Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S Price and Review | Is it worth it?

Interested in the Redmi Note 9S? Check out our Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S Price and Review for more details.

I've been hooked to the Redmi series ever since Xiaomi Launched their first Redmi Note. And now, almost a decade later, Xiaomi has dominated the mid-range market with the latest Redmi Note 9.

The Redmi Note 9S which was launched earlier this year has quickly become a global phenomenon. This bestseller not only comes with an amazing design and stellar tech but it is also extremely affordable like all Xiaomi smartphones.

Related: Xiaomi Mi 11 Review

Although, this phone has the features and performance of a mid-range king it still lacks with respect to certain features. However, even with competition from BKK electronics and all its subsidiaries like Oppo, Vivo, and Realme, Xiaomi is still holding strong and has still managed to become a bestseller.

Now, check the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S Price and Review to see if it's worth it?

Is it the Xiaomi Redmi 9S or Redmi 9 Pro

Xiaomi uses different names for the same product in different places So, the Redmi Note 9S and the Note 9 Pro are the same devices.

Country	The Name
Malaysia	Redmi Note 9S
India	Redmi Note 9 Pro
Global Name (Everywhere else in the world)	Redmi Note 9S

Redmi Note 9S Review

Inside the box

As with most of Xiaomi's products it doesn't really come in an exciting package. On the front portion of the sturdy white box, you'll find the image of the phone, some text on the sides, and technical specs on the bottom. Inside the box, you will find:

• The Redmi Note 9S itself
• An 18W power adapter
• A Soft protective case
• USB Type-C cable
• A SIM ejection tool
• A User Guide and a Warranty card

Physical Design

This phone features Xiaomi's latest Aura Balance Design which is not only beautiful but also remarkable when it comes to the feel and ergonomics. Most importantly, it is splash-proof, protected by P2i to prevent any kind of water damage but it is not waterproof.

• It comes in three colors: Aurora Blue, Glacier White, Interstellar Black. I personally went for the Glacier white as it was the best looking out of the three and I have to say the phone is quite large. Although it felt quite massive in my hand it wasn't too difficult to use. I could easily scroll using a single hand.

• The Redmi 9S also has a smooth yet well-balanced texture that makes gripping the phone a whole lot easier. The Gorilla Glass 5 back panel gives this phone a premium look and minor scratches won't be visible, making this phone perfect for people who on the move and lead a busy life.

• The screen is fairly massive with a 6.67-inch FHD+ LCD display with punch-hole a selfie camera. The fingerprint reader is located on the power button on the side. Which is definitely a first on the Note series of phones. It does its job of unlocking the phone in a super-fast manner without any irritating lag.

• The back panel consists of an extremely shiny surface with a quad-camera setup in the middle. This camera set-up is really beautiful compared to all the other phones in the Note series.

• You will also find the combined slots for Dual nano-SIM cards as well as the microSD card. At the bottom, you will find the Type-C USB Port and the headphone jack.

The phone is quite big so that's a good thing but it can also have a disadvantage to people with really tiny hands especially since the volume button is placed unusually high. While you can still scroll with one hand, you will probably have to use both hands when you have to change the volume.

Display

The Redmi Note 9S does not have an amazing display like most of its contemporaries. 

• In fact, it comes with a huge 6.67-inch FHD+ LCD display. That’s right, it comes with an LCD and not an AMOLED.  However, the display is still reasonably good, with a 450-nit brightness and a refresh rate of 60Hz. 

While the colors are as vibrant as they would be on an AMOLED screen, the contrast, brightness levels, and the low reflectivity on the panels make up for it. So, you can read or view pictures and text even in the sunlight.

OS

• Like all Xiaomi smartphones, this one runs on MIUI 11 that’s based on Android 10. Although the MIUI is the same, it allows for more customization and functionality compared to the original stock android. You can also expect to use the MIUI 12 once it hits the market.

• The MIUI is comparatively heavier than the OG Android but this phone's performance is out of the charts. You can literally go insane with the customization and it would still perform without lags and then some.

• Some of these features are unimaginable and cannot be found on other devices. For example, you can customize navigation gestures. There is also a brilliant dark mode that comes with this device that makes it look really cool. 

• Other than tweaking gestures there features where you can customize themes. This software is really amazing, especially the file manager. I’ve had some pretty shitty experiences with some stock Android file managers. But, this one is really useful. 

• The best part is that while the Android updates are slow, the MIUI keeps updating regularly with amazing enhancements and features. Literally the best evolving user experience ever.

• But even the OS has a few irritating problems and the worst is the damn bloatware. The Xiaomi phones come pre-installed with a bunch of third-party apps. And frankly there a nuisance. Some of these can’t be uninstalled and they keep spamming the notification bar. It's a serious pain. 

Tip: When you guys buy this phone, uninstall all third-party apps that you can and fo to the permissions settings and turn off all the permissions for the ones you can. Might take you while. But, although the bloatware is irritating, the user experience will be worth it.

The Redmi Note 9S is a Performance Beast

A true performance beast, the Redmi Note 9S comes with an 8nm Snapdragon 720G chipset that performs without the slightest purr, lag, or glitches. The RAM options are 4 or 6GB LPDDR4x and a storage of 64GB or 128GB with UFS2.1 flash storage. And, of course, the amazing graphics are taken care of by the Adreno 618 GPU.

• I’d say go for the 6GB RAM along with the maximum 128GB storage Because with this phone your paying purely for the performance. 

• As mentioned earlier, the MIUI is an amazing Skin, But you can chalk up the beast-like performance of this phone to the amazing chipset and the graphics card and the RAM that supports it.

You can run the heaviest of the heaviest apps and you wouldn’t find a stutter. So, go nuts with a Call of Duty marathon, this phone was literally built for it with the combination of the battery and the Snapdragon.

A Quad-Camera Set-up

This smartphone comes with a versatile quad-camera setup and including the selfie camera, it has a total of 5. The four cameras on the back are as follows: 

• A 48 MP primary camera
• An 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera
• A 5MP macro sensor
• A 2MP depth sensor. 

• The camera is not the best nor is it bad, it alright. Like seriously, it's unbelievably average. The camera can get the job done with the ultra-wide and portrait modes. But you will find grainy images every now and then, especially in low light.

• It does have some good features, for example, a pro mode which shoots detailed photos in the portrait mode, ultra-wide and macro mode. This pro mode is part of the camera app and it also works in video mode. The colors are really good as Xiaomi as incorporated a soft color science and due to a boost in the resolution, you will find that the macro camera is pretty amazing.

• Interestingly enough, the Redmi 9S can record in 4k at 30fps and slow-motion videos at 960fps. 

Overall, it's a very average camera setup. It's not even close to its predecessor which has 64MP and definitely can’t come close to brands like Samsung and OnePlus in the camera department. This is a pure performance phone.

Redmi Note 9: Adequate Audio

This smartphone comes with a single (bottom opening) speaker, a 3.5mm headphone jack, 2 microphones (for noise cancellation), and a Smart PA.

• The audio out is pretty decent when you connect a pair of headphones, there no hiss or unusual sounds. The speaker at the bottom, however, is good enough and loud enough with decent mids but lacking when it comes to bass. 

• Most flagships these days come with a dual stereo speaker system so it was pretty disappointing to find this phone wasn’t equipped with it. 

• When it comes to Bluetooth wireless earbuds and headphones, the phone can output with Qualcomm’s Aptx, AptxHD and LDAC. The Aptx is high-resolution wireless audio, so it definitely won’t disappoint as long as you have the right wireless headphone.

It also comes with 2 microphones for noise canceling. The two microphones' active noise canceler uses two microphones and one speaker to feedback the destructive signal for canceling. So, you can expect some clear audio to be transmitted. The Redmi Note 9S has a Smart Pa which amplifies sound significantly and improves playback quality while protecting speakers from damage at high volume levels.

Battery Life of the Redmi Note 9S

The Redmi Note 9S is very unusual when it comes to battery performance. Don’t get me wrong, the phone has a 5,020mAh cell that is more than enough to last you around 30 hours with heavy use.

• Especially when combined with the 8nm chipset, you can definitely expect some amazing battery life. 

• You can play games like call of duty and use heavy applications for hours on end and you’d still be left with at least 40% at the end of the day.

Unfortunately, while the battery is so amazing, the charging speeds suck.

• The Redmi Note 9S only supports a measly 18W. So it’ll literally take you about 2.2 hours to charge the phone from zero and that honestly requires a mind-numbing amount of patience these days.

However there is some good news, Xiaomi will release a version with a faster 33W charger. With which you can expect a faster-charging speed. But, it might only cut it down to 1.4 to 1.5 hours.

Redmi Note 9S Price

The Redmi Note 9S launched at USD199 and for the price, it was one of the best of not the best phones available. While you can still buy the phone from Amazon and DHgate, the phone is not in production and so the prices fluctuate a lot.

Here are prices of the phone in different places,

Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S price in Singapore -  SGD 275

Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S price in Philippines - PHP 10,500

Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S price in India - INR 14,000

The Redmi Note 9S is still worth it for the prices in the respective countries. But going for a newer model will be better thanks to software support.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S Price and Review - Final Thoughts

For the price, the Redmi Note 9S is definitely worth it. There is true value for money at some level. If you're expecting an amazing camera and display, you will be disappointed and you're frankly asking for way too much.

The Redmi Note 9S has definitely carved its own space in the mid-range market as it offers amazing performance which is rare. Usually, phones have somewhat equal specs but it's very rare to find one with performance and battery that punches way above its weight.

With this phone, you are paying for the performance, audio, and battery. The OS is amazing with unbelievable customizations. The display is adequate and the camera could have been a lot better. All in all worth the buy, especially for the price and performance.

Pros

• Performance
• Battery
• Audio

Cons

• Camera can be better
• Display could have been a lot better

Price

This smartphone is priced at around USD199.99

Redmi Note 9S vs Redmi Note 10S

The Redmi Note 9S is still a popular low-end smartphone, even though the Redmi Note 10S has been out and the Redmi Note 11S will launch soon. The reason for the Redmi Note 9S's popularity was because the Redmi Note 10S was not a complete upgrade.  

The older Redmi Note 9S features a faster and more efficient Snapdragon 720G processor compared to the new Note 10S's Mediatek Helio G95. The performance difference can be around 10% more in favor of the Note 9S. 

The Note 9S also has a slightly better screen-to-body ratio at 84.5% compared to 83.5% on the Note 10S. But the display quality on the Note 10S is much better as it uses an AMOLED panel compared to LCD on the Note 9S.

Another area where the Note 9S is better is battery life, the slightly bigger battery, and more efficient processor, the Note 9S has significantly better battery life. But the Note 10S can almost charge twice as fast. 

Overall, the Note 10S has some good upgrades, but it also had to make some compromises, which made the Note 9S lucrative for users that wanted the best performance and battery life. In the end, the choice is more of a personal preference for users as both are excellent low-end smartphones.

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Also Read:

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• Xiaomi Phone Prices in Singapore