Xiaomi Redmi 9i Sport

Xiaomi Redmi 9i Sport Review, Pros and Cons – The Redmi 9i Sport is a rebooted version of last year’s Redmi 9A, but the phone offers better storage capacity at an affordable price. As it is a budget smartphone, it offers a good cost-benefit ratio, but at the same time, there are many other players on the market. The same thing applies to the specs sheet as there are no significant changes.

But it is expected that the Redmi 9i Sport will sell like crazy in the Indian smartphone market from 28 September. The main selling point of this phone would be its long-lasting battery and robust storage unit. With that, the 9i Sport smartphone comes with a decent chipset and battery. So let’s start the detailed review of the Xiaomi Redmi 9i smartphone.

Xiaomi Redmi 9i Sport Review

Highlights

  1. The phone features a 6.53 inches IPS LCD display that offers HD+ resolution with support for 400 nits brightness rating.
  2. The Redmi 9i smartphone is equipped with an inexpensive 12nm MediaTek Helio G25 chipset, while the visual aspect is managed via the PowerVR GE8320 GPU.
  3. The rear camera features a 13MP camera with LED flash and a 5MP selfie lens on the front.
  4. The software end comes with the blessing of the MIUI 12 interface with Android 10 OS on top.
  5. Last but not least, you are getting a Li-Po 5000 mAh battery that achieves standard charging support of 10W.

Design and Display

The design look similar to the Redmi 9A Sport phone is nearly identical from head to toe; whether it’s color matching or storage, everything looks similar. But at the same time, you’ll be blessed with decent color choices like Carbon Black, Coral Green, and Metallic Blue. Each of them offers an impressive design layout.

However, the company produces a constructed plastic that may seem a little cheaper than the competition. Hopefully, the eyeshadow option saves the day and provides aesthetic looks to users. After that, the Xiaomi Redmi 9i Sport smartphone has a thick construction due to the huge battery, while the safety features are controlled via pin and patterns.

The waterdrop notch display highlights the display’s colors and contrast, while the 400-nit brightness rating ensures an excellent outdoor experience. However, HD+ resolution on the IPS LCD panel may hurt your feelings as it may not support the vivid colors. Also, you won’t get the usual protection from ginning glass on your screen.

Memory and Internal

The hardware section arrives with the 12nm MediaTek Helio G25 chipset that may not have the best processing or impressive features to support advanced gaming. Even so, the Redmi 9i Sport is suitable for performing daily tasks and you can surf the Internet without any hassle. Additionally, octa-core processors achieve up to 4x 2.0 GHz speed.

The visual rendering coming through the PowerVR GE8320 GPU may be average, but you can still play light games without any problem. However, the heating problem can often be seen. As for the end of the software, the MIUI 12-based Android-10 might look a bit old-fashioned compared to the competition, as others offer Andriod 11 while Android 12 will be out soon.

But the worst part is that there is bloatware that will drastically decrease the user experience. Fortunately, you can remove most of them. On the other hand, you can choose this phone in two storage options of 64GB and 128GB of eMMC 5.1 memory with the same 4GB of RAM. At the same time, the company deploys a dedicated micro-SD slot in the SIM tray to extend the limits.

Camera

The Xiaomi Redmi 9i Sport smartphone Camera settings in software rendering may disappoint you to some extent as photography is one of the biggest downfalls. But at the same time, the AI software makes the photos a little decent in terms of portrait bokeh effects. Color saturation can sometimes look like AI renderings. But you’ll have a hard time capturing natural phones.

In daylight, with adequate lighting, you can capture decent-level photos. Even so, you’ll notice grain while camera quality is unpredictable. The 13MP primary snapper provides ample detail, while the other effects are achieved through software. Also, there is an LED flash to improve the picture quality in the dark a little bit.

As for video recording, 1080p video recording is the limit for the Redmi 9i Sport. Although the company hasn’t inserted any electrical image stabilization software under the hood, the main sensor does have autofocus capabilities. As for the sales department, the 5MP lens produces average results with a 1080p recording.

Battery and Others

Now, speaking of the battery department, you’re getting a massive 5000 mAh battery setting that can easily render 8 hours of screen time on a normal basis. With so much battery life, you can save more screen time to watch your favorite shows, games, and movies. After that, the phone also offers a 10W brick to fill the battery in less than two hours.

Additional features of the Redmi 9i Sport that stand out could be the quality of the communications and the sensor, which is up to standards. However, the phone did not appear to have fingerprint reader support. At the price of $110 (Rs 8,999) it’s a reasonable deal, as it didn’t offer anything that sounds good from the rest of the competition, nor did it perform at its best.

Xiaomi Redmi 9A Sport

Xiaomi Redmi 9i Sport Specifications Detail

Down below you can see the full specifications of the Xiaomi Redmi 9i Sport smartphone.

SpecificationsXiaomi Redmi 9i Sport
Network2G, 3G, 4G
AnnouncedSeptember 2021
SIMDual SIM
Dimensions6.49 x 3.04 x 0.35 inches
Weight194 g
Size6.53 inches
DisplayIPS LCD
400 nits brightness
20:9 ratio
~269 PPI density
ProtectionWater-repellent coating
Resolution720 x 1600 pixels
OSAndroid 10, MIUI 12
Chipset12 nm – MediaTek Helio G25 
CPUOcta-core
4×2.0 GHz Cortex-A53
4×1.5 GHz Cortex-A53
GPUPowerVR GE8320
Card slotYes (dedicated slot)
RAM4GB
Internal64GB, 128GB
eMMC 5.1
Camera13 MP (wide), PDAF
LED flash, HDR
Max – 1080p@30fps
Selfie5 MP (wide)
HDR
Max – 1080p@30fps
LoudspeakerYes
3.5mm jackYes
WLANWi-Fi 802.11 а/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot
Bluetooth5.0, A2DP, LE
GPSYes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
NFCNo
Infrared portNo
RadioYes
USBMicro USB 2.0, USB On-The-Go
SensorsAccelerometer, proximity, compass
BatteryLi-Po 5000 mAh
Charging 10W
ColorsCarbon Black, Coral Green, Metallic Blue
Expected Price$110 (Rs 8,999) approx.
Disclaimer: We can not guarantee that the data available on this page is 100% correct.

Xiaomi Redmi 9i Sport Pros and Cons

Based on the above specs, you can see the list of pros and cons (advantages and disadvantages) of the Xiaomi Redmi 9i Sport smartphone.

Pros

  1. Huge battery life with 10W charger.
  2. 12nm chipset offers decent performance.
  3. Tall IPS display with 400 nit brightness.
  4. MIUI 12 custom UI features.
  5. A dedicated secondary storage unit.
  6. Water repellent coating.

Cons

  1. Only 720p resolution display.
  2. Without any gorilla glass protection.
  3. Not for advanced games.
  4. Average camera quality.
  5. Without fingerprint reader.
  6. No fast charging speed.
  7. Without NFC or 5G support.
  8. Outdated micro USB charging port.

Conclusion

The Xiaomi Redmi 9i Sport phone is an entry-level segment especially in India, but unfortunately, it is the same old device with a renamed case. It’s the same story for the other Redmi phone, as you’ll find few copies of this product with nearly similar specs, even in the same price range. Overall, if you buy one of these, you’ll get decent battery life and storage.

But at the same time, if you are looking for a better alternative, the Redmi 9 Activ is an overall valuable option. But you are looking for a 5g phone and something different from the Redmi brand, the Realme Q3s is an excellent option to check out.

Sumit Pandit
Sumit Pandit is a senior news reporter for Oispice. He is an expert on smartphones, apps, gadgets, and the tech industry. He writes for different tech news and has an excellent ability to make complex matters easy to understand. Sumit can be reached on Twitter @sumitkrpandit or Email at [email protected].

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