SpecEagle
SpecEagle review · Xiaomi

Redmi Note 9 review: Helio G85 budget hit.

SpecEagle Editorial·Apr 2020·$199
Overall
68/100
Class rank
#2 of 118
Tier
Budget
Buy?
Look elsewhere
The verdict, up front

Note 9 the budget hit.

Redmi Note 9 was Xiaomi's 2020 budget anchor — Helio G85, 48 MP quad-cam and 5 Ah for $199.

01Display

74/100

At 74/100 this is one of the strongest display showings among budget phones of 2020 — 11 points above the cohort average.

TypeIPS LCD
Size6.53"
Resolution2340 x 1080

02Performance

64/100

At 64/100 this is one of the strongest performance showings among budget phones of 2020 — 14 points above the cohort average.

ChipsetHelio G85
RAM4 GB
Storage128 GB

03Camera

70/100

At 70/100 this is one of the strongest camera showings among budget phones of 2020 — 14 points above the cohort average.

Main48 MP
Ultrawide8 MP
Macro2 MP
Depth2 MP
Front13 MP

04Battery

82/100

82/100 puts it above the 78-point average for budget phones of 2020.

Capacity5,020 mAh
Charging18 W

05Software

70/100

70/100 puts it above the 68-point average for budget phones of 2020.

What works
  • Helio G85 + quad cam at $199.
  • 5,020 mAh battery.
  • NFC + IR blaster.
  • 3.5 mm jack.
What doesn't
  • No 5G.
  • 18 W charging.
  • 199 g chunky.
  • MIUI 11 dated.
Cross-shop it against
Huawei Y9 Prime (2019)
$240 · score 68/100

How this review is built: every section score, spec row and comparison on this page comes from SpecEagle's tracked catalogue — scores weight measured specs against the 118-phone cohort of budget devices released around the same time. We don't publish invented lab anecdotes. Spot an error? .