realme 9i Unboxing and First Impressions

The new powerhouse battery smartphone realme 9i is officially launched in the Philippines!

Meet realme 9i

We know you want to see if this is a perfect smartphone to buy, so we're sharing our unboxing and first impressions of the realme 9i. 

In case you missed it, realme 9i features a 6.6-inch LCD 1080p+ panel with an adaptive 90Hz refresh rate, top-left punch-hole housing the 16MP f/2.1 selfie camera, 2.4GHz 6nm Snapdragon 680 octa-core processor, Adreno 610 GPU, 6G LPDDR4X RAM + 5GB virtual RAM (11GB in total), 128GB UFS 2.2 expandable storage up to 1TB, and a 5,000mAh battery capacity with USB-C 33W fast charging (up from 18W).

For the back cameras, it has a 50MP f/1.8 main shooter w/ PDAF + 2MP f/2.4 4cm macro + 2MP f/2.4 B&W + LED flash.

But, is it worth the upgrade? Let's find out!

Unboxing/Accessories

The accessories

realme 9i arrives in the familiar brand box with no product render. Inside, you get the beautiful handset, a jelly case, paper documents, the USB 33W Fast Charging wall charger, USB-C cord, and the SIM eject tool.

Despite the presence of a 3.5mm headphone jack slot, there are no included earphones.

Build Quality/Design

Prism-like design

realme 9i features a glasstic back, plastic frame, and glass front. Despite the materials used to build the handset, it feels solid and more premium for the price. While it is not immune to finger smudging, we're happy to share that it does a better job at looking cleaner. It is also much easier to wipe clean.

However, it doesn't have any kind of screen glass protection. It also has no rubber gasket in the SIM card tray for water resistance and an IP rating as well.

Triple slot tray

If these are present, realme 9i's build could be one of the best available, however, it doesn't diminish the smartphone's decency.

Moving to the design, realme 9i features coated prism-like line combinations that produce a layered and transparent look. It is available in Prism Black and Prism Blue colors, and as you can see, we are loaned with the latter.

Dazzling design!

According to realme, the rear panel went through a 5-axis CNC precision machining process called 8-layer optical coating. When hit with ample light, the rear panel reveals the vertical lines making the device dazzling and eye candy.

Big display

The transparent jelly case suits the handset perfectly without concealing the device's beautiful design.

Aforementioned, the device has a 6.6-inch 2.5D curved LCD screen with a 90Hz adaptive refresh rate, 180Hz touch sampling rate, and FHD+ 2412 x 1080 resolution at 400 ppi.

It also has a top-left punch-hole housing the 16MP f/2.1 selfie camera. The three-side bezels are also slim leaving the chin bezel a bit thick.

Beautiful display!

Just a quick word on how good its display is—realme 9i can get very bright and remains visible even under direct sunlight. The colors are punchy and matched with very good contrast. We'll talk more about the display in our full review soon.

Top & bottom

On top of the handset is a microphone. At the bottom is a USB-C flanked by a 3.5mm headphone jack slot, microphone, and grille speakers. 

On the left side are a volume rocker and a tray for dual SIM and a microSD card. While on the right is a power button doubling as the fingerprint scanner.

Left & right

If you're wondering, the handset measures 164.4 x 75.7 x 8.4 mm and weighs 190 grams. It can sit comfortably in the palms without being a bother.

At the back, we have the triple rear camera setup of 50MP f/1.8 main shooter w/ PDAF + 2MP f/2.4 4cm macro + 2MP f/2.4 B&W + LED flash. And as we know, its lone selfie shooter is a 16MP f/2.1.

We will be testing the cameras soon, so stay tuned!

realme 9i Specs

Display: 6.6-inch 2.5D curved LCD w/ 90Hz adaptive refresh rate, 180Hz touch sampling rate, FHD+ 2412 x 1080 resolution at 400 ppi

CPU: 2.4GHz 6nm Snapdragon 680 octa-core processor

GPU: Adreno 610

RAM: 6GB LPDDR4X

ROM: 128GB UFS 2.2 expandable via microSD card slot up to 1TB (dedicated)

Back Camera: 50MP f/1.8 w/ PDAF + 2MP f/2.4 4cm macro + 2MP f/2.4 B&W + LED flash

Selfie Camera: 16MP f/2.1

Battery: 5,000mAh w/ 33W Dart charging

OS: Android 11 w/ realme UI 2.0

Connectivity: WiFi 802.11 b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz/5GHz), 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.0, OTG, FM Radio, GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, dual SIM

Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic

Others: Side-mounted fingerprint sensor, face unlock, dual-mic, USB-C, Colors: Prism Black, Prism  Blue

Dimensions: 164.4 x 75.7 x 8.4 mm

Weight 190 g

Price: PHP 11,990

As of the moment

realme 9i's box

The realme 9i looks good on paper. It has an attractive build and design, decent specs, 50MP triple camera setup, huge screen, big battery, and fast charging support. 

In our further tests, we'll see how worthy of an upgrade the realme 9i is from its predecessor, given its SRP.

Don't forget that realme 9i is at PHP 1,200 off (PHP 10,790 sale price) on Shopee until May 7!

What do you think, guys?