Realme 9 5G SE Review: Mid-Range 5G Phone With 144Hz Display

Realme 9 5G SE Design: Bulky But Good-Looking

The first thing that you will notice with the Realme 9 5G SE smartphone is its bulkiness. The device weighs around 200 grams (199 grams to be precise), thereby making it one of the heavy smartphones out there in its segment despite the fact that it has a unibody polycarbonate build.

In an attempt to make up for this, Realme has used a matte finish instead of the usual glossy back finish on this smartphone. I received the Starry Glow variant for the review and it has a blend of colors with tinges of blue, pink, and yellow in a gradient pattern resembling the shades of the sky. This color scheme has not spared the camera module at the rear as well, which ensures a sense of continuity in the design.

As usual, the camera unit is at the top left corner of the Realme 9 5G SE smartphone with the sensor arrangement resembling an inverted L. In terms of the ports, the smartphone houses a side-mounted fingerprint sensor integrated into the power button at the right. There is a volume rocker on the opposite edge while the bottom edge houses a USB Type-C port, a speaker grille and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

When it comes to the looks, the Realme 9 5G SE provides a tasteful design. It misses out on the presence of stereo speakers that are available on some of its rivals.

Realme 9 5G SE Display: 144Hz Refresh Rate

Talking about the display, the Realme 9 5G SE smartphone comes with a 6.6-inch IPS LCD display with a refresh rate of 144Hz. Notably, this is the first device to have 144Hz refresh rate in the affordable segment. However, if you are not too much into gaming or multimedia consumption, then you might not know a major difference between 120Hz and 144Hz. On the other hand, the trained users will definitely get to experience the superior smoothness delivered by the panel.

Furthermore, there is variable refresh rate support that lets you adjust the refresh rate from 60Hz to 120Hz smartly depending on the content that is being displayed. The color accuracy of the Realme 9 5G SE display is not the best in its class. Also, it does not have great viewing angles. If you are using the smartphone for social media use and media consumption, then you will not find any issues with it and you will definitely appreciate it.

The Realme 9 5G SE supports WideVine L1 certification to stream your favourite content, be it TV shows or movied in HD quality. However, it does not work with HDR content om Netflix.

Apart from the thick bottom bezel, the Realme phone's display is surrounded by thin bezels. What's more, it has a punch-hole cutout at the top left corner for the selfie camera. With a peak brightness of 600 nits, the smartphone can be used even under direct sunlight without too much difficulty despite the reflection.

Realme 9 5G SE Performance Is Not Disappointing

Powering the Realme 9 5G SE is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778 processor used by some of its rivals in the same segment. With this performance, it is sure that the device will not deliver a disappointing performance.

Proving the same, the smartphone has scored 538,987 points in the AnTuTu benchmark platform, which makes it almost on par with a few other flagship models in a relatively higher pricing segment. In the Geekbench platform, the Realme 9 5G SE has scored 2,812 points in the multi-core test, which is a pretty decent score for an affordable phone.

Leaving the benchmark scores apart, the Realme smartphone does not stumble or lag in terms of performance even when using it for intense tasks. I used it to play games such as BGMI, Call of Duty and Minerals and did experience good gameplay with smooth graphics. There was not even a slight lag in the performance and the smooth display comes into action along with the capabilities of the processor.

In terms of storage, the Realme 9 5G SE has been launched in two variants with 6GB of RAM and 8GB of RAM. It is teamed up with 128GB of UFS 2.2 storage space that can be expanded up to 1TB using a dedicated microSD card slot. What's more, the RAM can be expanded up to 5GB with the virtual RAM feature though I don't find the necessity for the same when there is ample memory by default.

When it comes to performance, the smartphone has a fingerprint sensor that is snappy in authenticating. Though it misses out on stereo speakers, the smartphone does a good job in terms of audio performance, except for who really want more without a pair of earphones. Though the device supports 5G connectivity out-of-the-box, there is no network providing 5G in India now. However, I used it with Jio and didn't find any issue in the connectivity even while travelling. As there is no 5G network, I cannot give a conclusion on its performance for now.

Software-wise, the Realme 9 5G SE ships with Android 11 OS with custom Realme UI 2.0 skin on top. The Realme UI 2.0 looks refined and it retains minimalism. Also, it comes with virtual RAM technology, which is not truly necessary for all users.

Realme 9 5G SE Camera Needs Some Improvement

In terms of optics, the Realme 9 5G SE bestows a triple-camera setup without a dedicated ultra-wide angle lens. The device comes with a 48MP primary sensor, a macro lens, and a depth sensor. At the front, the device has a 16MP selfie camera sensor. The primary sensor does not deliver exceptional performance in capturing crisp details even in daylight. The Realme 9 5G SE can capture FHD 1080p videos at 30fps. The 2MP macro camera sensor is average with a 4cm range for the docus.

Given the pricing of the smartphone, the company could have included a dedicated ultra-wide-angle camera. This downside adds to the mediocre performance of the primary sensor. As there are many capable camera smartphones in this price segment, the Realme 9 5G SE lags behind in this sector. However, the good thing is that the Auto HDR is effective but it does not seem to deliver a great difference, and the shutter speed is fast. To conclude, the Realme phone does an acceptable job during the day but fails to impress in low light conditions.

At the front, a 16MP selfie camera is housed within the cutout on the display. This sensor is decent enough and offers ample features such as beauty mode. It can also record FHD 1080p resolution selfie videos.

Realme 9 5G SE Battery Life Is Impressive

The Realme 9 5G SE comes with a 5000mAh battery that is accompanied by 30W fast charging via a USB Type-C port. The smartphone managed to deliver close to 12 hours of battery life on using it for gaming, streaming and other usage on a single charge. The battery life depends on how long you use the device for each of these tasks. What comes in handy is the 30W charging speed that powers it up to 100% in just 90 minutes.

Realme 9 SE 5G Verdict

The Realme 9 5G SE is a power-packed smartphone that focuses on performance and capability and the smoothest display in its price segment. The design of the smartphone is also quite premium and unique. It has a few letdowns such as the lack of stereo speakers and low-light camera performance.

It offers ample performance for gaming enthusiasts without burning a hole in the buyers' wallets. Given that it is affordable, you will not find it disappointing though it does not check all the points.