Xiaomi Redmi 9T Review – The Baseline Of A Good Phone

The Xiaomi Redmi 9T sets an important standard- how much should a budget-priced phone be able of doing? Gone are the days of a number pad connected to a black and white screen with a phone antenna being the idea of a “basic phone”. At little over RM500, this phone is a great standard for what the most basic functions of a smartphone in the year 2021 are.

International fans can pick up the Xiaomi Redmi 9T with a special NFC variant, the Malaysian market is only receiving the non-NFC variant, which is what is being reviewed here.

Xiaomi Redmi 9T (4GB RAM +64GB, RM599, 6GB RAM + 128GB, RM699)

Appearance:

One of the big problems with phones is the over-tendency to appear grown up. A lot of phones almost seem to abhor any kind of bright colors, afraid that it somehow reflects poorly on their product. The Redmi 9T doesn’t shy away from bright colors, rather embracing them instead.

The phone’s available in four different colors. These are as follows:

• Twilight Blue,
• Sunrise Orange,
• Ocean Green
• Carbon Grey,

I really like how bright most of these colors are, as they really scream fun. I’m particularly fond of our Sunrise Orange color, as I think Orange is an underused color in tech. But personal tastes aside, the cases are also smudge resistant, making sure they won’t fade after a few days of manhandling.

The Redmi 9T also bucks the trend to maintain the 3.5mm audio jack, meaning you can plug in your favorite wired headphones if you’re gaming in a public space. It’s extra great for if you’re having a long day, since you won’t have to worry about wireless headphones dying on you and you can even plug them in while charging your phone should its 6000mAh battery not be enough for you.

The Phone To Have Fun

One thing I really need to commend the Redmi 9T for is how much of it is built to withstand a night out. The back of the phone is both smudge proof and splash proof thanks to a special coating, meaning it’s more than enough to withstand the occasional party foul. On top of that, the bright colors aren’t in danger of fading away with extended use, which is an added plus.

Of course, just because it’s good for a night out doesn’t mean it’s not also good for a night in. The phone has a 6.53″ FHD display, complete with 83.4% screen-to-body ratio. This is extra good for watching your favorite shows in bed, especially when it’s a lazy saturday since you won’t have to worry about big borders making you feel like you’re getting ripped off on real estate.

On top of that the screen supports 1080 x 2340 resolutions , which is really great for a phone of this size. Images look really crisp and clear, and the phone’s smaller size means you won’t worry about burning out your retinas during the climax of a good movie.

It also only weighs in at 198g, which is great for aforementioned lazy-bed-watching. It’s not a bench press just to get this phone off the ground so you won’t be sore holding it up while you’re tucked in.

A Camera For Every Occasion

The Redmi 9T has a pretty impressive camera, complete with multiple lenses for every scenario. The front camera sports a regular 8MP camera, which is great for things like video calls or taking selfies.

The real magic, however, lies in its back camera. This sports three different lenses. complete with a 48MP main camera, as well as a 2MP Ultra Wide as well as a 2MP Macro lens.  On top of that, it also has a 2MP depth sensor, allowing for some truly wonderful shots.

The multi-lens approach is really good for this phone’s back camera, since you can take photos of everything from stunning vistas to miniatures with little to no difficulty.

That being said, the cameras are good but not great, since the main camera tends to fall apart if you try to zoom too much. That being said, it’s great for general use, as even low-light photos tend to look good.

Gaming Essentials

As a more general-use phone, the Redmi 9T won’t exactly have you playing all the latest mobile games on max settings. Still, the Qualcomm SM6115 Snapdragon 662 and the Redmi 9T’s 6000 mAh battery will see you through many of the most popular games, so it’s not like you’ll be left out. 

We tried it out with one of the most popular competitive games out right now, League of Legends Wild Rift. The game runs excellently on Medium settings, never dropping in performance during even the sloppiest of team fights. The same couldn’t be said on High settings, though, as the game would start to experience slowdowns, with the phone also heating up.

We had the same results trying out PUBG Mobile as well as Call of Duty Mobile, so it looks like the phone really isn’t meant to compete with any dedicated gaming phones. Think of the ability to play all your favorite games as but an excellent side feature in the Redmi 9T’s suite of jack-of-all-trade options.

Still, the phone’s battery really shines through in the phone’s gaming sessions, as the battery drops approximately 10% after a 40 minute Wild Rift session.

Closing Thoughts

When it’s all said and done, the Xiaomi Redmi 9T is a great phone for every day use. It’s got a little bit of everything, which is exactly what most phone owners are looking for. Better yet, it’s got a price point of under RM1000 with its 64gb variant running at RM599 and the 128gb variant running at RM699.

By all accounts, it’s a great phone considering its very affordable price point and jack-of-all-trades toolset. On top of that, it just looks good, so you’re definitely going to be the talk of the town once it’s safe to have nights out again.

Still, the lack of any specialized bells and whistles might be a turn-off, though understandably you’d probably be better off looking for a more expensive phone if that’s what you were looking for.

Review unit provided by Xiaomi 

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