First came Realme 9i. Then the company released 9, 9 Pro and 9 Pro Plus.
Before, only three devices were released under each numbered series. Last year, we had Realme 8i, 8 and 8 Pro. The year before that, we had 7i, 7 and 7 Pro.
Having more options is always good. So, Realme’s decision of having four devices in its numbered series instead of three definitely felt good at first.
However, it starts to get confusing when we take a look deep into the specs. Especially compared to pricing vs specifications.
Here’s a breakdown of each device and why things don’t quite add up.
Realme 9i
Priced at Tk21,990, the 6GB RAM and 128GB ROM version of the Realme 9i is a very decent package.
The phone is powered by the Snapdragon 680 chipset, which was a staple for smartphones priced between Tk15-20k before the dollar market became unstable.
In today’s scenario, a Tk22k-priced smartphone having 680 inside makes perfect sense. The phone also rocks a 90Hz IPS LCD panel.
The camera of the phone is also up to the mark. Even though it lacked an ultrawide sensor, the main 50MP camera captures decent shots.
As a bonus, the phone has a stereo speaker setup. Talking about the confusing specs, this is something neither Realme 9 nor Realme 9 Pro has, even though there’s a significant price difference.
Realme 9
Priced at Tk26,990, the Realme 9 that came to Bangladesh is the 4G version.
Looking at it from the outside, everything seems fine. However, diving deep, you will be surprised to notice that the phone has the same chipset as the less expensive Realme 9i.
The Realme 9 definitely has some upgrades over the 9i. Realme 9 has a 90Hz Super AMOLED panel compared to the IPS LCD panel of 9i. It comes with 8GB of RAM instead of 6GB in Realme 9i It also has a 108MP main camera with the addition of an 8MP ultrawide sensor.
However, there’s a catch.
The Snapdragon 680 only supports a maximum of 64MP and it is still not clear why a phone with a chipset that supports 64MP will come with a 108MP main camera.
The battery capacity, charging speed, storage speed and all other features are more or less similar apart from the fact that the less expensive Realme 9i has a dual stereo speaker setup while the Realme 9 only has a mono speaker.
In terms of display protection, Realme 9 comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 while 9i has Dragontrail Pro Glass.
Realme 9 Pro
Priced at Tk31,990, Realme 9 Pro was clearly meant to take the place of 8 Pro and 7 Pro for the existing Realme users. But that wasn’t the case at all.
While both the Realme 7 Pro and 8 Pro had Super AMOLED panels, the Realme 9 Pro comes with an IPS LCD panel that supports a 120Hz display refresh rate.
In terms of body size, it’s the same size as Realme 9i and slightly bigger than Realme 9.
In terms of chipset, the 5G phone has a Snapdragon 695 chipset inside compared to 8 Pro’s Snapdragon 720G chip, which is a decent upgrade.
While Realme offered a depth sensor in Realme 9i, it was dropped in both the 9 and 9 Pro models. Instead, they added ultrawide sensors. The numbers of back cameras in all three devices are the same.
The front camera also has 16MP sensors on all three phones, even though the price difference is up to Tk10,000.
Another thing to notice here is that, even though Realme 9’s Snapdragon 680 does not support 108MP resolution, the company ended up giving it a 108MP anyway. But while 9 Pro’s Snapdragon 695 5G supports 108 resolution, it ended up with a 64MP sensor from Realme.
Just like Realme 9, Realme 9 Pro also has a single speaker, even though the 10k lesser 9i has a stereo speaker setup.
Realme 9 Pro Plus
Priced at Tk39,990, Realme 9 Pro Plus is the most beefed-up phone of its 9-series. And that is also for some quite valid reasons.
Yes, we had more expectations from this phone, like a Snapdragon 778 chipset, which the GT Master Edition, priced around Tk36,990 has. But Realme didn’t provide it.
It doesn’t make Realme 9 Pro Plus a bad deal in any way. Powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 920 chipset, the phone has a very nice camera setup.
However, the display is a 90Hz Super AMOLED panel, which is the same as Realme 9, which costs Tk14,000 less than Realme 9 Pro Plus.
Also, unlike the less beefed-up version, Realme 9 Pro Plus does not have that additional flexibility of being able to increase the storage. It does not come with a microSD card slot, which has a huge bummer.
We thought that in the absence of a microSD card slot, Realme may bring the 256GB storage version. But they didn’t bring that either.
Just like Realme 9 and 9 Pro, it also lacks a depth sensor. However, the images are crisp and well-detailed enough.
All in all, the phone is good. But it could have been a lot better. And Realme 9 Pro Plus is definitely overpriced.
Conclusion
Bangladesh’s smartphone market is chock full of brands competing with each other at different price segments. We have Samsung for higher end devices, we have Oppo and Vivo for mid to mid-high tier. And then, we have Realme and Xiaomi for low and mid-range. We also have brands like Infinix, Walton and Symphony competing in the low-end.
To survive in a competitive market like this, smartphone manufacturers need to be careful with the decisions they make.
The direct competitor to Realme, according to us, is Xiaomi. Whenever Realme makes things confusing for customers, it is Xiaomi who benefits from this the most.
We believe that every brand in our country has something unique to offer, and we always try to treat each of them equally. We’re trying to help people make the best decision when it comes to value for money.
Here’s hoping Realme will serve people better with their upcoming smartphones both in terms of specs and pricing.
