If you’re looking for a budget phone that offers a lot of bang for your buck, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9t is worth a look. It has all the usual features at this price point, including a good display and a decent battery.
But the 5G support makes this handset stand out from the crowd, giving you extra speed and reliability when your mobile provider launches the new network. In addition, it’s one of the cheapest smartphones on the market that supports it, so if it’s available in your area, you should try it.
Display
The Redmi Note 9t is a budget 5G smartphone with fast performance, an impressive battery, and a clear display. It’s an excellent choice for anyone who wants to test the waters with 5G – though it does have some minor flaws, such as a low 60Hz refresh rate and a side-mounted fingerprint sensor that is glitchy when you use it.
The 6.53-inch display on the Redmi Note 9t boasts a resolution of 2340×1080, which is more than sufficient for most applications. It’s also a relatively decent colour-accurate panel, covering 97.9% of the sRGB color space.
Camera
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 t’s rear camera setup consists of a 48MP f/1.8 primary sensor, an 8 MP f/2.2 ultra-wide camera, and a 2 MP f/2.4 macro lens. It also has a 13 MP f/2.3 front camera with a punch-hole selfie camera cut into the screen.
The primary camera takes reasonably good photos with low image noise and decent contrast, especially in daylight. However, the results aren’t as impressive as expected from a phone at this price.
The camera app isn’t as intuitive as we’d like, and some shooting modes are difficult to find. We particularly struggled with the 2MP macro way, which took a few attempts to get sharp shots.
Performance
The Redmi Note 9t is a great-value phone with excellent performance and an impressive camera. It’s one of the few 5G-ready budget smartphones out there, and with a price tag that undercuts almost every other contender in the market, it’s a no-brainer to consider for your next phone upgrade.
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 9t is powered by MediaTek’s new Dimensity 800U chipset, which provides a solid combination of processing power and good battery life. Its eight-performing cores are clocked at 2.4GHz, and it depends on 4GB of RAM to keep the system running smoothly.
The processor also has a Mali-G57 MC3 GPU that’s more than capable of rendering graphics for demanding apps and games on medium settings. This is all combined with a snappy 5,000mAh battery, which lasts well for two days of average use.
Battery
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 9t packs a massive 5,000mAh battery that should quickly get you through a day of heavy use. It also supports 18W fast charging and is backed by the MediaTek Dimensity 800U chipset.
It also features a 48MP primary camera and a 2MP selfie cam. It’s a solid device that is well-built and feels comfortable to hand.
The battery is surprisingly large for such a cheap device, and it can easily last two days of heavy usage. This is an impressive result for a smartphone in this price range, and we’re glad the device has managed it.
Overall
The Redmi Note 9t is one of the best phones in its class. It offers a fantastic combination of features, connectivity, build quality, and price.
It’s also a 5G-ready device, making it particularly handy if you’ve got access to this next-gen network in your area. Combined with a big screen and good battery life, this is one of the best phones you can get for your money.
It’s a great deal of fun, but it comes with a few hit-and-miss software quirks that you’ll have to sort out to take advantage of its performance. Whether it’s per-app permissions, touch vibration feedback, or even a push and pull on the MIUI system itself, you’ll need to do some tinkering to make this smartphone work for you.
