Realme 9i 5G is finally official, costs under $200

The Realme 9i 5G is finally announced and it is everything we expected it to be. The new smartphone comes with a Dimensity 810 chipset, a big battery and a shiny design, inspired by music CDs.

The screen is a 6.6” LCD with a waterdrop notch on top. The resolution is 1080p and Realme proudly announced the 9i 5G’s panel supports a 90 Hz refresh rate. The fingerprint scanner is on the side, embedded in the power key.

The back has three cameras, clumped together in the upper left corner. The main shooter is 50 MP with f/1.8 aperture and 5P lens, while the other two cameras are a 2 MP portrait camera and a 2 MP macro shooter for close-up shots of no more than 4 cm. The selfie camera is 8 MP.

Realme 9i 5G key features

Realme 9i 5G was already revealed to have a 5,000 mAh power cell inside, and it will come with 18W fast-charging support through a USB-C port. There is also a 3.5 mm audio jack on the bottom. The phone comes out of the box with Realme UI 3.0, based on Android 12.

Performance-wise, the phone supports dual 5G standby, and the card tray also has a designated spot for a micro SD to expand the storage even more with up to 2 TB. RAM can be expanded with up to 3 GB more, depending on the internal RAM.

The phone is advertised as the thinnest 5G smartphone in the segment, which might sound like cherrypicking, but is still an 8.1 mm thin handset that weighs just 187 grams. It comes in three colors - Soulful Blue, Rocking Black, and Metallica Gold - and yes, the names are also inspired by music, not only the looks.

The Realme 9i 5G comes in two memory combinations - 4/64 GB and 6/128 GB. Prices are respectively INR14,999 ($188) and INR16,999 ($215), and pre-orders begin on August 24 at Realme.com, Flipkart and some offline stores.