Redmi 9 Active: Is it worth buying?
The new budget smartphone from Xiaomi, the Redmi 9 Activ is a well-meaning smartphone but it’s not perfect. And of course budget smartphones very rarely are all good. The Redmi 9 Activ has some features that are an instant hit, and then in some cases there is room for improvement. So let us see all the hits and misses that Xiaomi has given us with the new Redmi 9 Activ.
HITS
Battery- This one is the biggest hit in the Redmi 9 Activ and my personal favourite too. There is a massive 5000mAh battery on Redmi 9 Activ that supports 10W charging. The battery gives a great power back-up with minimal interruption in our tasks. The Redmi 9 Activ runs on Android-based MIUI 12 so interface is great too.
Price and performance- The smartphone’s price in India has been set at Rs. 9,499 for the base 4GB + 64GB storage model which I think is pretty decent. There’s a higher 6GB + 128GB storage option as well which is priced at Rs. 10,999. In terms of performance, Redmi 9 Activ is powered by an octa-core MediaTek Helio G35 processor, which is paired along with up to 6GB of LPDDR4X RAM. Redmi 9 Activ includes up to 128GB of eMMC 5.1 storage and it further supports expansion through a microSD card via the dedicated slot. I think for the under 10k price point in 4G smartphones, the specs and features of the Redmi 9 Activ smartphone look decent enough and totally justified for the offered price point.
MISSES
Camera- The Redmi 9 Active comes with a modest dual rear camera setup that includes a 13-megapixel primary sensor with an f/2.2 lens. This is coupled with a 2-megapixel depth sensor with an f/2.4 lens. The rear camera setup is also paired with a single-tone LED flash and supports features including AI Beautify 5.0 and AI scene detection. Xiaomi has provided a 5-megapixel selfie camera at the front, with an f/2.2 lens which is well suited for your social media feed and video calls. Camera section could’ve been improved upon a lot in this price point.
Display- I actually like the display to be honest. I just wish they had given an AMOLED display. Redmi 9 Activ features a 6.53-inch HD+ (720x1,600 pixels) Dot Drop Display with a 20:9 aspect ratio and 400 nits of peak brightness.
Besides the decent camera setup, the smartphone packs in all the regular connectivity options including 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth v5, GPS/ A-GPS, FM radio, and a Micro-USB port. There are also a number of sensors onboard which include an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, and proximity sensor. There is also a fingerprint scanner on the back. The smartphone is lightweight and measures 164.9x77.07x9.0mm and weighs 194 grams, so that is ideal. The Redmi 9 Activ was launched in three distinct colour variants of Carbon Black, Coral Green, and Metallic Purple colours.
