Xiaomi has been releasing phones left, right and centre and with the official UK launch of the Realme 6 Pro today we now have 3 superb options featuring the Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G chipset itself is a bit of a strange one, while it is excellent, it is not as good as the Snapdragon 730G preceding it, which now most manufacturers appear to have given up using.  

Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G Benchmarks vs Snapdragon 730G Specification

The only differences between the Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G and the Snapdragon 730G is that the SD720 has two of its Kryo 465 cores clocked 0.1Ghz higher at 2.3GHz vs 2.2Ghz, but the Adreno 618 is clocked lower at  500 MHz vs 575 MHz.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G Benchmarks vs Snapdragon 730G & Mediatek Helio G90T

With all three phones using the Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G, it is worth looking at what sort of performance you will get, and how it compares to existing chipsets.

Antutu Benchmark

	Total	CPU	GPU	MEM	UX
Realme 6 – Helio G90T	290644	97549	81058	55547	56490
Realme 6 Pro – SD720G	282336	104143	70801	52273	55119
Realme X2 – SD730G	258311	98328	67574	47945	44464

3DMark Benchmark

	Slngshot OpenGL	Vulkan
Realme 6 Pro – SD720G	2518	2332
Realme 6 – Helio G90T	2537	2593
Realme X2 – SD730G	2405	2270

Redmi Note 9 Pro Max vs Redmi Note 9s vs Redmi Note 9 Pro (India)

Phone makers are becoming increasingly bad for their complex product naming. It feels like they launch phones in respective countries on the assumption that no one in the world has access to the internet and assume we are oblivious to all the different names. Currently, Oppo is probably the worst company for this, Xiaomi is not far behind.

We have three phones, all similar names, all almost identical.

• The Redmi Note 9 Pro Max in India is the Redmi Note 9 Pro global.
• The Redmi Note 9s is the Indian Redmi Note 9 Pro

The only thing differentiating the two models is slightly more RAM either 6GB/8GB vs 4GB/6GB and a 64 MP primary camera vs 48MP. Then the Pro/Max has a 30W charge vs 18W of the 9s. Hardly seems worth a second model to me.

[Update] I am not 100% sure but it looks like the Redmi Note 9s lacks NFC while the global Redmi Note 9 Pro does have it.

RAM and Storage Options

Both the Realme 6 Pro and Note 9 Pro Max have the same base models with 6GB RAM and 64GB storage they then go up to 8GB/128GB.

The Redmi Note 9S has 2GB less ram starting with 4GB/64GB or 6GB/128GB.

All the phones use UFS 2.1 for the storage, and they all can be upgraded with microSD.

Display

With the Redmi Note 9 being almost identical, they have the same display, which is 6.67 inches running at 1080 x 2400 pixels at a standard refresh rate of 60Hz.

The Realme 6 Pro is a bit better with a 6.6-inch display running at 1080 x 2400 pixels, but its display refreshes at 90Hz giving you a smother UI which also helps with gaming.

Camera

The Redmi Note 9 Pro has:

• Rear Cameras:
  • 64 MP, f/1.9, 26mm (wide), 1/1.72″, 0.8µm, PDAF
  • 8 MP, f/2.2, 119° (ultrawide), 1/4.0″, 1.12µm
  • 5 MP, f/2.4, (macro), 1/5.0″, 1.12µm, AF
  • 2 MP, f/2.4, (depth)
• Front Camera:
  • 16 MP, f/2.5, (wide), 1/3.1″ 1.0µm

The Redmi Note 9S

• Rear Cameras:
  • 48 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/2.0″, 0.8µm, PDAF
  • 8 MP, f/2.2, 13mm (ultrawide), 1/4.0″, 1.12µm
  • 5 MP, f/2.4, (macro), 1.12µm
  • 2 MP, f/2.4, (depth)
• Front Camera:
  • 16 MP, f/2.5, (wide), 1.0µm

The Realme 6 Pro has:

• Rear Cameras:
  • 64 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/1.72″, 0.8µm, PDAF
  • 12 MP, f/2.5, 54mm (telephoto), 1/3.4″, 1.0µm, PDAF, 2x optical zoom
  • 8 MP, f/2.3, 13mm (ultrawide), 1/4.0″, 1.12µm
  • 2 MP, f/2.4, 22mm (macro), 1/5.0″, 1.75µm
• Front Cameras:
  • 16 MP, f/2.1, 26mm (wide), 1/3.1″, 1.0µm
  • 8 MP, f/2.2, 17mm (ultrawide), 1/4.0″, 1.12µm

I have not used the two Xiaomi/Redmi devices so I can’t comment on how well they do software processing. However, I was impressed with the Realme 6 Pro, and from a hardware point of view, they clearly have the best camera, with the versatility of the telephoto lens. The dual selfie is a nice tough, but it does also mean you get a larger punch hole taking up your notification area.

Battery

The Note 9 Pro and 9s have the same 5020 mAh battery, but the Note 9 Pro has a faster 30W charge vs 18W on the 9S.

The Realme 6 Pro has a 4300mAh battery with a 30w charger.

Other Features – No NFC on the vs Redmi Note 9S

All the phones have a 3.5mm headphone jack. The Realme 6 Pro is listed as using high resolution
24-bit/192kHz audio

The Realme 6 Pro has NFC, but with the Xiaomi, it gets a little confusing as this depends on region. To the best of my knowledge, the global Redmi Note 9 Pro will have NFC, but I am struggling to find any reference of NFC on the 9S. It is confusing, but it is what it is.

All the phones are classed as splash resistant or splash poof, what that actually means is anyone’s guess. I assume it can get a bit wet, but if breaks then tough luck.

All the phones using IPS displays, so none of them use under-display fingerprint readers. They instead have side-mounted options.  

Pricing

The Redmi Note 9S has been as low as £202 in the UK, but for some reason that has jumped up to £239. On Amazon Spain, the 4GB/64GB model is €209(£182) while the 6GB/128GB model is €259(£226).

The Realme 6 Pro pricing will be revealed at today’s live stream launch, but the cheaper Realme 6 is £219 for the base model or £269 for 8GB/128GB, so I would expect this to go comfortably over £300.

UK pricing for the Redmi Note 9 Pro has not been revealed but the global pricing has been stated as  $269 for the 6GB/64GB version and $299 for the 6GB/128GB version.

Alternative Options

I have said it multiple times now, but the Realme 6 is a better buy than the 6 Pro. With the price of £219/£269 you save a big chunk of cash, the phone performs the same (arguably better with the Helio G90T), but you do lose out on the telephoto lens and that second selfie camera.

With the Note 9S lacking NFC and the Note 9 Pro likely costing around £300, I think you would be much better getting the Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro with 6GB RAM 128GB storage for £216. The camera is almost the same, and the Helio G90T offers similar if not better performance. The downsides are a smaller battery with slower charging and a notch instead of a punch hole.

Overall

The Realme 6 Pro is comfortably the best-specced phone of the three, but this then also means it is more expensive, how expensive that is, remains to be seen.

The Redmi Note 9 Pro and Redmi Note 9S are essentially the same phones with some minor differences. I would have said the Note 9 Pro is pointless however if the Redmi Note 9S lacks NFC this is a phone I could not use full time, personally. This may not be as important to other people, and if that is the case, then the Redmi Note 9S is a far better buy then the Pro.