Realme decided to bring just one generation if it’s numbered mid-range series this year. After many rumors and leaks pointing to the Realme 9 series debut at the end of 2021, the company cleared the things stating that these devices will come only in 2022. At least, die-hard Realme fans won’t have to wait until the end of the first quarter. The Realme 9 series is expected to bring at least four smartphones. Namely, we expect a Realme 9, Realme 9 Pro, a new variant coming under Pro Plus or Max moniker, and a Realme 9i. The 9i will be the cheapest variant, and today we have a couple of specs and renders to look at.
The Realme 9i is the smaller brother in the Realme 9 family and is expected to carry mid-range specifications. Today, @onleaks and 91mobiles had revealed a couple of new renders and additional details about the smartphone.
Realme will equip its budget offering with a 6.5-inch Display. No surprises in this department as the device will still have a common IPS LCD. The confirmation comes thanks to a side-mounted fingerprint scanner. Moreover, current rumors state that the device will have a 90 Hz refresh rate and a 1080p resolution. This goes in line with most of the mid-range smartphones in the market.
Gizchina News of the week
Realme 9i alleged specifications
Under the hood, the device will carry the Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 SoC which was unveiled earlier in October. The chipset is built on a 6 nm process and features a 4G LTE modem, Kyro 265 CPU cores, and Adreno 610 GPU. This is one of the few chips that are only LTE capable. These chips will become rare in the coming months as 5G becomes the new standard.
The leaked renders also show a triple camera array. Apparently, the main camera will be a 50 MP unit, but it’s unclear whether this is a Sony or a Samsung 50 MP camera. The device brings a punch-hole camera with the usual “top-left” alignment.
As previously stated, the Realme 9i will lack 5G connectivity. The other devices in the lineup, however, are expected to bring 5G chips. Curiously, the device is said to carry Android 11 instead of Android 12. That is a major issue for some users that prefer to have the latest available version of the OS. This is rather curious, as the upcoming flagships will probably bring Realme UI 2.0.
Anyway, the renders confirm a 3.5 mm headphone jack on the bottom, alongside the speaker grille and the USB-C port. That port will be used to charge a 5,000 mAh battery, though details on charging speed are yet to be revealed. The bigger devices are probably coming with 65 W fast-charging, but we don’t know if that will be the case of a cheaper model.
The device is clearly for the budget segment, as the other devices will be more impressive. As per the rumors, the Realme 9 Pro Plus variant will bring a Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 SoC with a 120 Hz OLED display.
