Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 9 (pictured) and Redmi Note 9 Pro went on sale in the UK back in June, joining the Redmi Note 9S in the company’s 2020 budget phone line-up. Today the company announces improved availability of the standard Redmi Note 9, with new PAYG and contract options from Three.
Available SIM-free from Amazon and the official UK Mi Store, the Redmi Note 9’s official retail price is £179 for the 3GB/64GB model, and £199 for the 4GB/128GB version, though the latter is currently discounted at Mi UK to £159.
New options now see the budget phone available on Three PAYG at £149.99 with a £10 top-up, along with various contract options.
For unlimited data and minutes it costs £28 per month with an upfront charge of £19, but the first six months are half-price. This same deal is available with 4GB of data, at £20 per month wth six months half-price.
Alternatively, for 30GB of data you’ll pay £27 per month, and for 12GB £23 per month, both with the £19 upfront fee.
The Redmi Note 9 Pro, meanwhile, is available in 6GB/64GB (£249) and 6GB/128GB (£269) models, both available on Amazon or at the Mi UK Store.
Meanwhile, the Redmi Note 9S is already on sale at Amazon, GearBest and the UK Mi Store with a retail price starting at £199.
Value has been synonymous with Xiaomi during its 10-year lifetime, but never at the expense of quality. In recognition of its rapport with consumers the phone maker is now the world’s third largest.
The new Redmi Note 9 series brings to the table incredible battery life – the Redmi Note 9S is unbeaten by any other in our lab tests – along with a premium design and features, including a quad-lens camera assembly.
Our testing of Redmi Note 9 suggests its MediaTek chip is not up to quite the same performance, though it still has much to offer.
We’ll explore the specifications and differences between the line-up in more detail in the table below.
Redmi Note 9 series specifications
| Redmi Note 9 | Redmi Note 9S | Redmi Note 9 Pro | |
| Price | From £179 – buy now | From £199 – buy now | From £249 – buy now |
| Display | 6.53in Full-HD IPS Dot Drop, Gorilla Glass 5 | 6.67in Full-HD IPS Dot Drop, Gorilla Glass 5 | |
| Processor | 2GHz MediaTek Helio G85 (octa-core) | 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G (octa-core) | |
| Software | MIUI 11 | ||
| GPU | ARM Mali-G52 | Adreno 618 | |
| Memory | 3GB/4GB LPDDR4X RAM | 4GB/6GB LPDDR4X RAM | 6GB LPDDR4X RAM |
| Storage | 64GB/128GB UFS 2.1, microSD up to 512GB | 64GB/128GB UFS 2.1, microSD up to 512GB | |
| Primary Camera | 48MP wide + 8MP ultra-wide + 2MP macro + 2MP depth | 48MP wide + 8MP ultra-wide + 5MP macro + 2MP depth | 64MP wide + 8MP ultra-wide + 5MP macro + 2MP depth |
| Front Camera | 13MP | 16MP | |
| Network | Dual-4G (2+1 Nano-SIM slot) | ||
| Connectivity | 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, IR, USB-C | 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, IR, USB-C, NFC | |
| Fingerprint Sensor | Rear-mounted | Built into power button | |
| Audio | 3.5mm audio jack | ||
| Battery | 5,020mAh | ||
| Charging | 18W wired | 30W wired | |
| Dimensions | 162x77x8.9mm | 166x77x8.8mm | |
| Weight | 199g | 209g | |
All three phones in the Redmi Note 9 series support a high-capacity 5,020mAh battery, but only the Pro boosts the 18W wired charging speed to 30W. It also adds NFC support (which is available only in selected markets in the other models), and upgrades both primary and selfie cameras.
The entry Redmi Note 9 keeps the price low with a slightly smaller screen, a MediaTek processor with a lower memory option of 3GB, a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor and a plastic body.
All three are sold with MIUI 11, a custom version of Android 10, but Xiaomi has confirmed that they will receive an update to MIUI 12.
Read next: Best Xiaomi Phones & Best Xiaomi Deals
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Author: Marie Black, Editorial Director
Marie is Editorial Director at Foundry. A Journalism graduate from the London College of Printing, she's worked in tech media for more than 17 years, managing our EMEA and LatAm editorial teams and leading on content strategy through Foundry's transition from print, to digital, to online - and beyond.