review with features, price and specifications

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 9T is the latest member of the Redmi Note family, providing 5G connectivity as the main asset. After a great taste on the palate with the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S and Redmi Note 9 Pro, the newcomer faces the challenge of continuing to conquer the consumer, this time with a MediaTek processor.

With a renewed design, a rather ambitious battery and MIUI 12 under the hood, this Xiaomi Redmi Note 9T goes through our review board. We already expect the proposal to be more than interesting, although throughout the analysis we will see what stands out and what has been left out.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 9T tech. Sheet

A large mobile, but comfortable in hand

With a weight of almost 200 grams and a height of over 16 centimeters, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9T is a great smartphone. However, its raw polycarbonate finish and rounded corners make it quite ergonomic. The mobile does not slip, it does not get dirty easily and, even if at first glance you can see that it is a cheap terminal, the feeling in hand is good.

The module now has a new round shape, more in the style of the POCO X3 NFC and Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite than that of its brothers in the Redmi Note family. If we turn it over, we see a small hole in the front, in the upper left corner of the terminal. The lower bezel is significantly larger than the rest, although the frontal use is carried out for the price range in which the terminal is framed.

On the right side we have a somewhat uncomfortable fingerprint reader, as it slightly scratches the fingertip, in addition to lightly dancing. The left side houses the tray for the SIM card, the lower part houses the USB Type-C, the lower speaker and the headphone jack, while in the upper part we found an infrared emitter.

The screen of the Redmi Note 9T measures 6.53 inches, with the typical shading of cheap LCD panels and a bit sharp, but sufficient sharpness. Has a slight supersaturation even after adjusting the panel in the menu. I personally prefer this little one to reinforce color on an LCD panel, although it will be completely up to the user if this is more or less appreciated. The brightness outside is somewhat low, although one can distinguish the content without too many problems.

Regarding the sound, we appreciate that delivered with a dual stereo speaker, the lower one and a small speaker located on the upper frame. However, the quality is fair enough, lacks bass and a bit more strength. Stereo sound is mainly noticeable the game, with the front speaker pointed at us. Thanks to software, we can reinforce the sound with headphones, which is correct.

A MediaTek compatible with an abundant and good battery

To achieve 5G connectivity at a low cost, Xiaomi opted for the MediaTek Dimensity 800U. It is a processor made in a 7 nanometer process, with a maximum frequency of 2.4 GHz in its most powerful cores. It comes with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal memory. The performance of the terminal is more than enough for daily use, although in demanding games, such as “Genshin Impact”, it constantly costs more than 25 FPS with average graphics.

The main drawback is the 4 GB of RAM which, due to the high resource consumption of MIUI 12, causes applications to close too frequently. Despite these drawbacks, for average users the performance is more than worthy, beyond a certain specific delay of the personalization layer and small hardware limitations.

	XIAOMI REDMI NOTE 9T	REALM 7	REALM 6	XIAOMI POCO X3	OPPO A91	SAMSUNG GALAXY A51	XIAOMI REDMI NOTE 9 PRO	HUAWEI P40 LITE
PROCESSOR	Dimensity 800U	Helio G95	Helio G90	Snapdragon 732G	Helio P70	Exynos 9610	Snapdragon 720G	Kirin 810
RAM	6 GB	8 GB	8 GB	6 GB	8 GB	4GB	6 GB	6 GB
GEEKBENCH 5.0 (single / multiple)	497 / 1.1729	528/1 600	512 / 1.670	566 / 1,787	297 / 1,327	347 / 1.338	571 / 1.793	–
3D BRAND (Sling Shot)	4.121	3,649	3.145	3,780	1,249	2.031	–	–
PCMARK WORK	10.362	14.065	10,840	8,299	7.396	5.399	8.040	7,808

As for the software, we have MIUI 12 and Android 10. The Redmi Note 9T comes with its good chunk of games, preinstalled apps, and advertising. We can uninstall most of them and remove the ad, which involves extra effort for the user, especially with the ad issue. MIUI 12 is a customizable ROM, aesthetically well finished and full in functions, but each time it gets heavier and heavier, making the user experience less brilliant than it could.

Where the Redmi Note 9T really shines is in the autonomy section. If we abuse WiFi and low light we can exceed nine hours of screen time, even if with more intense use (photography, 4G, high brightness), it will remain nearly seven hours. Very good numbers added to an 18W fast charge which fully charge the mobile in two hours.

Three cameras in the back, even if you’re gonna wear one

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 9T has a 48-megapixel main sensor, accompanied by two cameras that serve more as infill than real support. The other two sensors are a macro and a 2-megapixel depth sensor which, as we’ll see later, doesn’t invite us too much to use them. The important thing is that the main camera is compliant, but let’s take a look at the camera app first.

The Xiaomi camera application is quite complete in functions, although a bit slow in operation. We can control HDR, enable portrait mode, night mode, show grid, etc. Likewise, we have built-in artificial intelligence functions, as well as Google Lens. Full, but not very fast, is the best summary for an application from which one can ask for little more in terms of functionality.

Photography with the main camera

The results from the main camera are acceptable, although a small step behind expectations. The dynamic range is sufficient, without excessive burns. You will need to activate HDR if you don’t want to burn, something important since, by default, it is disabled. The difference in bright light scenes is noticeable if we leave it on.

As soon as the light falls, the Redmi Note 9T starts having a bad time. The white balance tends to warm up without correction of any kind, details decrease and noise appears. Luckily, with portrait mode we can save the photo, obtaining more detail (although more artificial) and reducing noise.

Portrait mode is aided by a two-megapixel depth sensor, allowing for decent cropping of people and objects. The bokeh is somewhat artificial, noting that we are faced with an economical terminal. However, this is one way that we will use repeatedly after seeing the results.

The selfie is fair enough, with an even more artificial portrait mode and a finish with the details on the skin. If we have good lighting conditions it doesn’t have much of a problem, but indoors or at night the small front sensor suffers, albeit within the margins expected in a mid-range.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 9T, the opinion of Xataka Android

The Redmi Note 9T is an interesting concept: a fairly inexpensive 5G mobile, with a good battery and sufficient performance for average users. The Dimensity 800U has proven to be a worthy platform, both in terms of raw CPU power and performance: it’s not the most powerful in the midrange, but it delivers.

As points for improvement, we find the lack of ultra wide angle, the photographic quality of the main sensor and a better polish of MIUI 12, which continues to give the strange attraction, which the 4 GB of RAM does not help either. Despite this, a recommended option for users who want a 5G mobile for little money.

The terminal was provided for testing by Xiaomi. Can inquire about our business relations policy.