Realme 9 Pro Plus puts flagship Sony camera and heart-rate sensor to a shiny phone, starts at Rs 24,999

Realme 9 Pro Plus has arrived as the top-end phone in the 9 series, which debuted last month with the launch of the Realme 9i. The phone comes with a Dimensity 920 SoC, a 90Hz AMOLED display, and 50-megapixel cameras.

Realme 9 Pro Plus is the latest phone from the brand that recently overtook Samsung to become India’s second most-selling. The 9 Pro Plus is the first of its kind. It is an advanced model of the Pro version, which Realme has been launching in the number series for a long time. With the 9 Pro Plus, Realme is pushing top-shelf features such as optical image stabilisation, an embedded heart-rate sensor, and a colour-shift design, and they seem to justify Realme’s new strategy for an aggressive push in the mid-range 5G market.

Two big focus points for the Realme 9 Pro Plus are the colour shift design and the Sony IMX766 sensor. Realme told me that the phone’s colour changes vividly when sunlight falls on the back panel. I tried it and was amazed to see the blue colour changing to a striking purple colour with gold tints. Realme has always gambled over phone designs - you either love them or hate them. The choice is subjective. The Sony sensor brings OIS for the first time on a Realme phone in India and that is a big thing for the company as it moves forward in camera technology across price points.

The Realme 9 Pro Plus comes in two RAM variants. The one with 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, costs Rs 24,999, while the 8GB of RAM, 128GB storage variant is priced at Rs 26,999, and the 8GB, 256GB variant costs Rs 28,999. The phone comes in three colours: Midnight Black, Aurora Green, Sunrise Blue. The last one is the one with the colour-shifting pattern on the back. The first sale of the phone begins at 12 pm on February 21 from Flipkart, Realme’s online store, and shops near you. With Flipkart Smart Upgrade, customers need to pay just 70 per cent of the amount, under which the prices will be Rs 17,499, Rs 18,899, and Rs 20,299, respectively.

Since Realme 9 Pro Plus is the highest-end phone in the 9 series, its specifications include features such as the flagship Sony IMX766 sensor and haptic feedback for touch and animations. The phone’s cameras include a 50-megapixel Sony IMX766 sensor, an 8-megapixel wide-angle sensor, and a 2-megapixel macro sensor. These cameras are aligned in a design that we recently saw on the Realme 9i. On the front, you have a 16-megapixel camera with beauty filters. The phone supports optical image stabilisation, which is a feature that removes shakiness from your videos, giving them stability.

Powering the Realme 9 Pro Plus is an octa-core 2.5GHz MediaTek Dimensity 920 processor. It is a slightly better version of the Dimensity 900, so I assume the performance will be good and gamers would like it. The GPU used is the Mali-G68 MC4, while you get up to 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. The phone has a 6.4-inch Full-HD+ AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate, a screen-to-body ratio of 90.8 per cent, and an aspect ratio of 20:9. There is Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection with a 2.5D layer. The display also has an embedded fingerprint sensor, and it supports optical heart-rate measurement, as well.

Inside the Realme 9 Pro Plus is a 4500mAh battery that charges at up to 60W. This is slightly slower than 65W fast charging. There is support for reverse charging on the phone as well. The phone supports a linear motor for improved haptics and features Dolby Atmos and Hi-Res certified stereo speakers. There is a 3.5mm headphone jack, as well.