Xiaomi Redmi 9A Hands-On

The Redmi 9A is one of the cheapest Xiaomi smartphones that you can get your hands on today. It packs the latest MediaTek Helio G25 processor, which is something we’re curious about as it claims to have a lag-free experience. Besides that, it has more to offer, including a 5,000mAh battery and MIUI 12 out of the box.

The unit we have is in the Graphite Gray color, which looks simple and classy. If you want more trendy colors, then you can also opt for their Peacock Green or Sky Blue variants. The back is made out of plastic, and it’s designed with a single rear camera stacked vertically together with the LED flash and some branding. There’s no fingerprint scanner in-sight, even on the side nor display, so it purely relies on facial recognition and passcode for unlocking.

On the right, you’ll find the volume rocker and power button.

Meanwhile, on the left is its SIM tray for two nano-SIM cards and a microSD card that’s expandable up to 512GB.

You get a headphone jack on top, while at the bottom are its main microphone, micro USB port, and loudspeaker.

The Redmi 9A has a 6.53-inch HD+ Dot Drop IPS LCD screen with a 20:9 aspect ratio and a pixel density of 269ppi. The front camera is placed on its dewdrop notch with the call speaker on top of it.

Powering this entry-level phone is the latest MediaTek Helio G25 chip with a PowerVR8320 GPU, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, 5,000mAh battery with 10W charging support, and MIUI 12 that’s based on Android 10 for software.

As for cameras, at the back is a single 13MP lens while on that notch sits a 5MP selfie shooter.

We’ll talk more about its camera quality in our full review, but for now, check out these sample photos that we got.

The Redmi 9A is now available locally via Xiaomi’s Flagship store on Lazada and Global Store on Shopee for PHP 4,590USD 78INR 6,631EUR 74CNY 570. It’s got some interesting specs for its price, and we’ll go more in-depth in our full review soon, so stay tuned.

Redmi 9A specs:
6.53-inch HD+ (720 x 1600) IPS dot-drop display, 400 nits
MediaTek Helio G25 2.0GHz octa-core CPU
PowerVR8320 GPU
2GB LPDDR4X RAM
32GB eMMC 5.1 storage
Up to 512GB via MicroSD
13MP rear camera
5MP front camera
Dual SIM
4G Dual standby
WiFi 802.11 n
Bluetooth 5
GPS
Micro USB
3.5mm audio jack
MIUI 12 (based on Android 10)
5,000mAh battery w/ 10W charging support
164.9mm x 77.07mm x 9mm
194g
Granite Gray, Peacock Green, Sky Blue