+ has a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display with a 1080p resolution, 90Hz refresh rate, and HDR10 support. It also has a higher-touch sampling rate of 360Hz. On the other hand, the Sunrise model has a photochromic glass screen on the back that changes colour from blue to pink-orange when exposed to sunshine.

The MediaTek Dimensity 920 5G processor improves gaming performance significantly. It includes more powerful processing and graphics than the previous versions’ Snapdragon 720G chipset and modern networking choices such as 5G and Wi-Fi 6. However, no promises were made on HRR gaming, so don’t hold your breath.

The back camera receives an upgraded primary eye with a substantial 50MP Sony IMX766 sensor and an OIS lens. High-quality zoom, such as the Realme 8 Pro’s, should also be feasible. The 8MP ultrawide camera appears to be the same as prior phones, and a 2MP macro photographer is also included. However, the depth sensor is no longer present.

The Realme 9 Pro+ has stereo speakers, one of the most noticeable exclusions on the Realme 8 Pro. Fast charging has been increased to 60W from 50W on the 8 Pro. However, the battery capacity remains at 4,500mAh.

Okay, enough with the tease; here’s the whole specifications sheet.

 

At a glance, Here are The Specifications of the Realme 9 Pro+:

• Glass front (Gorilla Glass 5), plastic frame, glass rear; 160.2×73.3×8.0mm, 182g
• 6.40 on the screen “1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 411ppi; Super AMOLED, 90Hz, 430 nits (typ), 600 nits (HBM), 1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 411ppi; Heart rate monitor function
• Octa-core (2×2.5 GHz Cortex-A78 & 6×2.0 GHz Cortex-A55); Mali-G68 MC4. Chipset: MediaTek Dimensity 920 5G (6 nm): Octa-core (2×2.5 GHz Cortex-A78 & 6×2.0 GHz Cortex-A55); Mali-G68 MC4.
• Memory: UFS 2.2; 128GB 6GB RAM, 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM
• Android 12 with Realme UI 3.0 is the operating system and software.
• Wide (primary) camera: 50 MP, f/1.8, 24mm, 1/1.56 “, OIS, 1.0m, PDAF; 8 MP, f/2.2, 119, 16mm, 1/4.0; ultra wide angle: 8 MP, f/2.2, 119, 16mm, 1/4.0; ultra wide angle: 8 MP, f/2.2, “Macro: 2 MP, f/2.4, 1.12m
• 16 megapixels, f/2.4, 27mm (wide), 1/3.09 “, with a height of 1.0 m.
• Front camera: 1080p@30fps, 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60/120/480fps, 720p@960fps, gyro-EIS; rear camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60/120/480fps, 720p@960fps, gyro-EIS
• 4500mAh battery; 60W fast charging, 100% in 44 minutes (advertised), USB Power Delivery 3.0.
• Miscellaneous: 3.5mm jack; fingerprint reader (under display, optical).

 

The Realme 9 Pro+ appears to be a worthy successor to the Realme 8 Pro, and we’re excited to put it to the test. But first, let’s take a look at the two glaring omissions on the Realme 9 Pro+. The MicroSD slot, which was featured in earlier generations, is the first feature.

Another glaring missing feature on this Realme and previous ones is any form of water protection, however rudimentary. Most, if not all, Xiaomi phones in this price bracket are IP53-rated, and Realme should catch up as quickly as possible.

Benchmarks and performance:

MediaTek’s new Dimensity 920 chipset powers the Realme 9 Pro+. It’s a 6nm device with a 5G modem built-in. An octa-core processor powers the Density 920 with two Cortex-A78 cores running at 2.5GHz and six Cortex-A55 cores running at 2.0GHz.

The quad-core Mali-G68 GPU in this SoC could provide acceptable graphics performance for the mid-range market. The RAM options for the Realme 9 Pro+ are 6GB or 8GB. The storage capacities are 128GB and 256GB, respectively, and the storage is UFS 2.2. Dual 5G, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, and dual-band GPS are among the latest connection protocols supported by the Density 920 chip.

It’s now time for a benchmark!

In this pricing range, the Density 920 CPU is a true champion. The Cortex-A78 cores are real powerhouses, quickly ranking among the finest in the class. The CPU results are almost 40% higher than those obtained with the Realme 8 Pro.

The Mali-four G68’s cores appear to be more than suitable for the class. It’s around 50% more powerful than the Adreno 618 in the Realme 8 Pro, and it packs a lot of punch for the price.

The vapour chamber-based cooling technology of the Realme 9 Pro+ is sufficient for the Density 920 chip. The phone received a great score of 89 per cent on the CPU Stress Test and 99.7% on the GPU Stress Test. The Realme 9 Pro+ barely warms up after such stress testing, so you won’t be bothered if you play for lengthy periods. There will be no throttling.

The Density 920 5G chipset appears to be an excellent fit for the Realme 9 Pro+, as it is a current piece of hardware with more to offer than a capable processor and graphics. The cooling solution is also quite effective.

The locked 60fps gaming is the one thing that keeps the Realme 9 Pro+ from being a superb performer. No game or test ever exceeds 60 frames per second, and this isn’t due to a lack of hardware; instead, Realme is still reticent to give unlocked refresh rates on its phones for some reason.

There are four cameras in all, but no depth sensors.
On the back, the Realme 9 Pro+ has a triple camera arrangement with a 50MP OIS primary camera, an 8MP ultrawide camera, and a 2MP macro camera. For selfies, there’s a 16MP front camera. The depth sensor, which we usually get on the rear, is one obvious omission, but we’d gladly swap it for OIS.

Camera:

The 50MP Sony IMX766 1/1.56 Sony IMX766 1/1.56 Sony IMX766 1/1.56 Sony IMX766 1/1.56 Sony IMX766 1/1.56 Sony IMX “A sensor with 1.0m pixels and a Quad-Bayer filter was used. This sensor is combined with a stabilized 6-element 24mm lens with an f/1.8 aperture. This camera has a Night Mode option.

This camera appears to have a 2x lossless in-sensor zoom, which should maintain details and colours without over-sharpening. In a few moments, we’ll put this to the test.

Behind a 16mm f/2.2 lens, the ultrawide camera uses an 8MP Sony IMX 355 sensor. There is no auto-focus on this camera. Night Mode is also available on this camera.

Last but not least, the macro camera features a 2MP OmniVision OV02B sensor a 21mm f/2.4 lens, with a fixed focus of 4cm. This camera does not record videos and does not have a Night Mode.

A Sony IMX 471 1/3-inch sensor is used in the selfie camera “1.0-megapixel sensor with f/2.4 lens Naturally; the focus is fixed. This camera appears to have a Quad-Bayer sensor, but we’ll discuss more it when we take some shots.

The camera app is the same one used by Oppo and Realme. There are fewer menus, and most modes are now located in the main Rolodex, which is a positive thing.

Basic & Expert Mode:

In the primary Photo mode, the viewfinder includes AI Scene Enhancement (also known as Chroma Boost or Dazzle Color) – it’s like an advanced HDR mode that stacks numerous images to boost the dynamic range further. The most noticeable “improvement” is still the increased colour saturation. Auto HDR is also available.

There are additionally three zoom shortcuts that use tree symbols rather than numbers.

You may adjust exposure (ISO 100-6400 and shutter speed 1/8000s-32s), white balance (by light temperature, but no presets), manual focus (in arbitrary 0 to 1 units with 0 being near guide and 1 being infinity), and exposure compensation (-2EV to +2EV in 1/6EV increments) in Expert mode.

You can shoot on both the primary and ultrawide cams in this Expert mode, but moving between them is handled oddly. There is a 1x-2x digital zoom selection; however, there is no button for the ultrawide camera. You’ll notice the tree selector on the opposite end of the viewfinder if you look attentively.

RAW is only available on the primary camera.

Photo Quality:

By default, the primary camera saves 12.5MP photographs suitable for this class. There is plenty of resolved detail, strong contrast, perfect white balance, and no noticeable noise.

Despite the Auto HDR, the dynamic range is about average. Despite the clipped highlights, the photographs appear natural, though we would have exchanged some of the contrast for a little emotional boost if we could.

The sharpening procedure isn’t our favourite because the photographs appear over-sharpened in areas with a lot of detail, such as grass, car plates, decorations, branches, and buildings. Aside from that, the primary camera takes excellent photos.

There’s an AI toggle that adjusts parameters based on automatic scene identification. The majority of the images we’ve shot fall into the categories of Blue Skies, Greenery, and Buildings, and they have vibrant hues and an artificial appearance. But if that’s what you’re after, then, by all means, keep the AI turned on.

On the Realme 9 Pro+, there is a 2x lossless zoom option. It appears to be accomplished by shooting at 50 megapixels, cropping the 12.5-megapixel centre, and performing post-processing magic. Whatever method is used, one thing is sure: the zoom is good quality and displays more detail not visible in the usual photographs.

Zoom-in Quality:

The zoomed images aren’t as detailed as the originals, but they still have enough detail and crispness to be worth capturing. They also have realistic colours, a wide dynamic range, and minimal noise. The sharpening is a little milder here, so it gets bonus points.

We advocate using the 2x zoom whenever and wherever the situation calls for it; the zoomed photographs will undoubtedly satisfy you.

And here’s a collection of 50MP shots. These aren’t ordinary upscales but rather high-resolution 50MP photos. They’re a little soft, the detail is average, and the noise is higher; however, shooting in 50MP and then downsizing to 12.5MP may or may not provide you somewhat crisper images occasionally. However, we’re not convinced if the slight change is worth the trouble.

Even though the Realme 9 pro+ lacks a depth sensor, it can nevertheless shoot portrait images with its primary camera. And they’re fantastic – the subjects are always well-detailed and exposed, the colours are vibrant, the contrast is high, and the noise is kept to a minimum. The artificial blur is also enjoyable.

Even without a specialized depth sensor, subject separation is excellent. We won’t hold it against the Realme because a messy haircut on a busy background can throw off the algorithm, but it can happen even on phones with depth sensors so we won’t hold it against it.

Ultrawide Quality:

The ultrawide camera’s 8MP images impressed us. The contrast and dynamic range are excellent, the colours are accurate, and automatic distortion correction has advanced to a level of proficiency that must be acceptable to all. In terms of mid-range ultrawide shooters, these were relatively detailed and sharp, better than the average.

Most ultrawide photographs still have noise, but the less harsh noise reduction procedure is probably why we perceive more detail in these photos than in others. And this is unquestionably in Realme’s favour. The photographs with a resolution of 2MP are acceptable. They have good sharpness, and learning to work with the 4cm fixed focus isn’t tricky. The contrast is adequate, and the noise is satisfactory.

However, the colours are washed out, and your ladybug’s flower petals may appear dull. Of course, you should be OK when you run them through those Instagram filters. The default low-light images are fantastic; the OIS and advanced processing work in tandem to produce stunning results. There is a lot of detail, and the exposure, contrast, and colour presentation are all excellent.

The noise reduction is a little harsh in high-complexity areas and may blur some fine detail, but not to the point where it degrades the image’s quality. To cut a long tale short, the primary camera’s regular low-light photos are among the finest in this class, if not the best.

Of course, there’s Night Mode, which takes around 1 second of simulated exposure and another 4 seconds to analyze and save the photo. The photographs are beautiful; most of the clipped highlights have been restored, some shadows and skies have been improved, we can see more detail, and colour saturation has been increased.

The noise reduction and sharpness are both milder here. As a result, the images appear more natural and balanced while also providing improved dynamic range, detail, and colours.

The low-light images taken with a 2x zoom are also quite impressive. They have the same qualities as ordinary photographs, such as adequate exposure, incredible contrast, accurate colours, and reasonable noise. Although they are a little weaker than standard photographs, the high-quality zoom performs an excellent job of zooming.

Night Mode:

Night Mode gives you a 2x zoom and restores clipped highlights while revealing more information in specific shadows. It also increases the colour saturation and brightness of the photographs. The sharpness suffers due to the noise reduction, which obliterates a lot of detail. Even so, we’d consider these usable in the conditions. The standard ultrawide night images are also usable, but that’s all we can say. They’re dark and noisy, but they have enough detail and colour saturation to be helpful.

If you need to capture an ultrawide photo at night, use Night Mode. This one brightens the photographs, restores clipped highlights, and displays more detail in the shadows, just like the primary camera. Colour saturation has also been increased. The noise reduction effectively removes noise from the ultrawide image while preserving fine detail.

Selfies:

The 16MP selfie camera on the Realme 9 Pro+ is the same as on the OnePlus 8, 8 Pro, 9, and 9 Pro. Even though it’s a Quad-Bayer sensor, the camera app stores 16MP photographs rather than 4MP, so don’t anticipate razor-sharp selfies.

The 16MP selfies that result are acceptable. The subject is always well-exposed. Colours, contrast, noise control, and dynamic range are all excellent, sufficient for a mid-range front camera.

Selfie portraits are possible. The sharpness of them has decreased noticeably. The false blur is pleasing, and the subject separation is satisfying. You probably won’t notice this when perusing those on your phone’s screen or publishing them on Facebook/Instagram.

Making a Video:

Except for the macro camera, the Realme 9 Pro+ can record videos. The primary camera can record video in 4K at 30 frames per second and 1080p at both 30 and 60 frames per second. Video capture is limited to 1080p@30fps on the ultrawide shooter.

You have the option of using the h.264 or h.265 codecs.

Electronic stabilization is present in all cameras and resolutions and is always on. OIS is available on the primary camera as well.

The bit rates on the camcorder are extraordinarily generous: 4K footage receives 50Mbps, while 1080p/30fps gets a similarly warm 20Mbps when using the h.264 codec. The sound is stereo, and the audio bitrate is 156Kbps for 4K and 256Kbps for 1080p resolutions.

The 4K footage we captured with the primary camera is incredible! There’s a lot of resolved detail, the noise is well-managed, the colours are correct, and the dynamic range is impressive. The sound is also fantastic.

You can also use 2x zoom on videos, but it isn’t lossless; it’s simply a standard digital zoom. The videos aren’t overly soft, so don’t be afraid to use zoom when necessary.

The low-light 4K videos are also excellent. The colour saturation is perfect, the dynamic range is adequate, and the exposure is accurate. The detail and sharpness are incredible, and the noise level is acceptable.

Because its field of view is slightly narrower than the primary camera, the ultrawide camera is useless for video recording. This is likely because the electronic stabilization and distortion correction algorithms crop a large portion of the frame, whereas the primary camera features OIS and doesn’t require such cropping.

Aside from the FoV issue, the 1080p clips from the ultrawide camera aren’t very excellent because the footage is soft and lacks detail. Even if the dynamic range and colours are adequate, they are insufficient to save the ultrawide camera’s video capture utility.

Finally, we’ve included the Realme 9 Pro+ in our video tool so you can compare the two.

 

The Competition is Fierce:

The Realme 9 Pro+ is a well-rounded smartphone with a pleasant personality. It has a smooth AMOLED screen, a strong CPU with a 5G modem, a high-resolution primary camera, excellent battery life, and lightning-quick charging. We also like the new Android version and the Realme UI.

Realme has a history of offering reasonably priced mid-range smartphones, and this is no exception. However, the market has been struggling recently, and while the €380 price tag of the Realme 9 Pro+ is competitive, it may come as a surprise to some of its core fans who expected the phone to cost about €280-€300.

So, let’s look at what’s available in the €380 range.

The Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G is the first smartphone that comes to mind. It’s an IP67-rated smartphone with a 120Hz Super AMOLED screen, a more powerful Snapdragon 778G 5G chipset, and a similarly versatile rear camera with a stabilized lens. Aside from ingress protection, the A52s outperforms Realme with a superior 12MP ultrawide camera, a microSD card, and a €20 lower pricing. However, the Galaxy’s 25W charging is nowhere near as quick as the Realme’s.

Then there’s Xiaomi’s new Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G, which is €10 less expensive than the Realme. Compared to the 9 Pro+, the Note 11 Pro 5G sports a more extensive and quicker Super AMOLED screen, water protection, and a 108MP primary camera. The Realme 9 Pro+, on the other hand, outperforms the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G with much faster graphics performance and an OIS lens on the primary camera. If we had to choose between the two, the Realme 9 Pro+’s speedier performance and the better camera would easily sway us to choose it over the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G.

Price Comparison:

The OnePlus Nord 2 5G price is the same as the Realme 9 Pro+. The Realme 9 Pro+ appears to be a repackaged Nord 2, with a screen, camera configuration, battery, and charging features that are all similar. With its flagship-like Dimensity 1200 5G chipset, the Nord 2 is a quicker smartphone, and we recommend you investigate it before choosing the Realme 9 Pro+.

Another comparable (or somewhat lower) pricing option is the Motorola Edge 20. It sports a significantly quicker 144Hz OLED screen, a water-resistant construction, and a 3x telephoto with OIS on its back in addition to the 108MP primary and 16MP ultra-wide cameras. It also runs on the more powerful Snapdragon 778G 5G chipset. The new Android 11 with Ready For features is also worth considering. Only in a few areas does the Realme 9 Pro+ outperform the Edge 20: stereo speakers, audio jack, and charging speed.

Finally, there’s the €290 Poco X3 GT, which is a smartphone worth considering. It features a 120Hz LCD screen, a more powerful Dimensity 1100 5G chipset, and splash resistance. On the other side, the Realme 9 Pro+ boasts a superior primary camera and an OLED screen while being slower. Many customers may be swayed by the lower price tag and more powerful hardware to choose this Poco over the 9 Pro+, and we’d gladly back their decision.

We can’t help but look through Realme’s store. The Realme GT Master, which costs roughly €350, is a worthy opponent. It has a faster 120Hz AMOLED display and a more powerful Snapdragon 778G 5G chipset, but no optical image stabilization and no second speaker. It would help decide whether camera quality or performance is more important to you.

Our Conclusion:

The Realme 9 Pro+ is a well-designed and powerful mid-range smartphone with a wide range of competitive features. It’s an improvement over the Realme 7 Pro and Realme 8 Pro.

The 90Hz Super AMOLED screen, the strong Dimensity 920 5G chipset, the battery life and exceptionally rapid charging, not to mention the loud stereo speakers, were all things we loved about this phone. The triple rear camera was pleasantly surprised, with superb image quality and consistent performance.

Another reason to enjoy the Realme 9 Pro+ is that it comes with 128GB of storage. And the eye-catching design certainly helps. Finally, the speedy Android 12 and the sophisticated Realme UI 3.0 are two of the most popular options.

The Realme 9 Pro+, on the other hand, is not a cheap smartphone. It’s priced similarly to other similar phones on the market, but the prices are more than we’d expect due to the current chip and distribution crisis and the pandemic. That’s the first thing to think about.

Then there’s the lack of ingress protection, the defunct MicroSD slot, and the underwhelming ultrawide video capture. All of these features are available in several competitive offerings.

So, at the end of this review, we can fairly say that, despite a few flaws, the Realme 9 Pro+ is a fantastic smartphone – but hey, no phone is perfect. Its cost is higher than we anticipated.

We’d recommend the Realme 9 Pro+ as soon as the company’s first price cut/promo deals go live, which we all know will be quick – Realme does this all the time. We recommend that you keep this phone on your shortlists and look into all of the available deals that fit your budget before deciding on your next smartphone.

Pros:

• AMOLED display with a refresh rate of 90Hz.
• The back is photochromatic and has a brilliant glass design.
• The battery life and recharge speed are both excellent.
• Stereo speakers with good sound.
• 5G, 128GB essential storage, gaming-capable chipset
• Day or night, this is an excellent primary camera.
• Realme UI 3.0, 3.5mm jack, Wi-Fi 6, NFC, Android 12.

Cons:

• At first, it was a little costly.
• There is no microSD card slot.
• There isn’t any splash protection.
• In videos, the ultrawide camera’s field of view is ludicrous.
• There will be no HRR gaming.