Realme 6 vs Redmi Note 9s: Which brand offers better value for money?

Xiaomi and Realme are off to duke it out in the budget mid-range segment once again with the Redmi Note 9S and Realme 6. Both phones aim to offer great value-for-money with their quad-rear camera setups, gaming-capable internals, decently-sized Full HD+ displays, and adequately-sized batteries.

With the Realme 6 going official in the Philippines in a few days, does Realme’s newest budget mid-range phone have what it takes to steal the Redmi Note 9S’ thunder?

Realme 6 Specs

• MediaTek Helio G90T octa-core processor
• Mali-G76 MC4 GPU
• 4GB/6GB/8GB RAM
• 6.5-inch Full HD+ IPS display, Gorilla Glass 5 protection, 90hz refresh rate
• 64GB/128GB of expandable storage
• Quad rear cameras: 64-megapixel f/1.8 ISOCELL GW1 main camera; 8-megapixel f/2.3 ultra-wide-angle camera; 2-megapixel f/2.4 monochrome camera; 2-megapixel f/2.4 macro camera; with LED flash, Dual Pixel Autofocus, Chroma Boost, Nightscape, 4K video recording
• 16-megapixel f/2.0 Sony IMX 471 front camera with AI beautification, Smart Groufie
• Dual SIM
• 3G, LTE
• WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS
• Fingerprint scanner, AI Face Unlock, Smart Audio Amplifier, Dust and splash resistant
• 4300mAh battery with VOOC 3.0 30w fast charging
• Android 10 with Realme UI

Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S specs

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G octa-core processor
• Adreno 618 GPU
• 4GB/6GB LPDDR4X RAM
• 6.67-inch Full HD+ IPS display, Gorilla Glass 5 Protection, 20:9 aspect ratio
• 64GB/128GB UFS 2.1 expandable internal storage
• Quad rear cameras: 48-megapixel f/1.8 ISOCELL GM2 main camera; 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera; 2-megapixel depth-sensor; 5-megapixel macro camera; with LED, PDAF
• 16-megapixel front camera
• Dual SIM
• 3G, LTE
• 2×2 MiMo WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
• Side-mounted fingerprint scanner, face unlock, USB-C
• 5020mAh battery with 18w wired charging
• Android 10 with MIUI 11

 

Design

Both phones come with high-gloss finishes, regardless of what color you choose. The Redmi Note 9S keeps it simple, while the Realme 6 adds a ray graduation pattern for visual appeal. For the camera module, the Realme 6 sticks to a conventional design, while the Redmi Note 9s has its square-shaped module placed in the center to make the phone symmetrical.

While both phones come with a plastic frame, the Redmi Note 9S trumps the Realme 6 as its back panel is made from Gorilla Glass 5 for added durability. The Realme 6’s polycarbonate panel is no slouch though, but at the end of the day glass is slightly more durable than plastic, especially when treated with Gorilla Glass.

Internals

Even if the Helio G90T’s 12nm process may be relatively old compared to the Snapdragon 720G’s 8nm process, both processors have their respective strengths: the Helio G90T has a better GPU, while the Snapdragon 720G edges it in terms of CPU performance. In terms of synthetic benchmarks, both the Helio G90T and Snapdragon 720G have roughly the same AnTuTu score.

While both phones offer 128GB of internal storage, the Realme 6 also has a variant with 8GB RAM, though there’s no word if they will be bringing that variant to our shores.

Display

Both phones have a punch-hole display with a Full HD+ resolution, though it is a matter of preference if you prefer the punch hole in the center (Redmi Note 9S) or at the leftmost corner (Realme 6). The Realme 6 has a smaller panel but sports a smoother 90hz refresh rate, making it the most affordable phone to have a high refresh rate display.

Camera

For their quad-rear camera setup, both the Redmi Note 9S and Realme 6 have the familiar main/ultra-wide-angle/depth sensor/macro camera configuration. Both phones have the same megapixel count for the ultra-wide-angle and depth sensor, while the Redmi Note 9S has a better macro camera at 5-megapixels. For videos, both phones can shoot at 4K.

The Realme 6 has a higher-resolution 64-megapixel GW1 main camera while the Redmi Note 9S uses a second-generation, 48-megapixel ISOCELL GM2 main camera. Both phones have the same selfie snappers at 16-megapixels.

We will have to do our usual camera comparisons to see which phone delivers better image and video quality.

Battery

While the Redmi Note 9S trumps over the Realme 6 with its large 5020mAh battery, the latter offers a faster 30w wired charging solution for quick top-ups. Beyond battery capacity, there are many factors that can affect battery life, so we will need to put the Realme 6 to the wringer to see if it can match the Redmi Note 9S’ battery life.

Realme 6 vs Redmi Note 9s: Price

Realme has to give it a competitive price to match Xiaomi’s offering, which starts at Php 10,490 for the 6GB/64GB model. Noypigeeks reports that the Realme 6 is rumored to start at Php 11,990 for the 4GB/128GB variant, which is a promising price point for a budget mid-range phone with a 90hz display, 30w wired charging, and a 64-megapixel main rear camera.