Xiaomi Redmi 9T review

Introduction

We are thrilled to see Xiaomi making its budget phones available to the wider market, and the arrival of Redmi 9T to Europe is great news. One of the most popular and successful lineups from Xiaomi's portfolio is about to make decent sales considering the aggressive price point. This year the Redmi series will have unexpected competition from none other than Xiaomi's own Poco sub-brand. And in the case of the Redmi 9T, we have the Poco M3 in mind.

The two devices are almost identical with just a couple of small differences in the back design and the camera selection. The Redmi 9T adds an ultrawide snapper, an NFC chip (still depending on the region, though) and boasts water-repellent coating. Of course, that means a few extra bucks for the Redmi 9T, which may be worth it if you are looking for those specific features.

Xiaomi Redmi 9T specs at a glance:

• Body: 162.3x77.3x9.6mm, 198g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass 3), plastic frame, plastic back; Water-repellent coating.
• Display: 6.53" IPS LCD, 400 nits (typ), 1080x2340px resolution, 19.5:9 aspect ratio, 395ppi.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM6115 Snapdragon 662 (11 nm): Octa-core (4x2.0 GHz Kryo 260 Gold & 4x1.8 GHz Kryo 260 Silver); Adreno 610.
• Memory: 64GB 4GB RAM, 128GB 4GB RAM, 128GB 6GB RAM; UFS 2.1 - 64GB, UFS 2.2 - 128GB; microSDXC (dedicated slot).
• OS/Software: Android 10, MIUI 12.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 48 MP, f/1.8, 26mm, 1/2.0", 0.8µm, PDAF; Ultra wide angle: 8 MP, f/2.2, 120˚, 1/4.0", 1.12µm; Macro: 2 MP, f/2.4; Depth: 2 MP, f/2.4.
• Front camera: 8 MP, f/2.1, 27mm (wide), 1/4.0", 1.12µm.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 1080p@30fps; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
• Battery: 6000mAh; Fast charging 18W, Reverse charging 2.5W.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (side-mounted); FM radio; Infrared port; 3.5mm jack, NFC (market-dependant).

Putting the M3 aside, the Redmi 9T still looks like a solid entry-level solution for just around €150. The phone's standout features include its stereo loudspeakers, the 48MP main camera, the ultrawide unit, the huge 6,000mAh battery, and the water-repellent coating of the internals. They are definitely hard to come across in this price segment, especially altogether in a single handset.

Memory configurations are also generous as the phone starts at 4GB/64GB, and a dedicated microSD card slot (not shared) can bump up the storage if 64GB isn't enough for you. The chipset, on the other hand, is pretty much what you'd expect from a device in this price bracket - Snapdragon 662, which was announced a year ago and is built with not performance but power-efficiency in mind.

We already have a good idea of what to expect from the Redmi 9T given that we've reviewed the Poco M3, but we will make sure to assess the small upgrades over the M3 and if they make up for the price difference.

Unboxing the Xiaomi Redmi 9T

The handset comes in a standard box with the usual user manuals, USB-A to USB-C cable for charging and data transfer and a charging brick rated at 22.5W but the phone caps at 18W. Xiaomi often ships more powerful bricks for its budget phones because it's cheaper to manufacture one charger that can cover more models.

The box also contains a transparent silicone case for the phone which we found to be quite hard to put on. The phone fits snuggly in it.

Design and ergonomics

The back design and accents on the back is what distinguishes the Redmi 9T from the Poco M3. Otherwise, both adopt some bold design decisions, but the Poco M3 has a bit more character.

The Redmi 9T has an all-plastic build, except for the front panel, which is protected by a Gorilla Glass 3 sheet, and it's not afraid to show it. The 9T carries its patterned polycarbonate back with pride - that's one aspect it certainly shares with the Poco M3.

It has a big Redmi inscription on top and a concentric pattern across the back that leads the eye towards the camera module. It's a bit grippy and soft to touch at the same time, but it leans more towards the soft end of the spectrum. It's definitely better than glossy plastic or glass but don't expect a non-slippery surface.

Two things that make the Redmi 9T stand out from the crowd are the water-repellent coating and the dedicated microSD card slot, which isn't shared with the two SIM card slots. Of course, the water-repellent coating doesn't mean water-resistant, but it will definitely withstand some rain and the accidental drop in a puddle.

Now, the front panel boasts some thin side bezels, but the top and bottom ones are thick, as usual. The overall frontal design with a notch hasn't aged well given that the industry has already moved to punch holes, but this is easily forgivable considering the price tag of the 9T. On the other hand, the waterdrop-styled notch may be the preferred choice by some, so it's not necessarily a drawback.

Going around the sides reveals that the phone features no ridges, and the back panel hugs the entire frame since it's a unibody build. That's definitely a rare sight these days. You can't make a unibody out of glass - it calls for a plastic back, and as we said, the Redmi 9T wears it well.

It's spot-on ergonomics-wise, as well. The power button and the volume rocker are conveniently positioned within thumb's reach. No need for re-adjusting your natural grip when you need to reach them.

Redmi 9T from the side

All in all, we like the design and the overall feel of the phone. It's really refreshing to see an entry-level device not attempting to fake it 'till it makes it. The Redmi 9T really owns its entry-level status, and yet the patterned plastic back makes it stand out.

Capable 6.53-inch IPS LCD panel

The display on the Redmi 9T is identical to the one on the Poco M3, and expectedly, the results from our tests are quite similar too. This is one of the few low-budget phones with 1080p resolution. In fact, 1080p+ at that - 1080 x 2340px making up for a tall 19.5:9 aspect ratio. As we already mentioned, Gorilla Glass 3 protects the panel and features a waterdrop-style notch for the front-facing camera.

In our testing, the panel hit the advertised 400 nits when the Sunlight mode was triggered. The panel peaked at 437 nits, and when in manual mode, the display reaches 394 nits in Saturated mode and 381 nits in the default color preset.

The contrast ratio is well above the advertised 1500:1 too. Overall, that's more than the decent panel that should provide good enough visibility in most conditions. It's unrealistic to expect higher brightness from the Redmi 9T's budget display.

Display test	100% brightness
	Black,cd/m2	White,cd/m2	Contrast ratio
Xiaomi Redmi 9T	0.239	381	1594:1
Xiaomi Redmi 9T (Max Auto)	0.32	437	1366:1
Poco M3	0.252	395	1567:1
Poco M3 (Max Auto)	0.277	439	1585:1
Realme 7	0.31	457	1474:1
Realme 7 (Max Auto)	0.374	526	1406:1
Samsung Galaxy A21s	0.317	408	1287:1
Samsung Galaxy A21s (Max Auto)	0.384	491	1279:1
Samsung Galaxy A12	0.292	398	1363:1
Samsung Galaxy A12 (Max Auto)	0.349	472	1352:1
Samsung Galaxy A02s	0.23	406	1765:1
Xiaomi Redmi Note 9	0.298	370	1242:1
Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 (Max Auto)	0	466	∞

In terms of accuracy, the standard mode provides acceptable color accuracy with the average dE2000 being 4.2. Expect blue-ish whites and grays and over-the-top blues, purples and cyans. The Natural preset provides the best possible accuracy with average dE2000 as low as 1.8, but the maximum brightness in this mode is limited to 356 nits. And the whites are still a bit leaning towards blue too.

Battery life

To no one's surprise, the Redmi 9T passed our battery tests with flying colors. The huge 6,000 mAh battery and the rather efficient Snapdragon 662 chipset kept the phone running for quite a while during our screen-on and screen-off tests. You can rest assured that the phone would need charging just once in a couple of days, depending on your usage, of course. The overall score of 155h isn't only admirable but record-breaking, too.

Our battery tests were automated thanks to SmartViser, using its viSerDevice app. The endurance rating above denotes how long a single battery charge will last you if you use the Xiaomi Redmi 9T for an hour each of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily. We've established this usage pattern so that our battery results are comparable across devices in the most common day-to-day tasks. The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritty. You can check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.

Charging speed

As expected, the charging speed isn't stellar as the handset supports up to 18W charging, and it's a sizeable 6,000mAh we're dealing with here.

When charging the phone from flat, you can expect around 25% of the battery to be replenished in the first 30 minutes, while a full charge would take a whisker under 3 hours. However, it would be unfair to complain about charging times because the competition employs similar charging speeds but charge faster due to the smaller batteries they carry.

30min charging test (from 0%)

• Realme 7
  58%
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9
  31%
• Samsung Galaxy A02s
  30%
• Samsung Galaxy A21s
  26%
• Xiaomi Redmi 9T
  25%
• Samsung Galaxy A12
  20%
• Motorola Moto G9 Power
  20%

Time to full charge (from 0%)

• Realme 7
  1:05h
• Motorola Moto G9 Power
  2:19h
• Xiaomi Redmi 9T
  2:30h
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9
  2:33h
• Samsung Galaxy A02s
  2:36h
• Samsung Galaxy A12
  3:03h

Speakers

The Redmi 9T is one of the few devices to feature proper stereo loudspeakers in this price range, and the best part is that they are really nice too. The sound is full, clear and moderately loud. In our tests, the phone achieved a "Very Good" score, but we can easily rate the audio quality as excellent, especially considering the device's class. There's some slight distortion in the highs when you crank up the volume, but we can let that one slide.

Use the Playback controls to listen to the phone sample recordings (best use headphones). We measure the average loudness of the speakers in LUFS. A lower absolute value means a louder sound. A look at the frequency response chart will tell you how far off the ideal "0db" flat line is the reproduction of the bass, treble, and mid frequencies. You can add more phones to compare how they differ. The scores and ratings are not comparable with our older loudspeaker test. Learn more about how we test here.

MIUI 12 based on Android 10

Even though the phone doesn't run Android 11 out of the box, the custom MIUI 12 layer on top gives quite a bit of features and customizations. More importantly, Xiaomi has a good track record of updating its devices across the whole portfolio, and even though core Android support ends at some point, the OEM continues to deliver MIUI versions, often containing the latest Android features with some extra on the side.

This is the case with the Redmi 9T. We can't say for sure that it will get Android 11, but it most likely will. The latest MIUI 12 looks sleek, and it's highly-customizable as always. Evolved and mature as well.

The first thing to notice is the lightning-fast and accurate fingerprint reader on the side. We had zero issues with it and the additional setting to allow the phone to unlock only after pressing the button is an excellent addition. It eliminates the accidental misreadings you can have when just handling the phone.

Home screen, notification shade, Control center, general settings menu

One of the new major features is the new Control Center. Instead of having the quick toggles and notification cards all in one place, they are now found in two different shades - just as on the iPhone. Swiping down on the left side of the status bar (or from the middle of the display when on the Home screen) will show you only the notifications, and swiping from the right corner brings down the quick toggles. Some of them are customizable, but others are fixed in place like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, mobile data and flashlight. Tapping on the lower-right corner on the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi will bring up a small pop-up window for quick settings. You can always opt for the standard notification shade, but we recommend that you give the new Control Center a shot.

App drawer and app drawer settings

Another big shift is the way MIUI 12 handles app icons by default. Now instead of placing everything on the Home screen, the OS comes with an app drawer by default. The app drawer itself is also customizable and offers categories for faster searching. Speaking of which, the search bar has been placed down at the bottom of the screen for easier reach when using just one hand.

Notes, Themes, Mi Remote

Various MIUI system apps got a fresh new design while themes have been further expanded and are still a big part of the whole MIUI experience. One of the most useful system apps on the phone is the Mi Remote. It makes use of the IR blaster, which is a very rare sighting in modern smartphones, so it's a really nice bonus on such a budget device. You can set up the remote to work with most of your appliances that work with standard IR remote controls such as your TV, stereo, AC, etc.

Floating window feature

The floating window functionality is rather new and allows you to shrink one of your apps into a small, interactable floating window. The usual split screen is also available, and you can find quick shortcuts to those features in the recent apps menu. Keep in mind that not all apps support floating windows, not even all of the system apps.

For the short time we've been using the phone, we didn't find any troubling issues, hangs or bugs. The system did run a bit slower than we would like it to, but given the price bracket in which the Redmi 9T falls, it's probably acceptable.

What we found a bit more annoying is the ads that can be found in some of the system apps. Xiaomi is using apps to subsidize the price of its phones, so this is maybe a small price to pay for the ultimately cheaper device. Of course, it's quite moderate in our review unit, and other regions may have it worse.

Performance

The device employs a 2020 entry-level Snapdragon 662 chipset based on the 11nm manufacturing technology. The SoC uses an octa-core CPU divided into two clusters of cores - 4x 2.0GHz Kryo 260 Gold cores for the more demanding tasks and 4x 1.8GHz Kryo 260 Silver cores for less demanding applications and energy efficiency. The GPU on board is Adreno 610.

The handset itself comes in various memory variants. The base one holds 4GB of RAM and 64GB of expandable internal storage - this is also the review unit we got.

The other two available configurations are with either 4 or 6GB of RAM, but you get 128GB of storage in both cases.

It's important to note that the 64GB model has a UFS 2.1 memory chip while the 128GB models have UFS 2.2. The latter means faster read and write speeds, which may be reflected in the app startup times.

Here is the usual set of benchmarks to see how the phone stacks against the competition. It's mostly on par with the devices in this price range when it comes to multi-core performance but lacks single-core power.

GeekBench 5 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Realme 7
  1681
• Xiaomi Redmi 9T
  1400
• Poco M3
  1398
• Realme 7i
  1318
• Redmi Note 9
  1292
• Samsung Galaxy A21s
  1100
• Samsung Galaxy A12
  1034
• Samsung Galaxy A02s
  495

GeekBench 5 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Realme 7
  536
• Redmi Note 9
  361
• Realme 7i
  312
• Poco M3
  308
• Xiaomi Redmi 9T
  307
• Samsung Galaxy A21s
  184
• Samsung Galaxy A12
  169
• Samsung Galaxy A02s
  131

AnTuTu 8

Higher is better

• Realme 7
  292828
• Redmi Note 9
  200414
• Xiaomi Redmi 9T
  177917
• Poco M3
  177904
• Realme 7i
  172933
• Samsung Galaxy A12
  107189
• Samsung Galaxy A21s
  107157
• Samsung Galaxy A02s
  90811

GFX Manhattan ES 3.0 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

• Realme 7
  54
• Xiaomi Redmi 9T
  19
• Poco M3
  19
• Realme 7i
  19
• Samsung Galaxy A21s
  16
• Samsung Galaxy A12
  12
• Samsung Galaxy A02s
  9.3

GFX Manhattan ES 3.0 (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Realme 7
  42
• Realme 7i
  32
• Samsung Galaxy A21s
  28
• Samsung Galaxy A12
  19
• Xiaomi Redmi 9T
  17
• Poco M3
  17
• Samsung Galaxy A02s
  16

And since the entry-level chipset is paired with a relatively high 1080p+ resolution for this class, gaming performance suffers. It's debatable, however, how many of the phone's buyers will play demanding games, so opting for the 1080p+ screen, which might be better for web browsing than a 720p device.

Four cameras on the back but only three usable

The Redmi 9T has almost identical camera setup as the Poco M3 but adds an ultrawide unit into the mix. The main shooter is still 48MP with f/1.8 aperture and 1/2.0" sensor size and the ultrawide is a standard for the mid-range segment - 8MP with f/2.2 aperture and 1/4.0" sensor size. The advertised field of view is 120˚, which is rather wide.

The other two cameras are both 2MP but only one of them is actually usable. It's dedicated to macro photography while the other one is used for depth sensing when taking portrait stills.

On the front, we have a small 8MP, 1/4.0" sensor paired with f/2.1 aperture.

Camera

The camera app hasn't hanged a lot so it's business as usual. Swiping left and right cycles through the different camera modes, additional settings for each camera mode can be found on top of the viewfinder and the hamburger menu opens up a couple of other settings and the general settings menu for the camera app.

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Default camera app

Interestingly, the macro camera doesn't get a dedicated mode of its own and it can be found by switching to Photo mode and tapping on the hamburger menu in the upper-right corner of the viewfinder.

Daylight samples

Main camera

The Redmi 9T's daylight performance is almost identical to the Poco M3's since they both share the same software, camera and chipset. But since the Poco M3's samples were taken in different and more challenging winter conditions, there are some slight differences in the photos.

Main camera daylight samples

In any case, we found the overall daylight performance of the phone quite good. There's some noticeable noise here and there, mostly in the sky or homogeneous background. However, the amount of sharpness and detail makes up for a really nice photo. The colors are a bit warmer than they should be and the contrast-y look look is typical for most Xiaomi midrangers. And although not perfect, the dynamic range is more than good. Even on a bright sunny day, sharpness and detail deteriorate fast when you go indoors.

Main camera daylight samples

Switching over to the 48MP mode won't bare any benefits. They are actually noisy and detail isn't as good as on the standard 12MP photos. No point in using it.

48MP daylight samples

Ultrawide camera

The ultrawide camera's rendering may seem similar to main camera at first but don't expect the same level of quality. There's noticeable edge softness, noise is more prominent in the photos while sharpness and detail are quite low. Colors, contrast and white balance look the same as on the main camera, though.

Ultrawide camera samples

Perhaps for casual social media posting, the ultrawide snapper is good enough and it may sound surprising, but it's pretty much on par with the competition. The ultrawide cameras more often than not are deeply flawed even in considerably more expensive phones.

Low-light samples

Main camera

It's unrealistic to expect good nighttime performance from a phone this cheap but it's hard to say that most of the photos taken after dusk are usable, even for social media. Colors are washed out, detail is nonexistent and noise is aplenty. To be fair, the pictures do look clearer than we anticipated and there's no fogginess. Our main issue with the low-light samples is the fact that they are dark and underexposed while highlights are often blown.

Main camera low-light samples

However, the dedicated Night mode can go a long way. It takes just a second or two to make the needed images and stack them but the results are far from what you can achieve with the standard photo mode. The noise-suppression algorithm is far from perfect as it sometimes washes away fine detail but it does keep the noise well under control. Colors look more lively, there's considerably more detail in the shadows and highlights and there's a touch of added sharpness that makes the images look a lot better. More importantly, the Night mode balances out the shadows and highlights making the stills sensibly brighter.

Night mode samples

Ultrawide camera

Sadly, the same cannot be said about the ultrawide's camera performance. Its performance is barely enough to make decent daylight photos, let alone nighttime ones. Images are underexposed, lack dynamic range, don't offer any detail and are extremely soft. They are generally blurry. It's hard to recommend the ultrawide snapper for low-light photography. And there's no Night mode to fix the issues.

Ultrawide low-light samples

If you are done with the pixel-peeping, get ready for some more in our photo compare tool.

Xiaomi Redmi 9T vs Redmi Note 9 and the Samsung Galaxy A21s in our Photo compare tool

Macro samples

The main drawback of the macro cameras in general is the lack of autofocus and the limited resolution of just 2MP. There are a lot of factors that need to be weighed in when taking macro stills. The lighting conditions must be ideal, the subject should be standing still and you need to guess the right focusing distance. Taking a couple of shots often helps but don't expect great results in terms of sharpness, detail, colors and overall good performance indoors.

Macro samples

Portraits

It seems that Xiaomi is utilizing the extra depth sensor quite well because portrait shots are looking great for this price bracket. The subject is always well-exposed even in more challenging conditions while detail is aplenty. Noise can be observed in places and as the light drops, the images start to get a bit soft. Colors are natural, though, and we were particularly impressed by the edge detection - it looks very convincing.

Portrait samples

Selfies

The selfies look a bit dull and turn the subject's skin too white. Detail is lacking and there's plenty of noise too. In more complex scenes, the subject's face can remain underexposed and soft. In ideal conditions, though, there's a good amount of detail. The portrait mode looks a bit fuzzy around the edges, which is to be expected.

Selfies: Normal • Portrait

Video recording

The smartphone is only capable of doing up to 1080p videos and up to 30fps so as expected, no 4K footage. Electronic image stabilization is also out of the question so your videos will appear shaky no matter what.

As far as the Full HD video quality goes, it's mostly what you'd expect from a low-end smartphone. Detail and sharpness are lacking, the dynamic range is narrow as you can see most of the buildings in the distance are clipped while trees cast a dark shadow with missing detail in it. Only colors are popping and contrast is good.

The ultrawide's video processing is almost identical but it offers even less details.

Once you are done with the real-life video samples, take a look at our dedicated video compare tool to see how it stacks against the competition.

1080p: Xiaomi Redmi 9T vs Realme 7 and the Samsung Galaxy A21s in our Video compare tool

Competition

Depending on where you are based, the low-end smartphone market could be full of choices, or it could be quite limited. But there are some mainstream offerings that stand out from the crowd and can challenge the Redmi 9T, which shapes up to be an excellent all-rounder for the asking price. The Poco M3 was a great all-rounder back in December last year, but the smartphone market moves fast, so we have a couple of new competitors to go through.

Obviously, the first alternative to consider is the Redmi 9T's close sibling - the Poco M3. The latter packs pretty much everything the 9T has but misses on the NFC chip and the ultrawide camera. As we've already established in the review, the ultrawide camera might not be worth the extra cash the 9T wants, but if the NFC chip is on top of your priority list for its use for contactless payments, the 9T is the only choice.

Keep in mind that the Redmi 9T sells for around €140 while the Poco M3's price has gone down quite a bit since December 2020, so it would now set you back just €120.

Xiaomi Poco M3 • Realme 7i • Samsung Galaxy A21s • OnePlus Nord N100

A very close competitor from Samsung's camp would be the Galaxy A21s. It hovers between the €150-160 range and offers comparable hardware. Its main advantage is the overall camera performance and the fact that it runs a more familiar One UI software. Even though battery life is excellent, it falls short compared to the 9T's huge 6,000 mAh unit. The Galaxy A21s also has excellent loudspeakers, a higher-res screen, reverse charging, snappier chipset and offers twice the base storage and RAM.

The Realme 7i is a viable option as well, given its aggressive pricing and similar hardware. And despite the Realme 7i being pricier (€160-170), it lacks the 1080p+, 90Hz display, stereo loudspeakers, and has a considerably smaller 5,000 mAh battery. Also, the 7i misses on some nifty goodies like NFC, infrared port and FM radio.

Lastly, the OnePlus Nord N100 may seem a bit pricey for this list with a starting price of €189, but you can find one for way less outside of OnePlus' official web store. We've seen a couple of offers for around €140 brand new. This puts it in a competitive position against the Redmi 9T. Even with an inferior Snapdragon 490, the handset offers an arguably smoother experience with its 90Hz display, which in turn has a lower resolution at 720p.

The clean-ish Android could be a deciding factor for some, while the smaller battery can be a deal-breaker to others. Still, the Nord N100 is the only handset in this price range that also offers dual stereo speakers, NFC and FM radio all at once. The good news is that the NFC chip isn't market-dependent.

Verdict

Despite the relatively higher price of the Redmi 9T compared to the Poco M3, it still holds well against the competition due to several key features that are hard to come across in a single package. We are talking adequate SoC performance, 4GB/64GB base memory, an excellent set of stereo speakers, a high-resolution display, humongous 6,000 mAh battery, IR port, FM radio and dedicated microSD card slot.

Yes, some of the devices top the Redmi 9T with a better overall camera quality or smoother 90Hz displays, but if you find yourself in this price bracket, you are most likely looking for the most practical features, and the Redmi 9T seems to touch all bases. High refresh rate displays are nice, but they also belong to higher-class devices.

Pros

• Large 6.53" screen with 1080p resolution
• Standout design
• Record-breaking battery life
• Excellent stereo loudspeakers
• Generally good main camera performance
• Standalone microSD, IR port, FM radio, reverse wired charging and NFC (market-dependant)

Cons

• Occasional UI lag
• Unsatisfactory ultrawide camera performance
• Mediocre video recording

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