Xiaomi has officially announced the Redmi Note 9S for the global market. As reported previously, the device is a rebranded version of the Redmi Note 9 Pro smartphone, which was unveiled in India earlier this month. The Redmi Note 9S ships with a 6.67-inch dot notch display, 48MP quad rear cameras, Snapdragon 720G chipset, and 3D curved design with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 layer both on the front and back. The phone is also backed by a massive 5,020mAh battery that supports 18W fast charging support with a compatible charger bundled inside the box. Software-wise, the Redmi Note 9S runs Android 10-based MIUI 11 out of the box. Basically, the device is the same as the Redmi Note 9 pro but with just some minor differences. The announcement finished with the unveiling of an MFF 2020 Limited Edition of the Redmi Note 9S. Only 2020 units will be made of the exclusive paint job that will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Mi Fan Festival this year. You can choose between Aurora Blue, Glacier White, and Interstellar Grey.
Price and availability
The Redmi Note 9S 4GB+64GB version arrives in at RM 799 in Malaysia, while the 6GB + 128GB version will retail for RM 899. The 4GB variant will be sold exclusively on Lazada and Shopee, while the 6GB version will be available on all channels in the country. In Singapore, the Redmi Note 9S 4GB+64GB version will retail for SGD 299 while the 6GB + 128GB version will retail for SGD 349. As for the Thailand market, the 4GB + 64GB variant will sell for 6,499 THB while the 6GB + 128GB version will adopt a retail price of 7,999 THB. For the global market, according to the company, the Redmi Note 9S will be available on AliExpress for USD 249 for the 4GB +64GB variant while the 6GB+128GB version will be available for $279. The models will be available for the first time for the global market on April 7.
Design and display
In terms of dimension, the Redmi Note 9S measures 165.7 x 76.6 x 8.8mm, and its weight is 209 grams. As stated, the Note 9S has the same design as the Redmi Note 9 Pro, and this includes a side-mounted fingerprint, USB-C port, 3.5mm audio jack, and an IR blaster. The handset also features an Aura Balance design, P2i splash-proof coating, bottom-firing speakers, and dual microphones with noise cancellation.
The Redmi Note 9S features a 6.67-inch IPS LCD with a Full HD+ resolution of 2280×1080 pixels. The display is covered by a Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection, and that extends to the rear panel giving the entire body some ruggedness. Along with the 20:9 aspect ratio, it has 84.5 percent screen-to-body ratio at 395 PPI density and provides 450 maximum brightness.
Front and rear cameras of the Redmi Note 9S
For photography, the Redmi Note 9S packs a quad-camera setup headlined by a 48MP Sony sensor with 1.6um 4-in-1 Super Pixels and f/1.79 aperture. There is also a 119-degree ultra-wide-angle 8MP lens with f2.2 aperture. The phone also packs a 5MP Macro lens with auto-focus and, finally, a 2MP depth sensor.
At the front, there is a 16MP selfie shooter house in the display punch-hole. The selfie shooter comes with features such as AI portraits, Panorama selfie, palm shutter, and AI scene detection. Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S can record 4k videos at 30fps while the Full HD videos at 30fps, 60fps, and 120fps. You can only record Full HD videos at 30fps from the 16MP selfie sensor. It provides 10 x Digital Zoom, Auto Flash, Face detection, Touch to focus, Exposure compensation, ISO control, and Phase Detection autofocus as for camera features.
Processor, Battery, and Software
Under the hood, the Redmi Note 9S is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G processor. The SoC was recently released by Qualcomm, and it is built on an 8nm processor. It offers several performance upgrades over the Snapdragon 730G launched last year. The Note 9S shares the same processor with the Redmi Note 9 Pro and Redmi Note 9 Pro Max. The processor is paired with 4GB/ 6GB of RAM, as well as 64GB and 128GB of storage. The storage is expandable up to 256GB via a microSD card.
As for the software, the phone runs MIUI 11 latest layer based on the Android 10 operating system. Furthermore, Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S is backed by a 5,020 mAh massive battery that can support up to 18W for quick charging. Unfortunately, there is no option for wireless charging. The 5020 mAh battery of the phone offers up to 29 hours for talk time and up to 492 hours for standby time.