A large 5000mAh battery gives you the power to survive a day with heavy usage. It also supports 10W fast charging.
The phone’s plastic build with a matte finish makes it look nice and feel good in the hand. It’s also not a fingerprint magnet.
The 13MP rear camera takes excellent photos in daylight. It also has extra features like Palm Shutter and Kaleidoscope for some fun effects.
Colors
The new Redmi 9A is the sixth device in Xiaomi’s “Redmi 9” family of smartphones. It comes with a large 6-inch IPS display that supports up to full HD+ resolutions (2400×1080). The panel is also protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5. It’s raised slightly above the chassis with a grooved, dampened section starting from the extreme top-left corner of the camera setup.
The rear camera has a single lens with a resolution of 13 Megapixels. This is a step down from the quad-cameras found on Xiaomi’s higher-end phones. Nevertheless, the photos taken by the Redmi 9A are still very decent, with impressive dynamic range and a good amount of detail. The front camera has a 5MP lens that offers a more modest pixel size of 1.12 micrometers.
The device runs on a sluggish MediaTek Helio G25 processor built on a 12nm node with an octa-core arrangement that has a max 2.0GHz frequency. It is paired with a PowerVR GE8320 GPU and 32GB eMMC 5.1 storage. It has 4G LTE support with dual SIMs and a dedicated memory card slot. The battery is rated at 5000 mAh and offers decent battery life.
Materials
The Redmi 9A is made from metal and plastic, with a glass panel over the display. It has a nice matte finish and feels solid in your hand. It is a good choice for those who want a well-rounded phone without spending much money.
The 6.53-inch IPS display is HD+ with a teardrop notch and a 20:9 aspect ratio. It is certified for low blue light by TUV Rheinland and offers an impressive viewing angle. The resolution is also adequate for current standards. The only downside is that the screen doesn’t support high refresh rate content.
A MediaTek Helio G25 SoC powers Xiaomi’s Redmi 9A clocked at 2GHz. It has 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. The operating system is MIUI 12, based on Android 10. The battery has a capacity of 5000 mAh and supports 10W charging.
It is equipped with a single 13MP rear camera with PDAF, an f/2.2 aperture, and 1.12-micrometer pixels. The selfie camera has a 5MP sensor and an 83-degree field of view. The camera is positioned at the top of the device.
The Redmi 9A’s audio quality is outstanding. It reproduces most frequencies correctly and does not deviate significantly from the reference line at higher frequencies. It’s an excellent choice for casual music and video fans. It is a dual smartphone so that you can use two SIM cards at the same time.
Form
The form of the device is also a bit of a departure from what we have come to expect from Redmi phones. The fingerprint sensor embedded in the power button is super-fast, and I found it to be a lot better than the one on my Xiaomi Note 9 Pro (review). On the other hand, face unlock takes a while to settle, and it can sometimes fail to recognize my face, which is a bummer since most Redmi phones have excellent face recognition capabilities.
In terms of hardware, the phone packs a pretty powerful MediaTek Helio G25 processor, which gives it good performance and responsiveness. It also features 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, which is more than enough for most users. The battery size is decent at 5000 mAh, which should allow you to use the phone for one day, even with heavy usage.
The camera on the Redmi 9A is decent for the price range. It has a single 13MP sensor for taking photos and videos with respectable image quality. For selfies, you get a 5MP snapper that has a proper 83-degree field of view. The camera also supports portrait mode and does a pretty good job at it. The front-facing flash is helpful in low-light conditions. The only downside of the camera is its lack of HDR support.
Function
The Redmi 9A has a uni-piece of polycarbonate back that acts as a frame and cover. They call it the Auro 360 design. The rear panel has a textured finish that enhances grip and prevents fingerprints. The camera module is designed to give an impression of dual cameras, with a tiny camera bump.
The phone has a 13MP image sensor at the back and a 5MP front camera. The rear camera has a pro mode that offers manual control of settings. The camera also has an 8MP ultra-wide angle lens and supports portrait mode. The front camera has a drop-notch design and can capture razor-sharp selfies. The display has a resolution of 720(H)*1600(V).
On the software side, the phone is running on Android 7.0 with Xiaomi’s custom MIUI 12. The device also supports face recognition and dual-SIM 4G LTE connectivity. The battery is a massive 5,000mAh and supports fast charging via a micro-USB port.
Compared to other phones in this price range, the Redmi 9A is relatively quick and has a good screen resolution. It can show Full HD video with no problem, and the IPS panel has a wide viewing angle. The sound quality is mediocre, however. There is a single speaker, and the audio output can be tinny at high volumes. You might need to use headphones for a better audio experience.
