The Realme 9i 5G has officially launched in India as the most affordable 5G phone by Realme India. Realme launched the 9i 4G earlier this year and now the company has announced its 5G version. Realme has gone for a striking new look for the Realme 9i 5G with the rear panel having a shimmering effect reminiscent of CDs. Realme 9i 5G also happens to be Realme’s most affordable 5G phone in India but is that all this phone is capable of and does it even have a well-rounded feature set? That’s what we will find in this article where we compare the Realme 9i 5G vs Poco M4 Pro 5G based on its specifications and features.
Realme 9i 5G
The Realme 9i 5G starts at Rs 14,999 for the base variant with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage and Rs 16,999 for the 6GB+128GB storage option. On the other hand, we have the Poco M4 Pro priced starting at Rs 14,999 for the 4GB+64GB model, followed by Rs 16,999 for the 6GB+128GB variant and Rs 18,999 for the 8GB+128GB option.
Poco M4 Pro
The Realme 9i 5G has a flat-edge design and doesn’t have the usual type of camera island on the back. Instead, each of its three cameras has an individual cutout in the rear panel, likely to maintain its shimmering effect. It is being offered in two colours: Metallica Gold and Rocking Black. It measures 8.1mm in thickness and weighs 187 grams.
Meanwhile, the Poco M4 Pro 5G has a back panel that tapers towards the edges and has a large camera island with the brand’s name. The Poco M4 Pro is also IP53 rated which makes it resistant to dust and splashes of water. However, it isn’t as lightweight and slim as the Realme 9i 5G, measuring 8.8mm and weighing 195 grams.
The Realme 9i 5G and the Poco M4 Pro 5G, both feature a 6.6-inch display that offers Full HD+ resolution and support for a 90Hz refresh rate. The display on the Poco M4 Pro 5G is protected by a layer of Gorilla Glass 3 while the Realme 9i 5G has Panda Glass protection. Another difference is that the Realme 9i 5G has a dated waterdrop notch while the Poco M4 Pro 5G has a punch-hole notch in the top centre.
Both the Realme 9i 5G and the Poco M4 Pro 5G are powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 810 chipset with an octa-core CPU. The Realme 9i 5G is available with upto 6GB RAM and 128GB storage while the Poco M4 Pro 5G is being offered with upto 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. Both phones also support a microSD card of upto 512GB for storage expansion.
The Realme 9i 5G has a single speaker unit while the Poco M4 Pro 5G has a stereo speakers setup. Both phones also have a power button that doubles up as a fingerprint reader and a 3.5mm audio jack.
Both the Realme 9i 5G and the Poco M4 Pro 5G come equipped with a 5,000mAh battery. The Realme 9i 5G supports 18W charging speeds while the Poco M4 Pro 5G supports 33W fast charging out-of-the-box.
Realme has equipped the 9i 5G with a 50MP main camera with an f/1.8 aperture, a 2MP macro camera and a depth sensor. On the front, there’s an 8MP selfie camera. Both the front and rear cameras can shoot in 1080p at 30FPS.
In comparison, the Poco M4 Pro 5G has a 50MP main camera alongside an 8MP ultra-wide camera. There’s a 16MP front-facing camera as well which can record in 1080p at 30FPS. The rear camera can record in 1080p at 60FPS.
The Realme 9i 5G really puts 5G at the forefront and combines it with a decent feature set. It’s got a unique design and is slim and lightweight than the Poco M4 Pro 5G. However, the Poco M4 Pro 5G has a strong set of secondary and selfie cameras which are more practical in daily use than the 2MP macro camera on the Realme 9i. Also, Poco M4 Pro can do full HD video recording at 60FPS too! Another area where the Realme 9i lacks is that it only offers 18W charging speeds while the Poco M4 Pro supports 33W fast charging. Now it remains to be seen how the Realme 9i fares in daily use and whether it can offer a decent camera performance, something which we will be addressing in our full review soon.