Redmi 9A

Technical specifications

I acquired this phone several months ago by chance, and I am very satisfied. I bought it new, unopened, purchased a few days earlier by the previous owner who decided it was too big for him. The price was a bargain, slightly more than half the purchase price, so I was tempted. Fortunately, I did not read any reviews beforehand. Let's get to the point... The battery is outstanding; with my moderately intensive use, a few calls a day, WhatsApp, Messenger, it easily lasts a week. The phone operates very quickly and responsively, one just needs to adjust the application settings slightly. It is similar with other "branded phones" for exorbitant prices; my wife has a mid-range Samsung and I also had to put in some effort there so that, for example, Messenger would notify immediately after receiving a message. Due to EU guidelines, among others, regarding battery saving and thus energy for charging, many applications are in a deep sleep state, which is why they start slowly. But this can be changed in the settings. The camera takes very nice photos. Of course, if someone requires extremely high photo quality, they should rather look for a DSLR (although even a DSLR is not a solution if someone does not know how to take photos). The navigation works excellently; a notable achievement was driving almost 300 km with it without a charger, and I still did not have to charge the phone for another day after the journey – referring back to "the battery is outstanding." The only small downside, small because there are more advantages... is the display. It is slightly difficult to read in full sunlight, but it is not a disaster. Before this phone, I had an iPhone 6s. But as is the case with Apple phones, either it does not receive a new iOS (which is why I switched back to Android), or a new one is very expensive, and when looking for a used one? What is the battery condition, is there a lock, etc. To summarize – for this money? You probably will not find anything better, and the phone is satisfactory and will stay with me for a longer time.

Today I bought [...] in Rzeszów in a Black Week sale for the small sum of 199 PLN, hmm... recently I used a Samsung Xcover4 and LG K10 2017, which were filled to capacity with data and had practically no memory – essential apps like Opera Mini, OLX, PKO BP, Biedronka simply work on those old phones, I never experienced slowdowns etc. - I decided to install the same things on this Xiaomi - it is a difficult situation. How is it possible that this phone reacts with a delay to commands? New, straight out of the box, it unexpectedly closes the Play Store application. Limiting animations or disabling unnecessary pre-installed apps (and there are a very large number of them) didn't help. I don't know how to use this? The phone is unusable, the camera is worse than in the K10 2017, and it is not comparable to the OmniVision sensor in the Xcover4.
*We repeat every week in our Weekly features: today, with less than 4 GB of RAM, you can at most buy a vacuum cleaner. Old smartphones run on old software - and they usually run well on it (aside from the lack of the latest security in banking apps). New software has much higher requirements. 4 GB of RAM is the minimum. In some cases, the decision to save money results in very negative consequences - this is one of them. (jf)*

It is not a high-performance device (2GB RAM + eMMC + Helio P22 do not make it one). Perhaps the biggest problem is unfortunately the resource-heavy software (MIUI 12), which occasionally causes a lack of responsiveness - including the touch function. Regarding the internet - I recommend the DuckDuckGo browser; Chrome is inconsistent - sometimes it works, sometimes it does not. It is also worth installing the Google camera app (significantly better photos). GPS is trouble-free, the battery life is excellent, the phone does not overheat (SOC clocks are max 2GHz), good compatibility (I connected an Audiotrak Prodigy Cube DAC via OTG - it works without a problem) - applications run without issues, so for the 360 PLN I paid for it - the equipment is okay. It is not a marvel of technology, but one must be aware that it is a complete low-end device. I will also add that I am considering a custom ROM for it, but only after the warranty expires, and those for whom it does not want to work decently at all probably have software branded by operators - I bought mine in a store - unbranded.

I use this poor-quality device at work occasionally. Lately, I had many business matters to attend to, and our relationship unfortunately lasted longer. Never in my life have I held such a low-quality device!! When cleaning up after my dog, I have the impression that his excrement is more coherent than this device. Freezes, bootloops, a terrible camera, a horrible interface. A disaster. Garbage. Despair and extreme visual discomfort. I advise against this phone, even if they paid someone to take it. Worn tooth enamel and gray hair from stress are only part of the hidden costs of using this fundamentally flawed product. I feel like throwing it out the window and giving the money back to my boss just to stop using it. I ask the readers to replace all verbs with vulgar equivalents and to insert a vulgar word in place of periods and commas. Redmi, you [vulgarity] [vulgarity], stop haunting my workplace!

I have had this phone continuously for 6 years. After 2 years of use, it stopped working during a vacation in high temperatures, and a repair was necessary. Generally, it is handy, and the battery lasts a long time. But it is extremely slow. At work or at the university, I preferred not to use it, because if I had to find something quickly on it, it would take 10-15 minutes. It takes a long time to turn on; you have to struggle with the power button. It often freezes, which was a problem in public places when I had to show a plane ticket, a cinema ticket, or applications with a store card on the phone. A failure. To own this phone, one must be very patient. It cost me about 600 PLN; it is not worth that money. The camera is of very poor quality; there is no point in even using it. The phone is only suitable for calling and texting. Applications open slowly and with a significant delay.

The device is terrible, I do not recommend it!
The first impression was great; everything worked well and efficiently, but after a very short time, the device started to freeze. Then the phone started to get extremely hot, and later it began to close various applications unexpectedly. Over time, the phone froze even more and also started turning off. I could not use various entertainment applications because the phone could not handle them and would close them. I cannot even have many photos in the gallery. It charges slowly and takes a long time to turn on after being completely powered off and on again (once I waited 15 minutes). There are many more issues, but it would take a long time to list them; in short, it is hopeless, I will never buy a Redmi again.
I once had a Redmi Note 9 and it also performed terribly, I do not recommend it.

I have had this phone for 2 years. My friends also have it. None of them have complained about problems with the functioning of the smartphone. My opinion is that it is better to criticize than to objectively evaluate a smartphone. Redmi 9 A is not an iPhone, but in its class at a price up to 500 zł, it is a truly good smartphone. Fast, the screen is very sensitive, the applications I installed, and I have 38 of them, work without performance issues. Therefore, I do not understand people who attribute their ignorance to the hardware. It is always the case that it is better to attribute the fault to the smartphone manufacturer than to admit to one's own ignorance. Please remember that a smartphone is a computer. A computer with a Linux system. One must have a minimum of knowledge and skills to use such equipment efficiently.