Redmi’s gaming-centric device, the Redmi Note 9 Pro, is finally in India and will hit stores starting April. Most of Redmi’s thunder has been stolen by the coronavirus pandemic hitting the smartphone industry. The Xiaomi-owned brand hasn’t been able to create a lot of buzz around the device in these times.
Samsung’s M31 has received rave reviews online not only in terms of its design, but an exemplary battery performance. Backed by the "Samsung brand philosophy", does the M31 have what it takes to derail Redmi from its tracks?
Let’s take a quick look at what both these phones offer spec-wise.
Design & Display
Both the devices here come with FHD+ panels with a waterdrop punch hole camera on the front. It the most ideal design philosophy right now as the whole motorised front camera system doesn’t work with me.
The Redmi sports an 84 percent screen-to-body ratio which is slightly more than the M31. Considering that the M31 comes with a Super AMOLED display compared to the IPS LCD on the 9 Pro, it helps the M31 take the cake.
At 209 grams the Redmi Note 9 Pro is also 20 grams heavier than the M31. So if that extra bulk is a problem for you, choose carefully.
The Redmi Note 9 Pro offers a sturdier device thanks to the Gorilla Glass 5 protection it carries both on the front and the back. To top things off, it’s splashproof.
Overall, I feel the Redmi Note 9 Pro is better looking thanks to the added glass. The plastic body of the M31 is a letdown.
Hardware & Storage
The Redmi Note 9 Pro has been launched in two RAM options (4GB & 6GB) which I feel is the ideal way to go in the budget segment. The M31 only comes with 6GB of RAM with storage options between 64GB and 128GB.
For processing power, the Redmi Note 9 Pro comes packing a Snapdragon 720G processor which is a gaming-centric chipset. The M31, on the other hand, comes with an indigenous Exynos 9611 chipset.
While the Galaxy M31 comes with a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor the same has been placed on the side with the Redmi Note 9 Pro.
The Redmi Note 9 Pro comes with Android 10 out-of-the-box, which is the same as the M31, although both have different UIs and overall experience differs drastically. I believe the user interface is a personal choice and one should choose what suits them the best.
Both phones offer expandable storage and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Camera & Battery
On paper, the Redmi Note 9 Pro comes with a quad-camera setup that houses a 48+8+5+2-megapixel sensor at the back while the front sports a 16-megapixel snapper.
The Samsung Galaxy M31 also comes with a quad-camera setup only that it has a bigger 64-megapixel primary sensor complemented by an 8+5+5-megapixel setup. On the front is a 32-megapixel selfie camera.
Both come with ultra-wide, wide, macro and depth sensor options.
If you go with what’s on paper the Samsung Galaxy M31 seems to offer a better camera, but I recommend you thoroughly research the camera performance online and then make the final buying call.
The M31 houses a mammoth 6,000mAh battery pack which supports a 15W fast charging while the 9 Pro comes with a 5020mAh battery inside with support for an 18W fast charger.
Clearly, there is no dearth of battery backup but since you're getting more battery juice with the M31 with a lighter body, you’re better off picking the M31 in this department.
Which One Should You Buy?
Samsung has a very strong offline market presence that it has been making use of to sell its budget devices and the M31 is a testament to that.
The Redmi Note 9 Pro brings in a fresh set of hardware bundled with the latest in camera technology and software and that I feel will work in Redmi’s favour.
Both are good phones, but your buying decision will be influenced by your choice of user interface and battery back up. Be sure you make up your mind on that bit.
The Redmi Note 9 Pro comes in a 4G+64GB option at Rs 12,999 which is a lot cheaper, so you can also consider that.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)