Redmi Note 9 vs Realme Narzo 10: What's the difference between these sub-12K smartphones?

Xiaomi recently launched the Redmi Note 9 in India on July 20. The Redmi Note 9 is an affordable smartphone with strong specifications that is almost unrivalled in this space. The Redmi Note 9 features a powerful chipset, quad-camera setup, large display, massive battery and a refreshed design for Rs 11,999.

However, the Redmi Note 9 is not the only smartphone that delivers excellent value in this segment. Its closest competitor here is the Realme Narzo 10, which also starts from Rs 11,999.

What's the difference between the Redmi Note 9 and Realme Narzo 10? When it comes to the display, the Redmi 9 has a clear advantage with its higher resolution. The Full HD+ panel is brighter and better for consuming entertainment. Moreover, the Redmi 9’s screen is covered with Gorilla Glass 5 as opposed to Gorilla Glass 3 on the Realme Narzo 10. The hole-punch camera cutout is another improvement over the waterdrop notch of the Realme Narzo 10A.

Both phones have pretty similar camera setups. Since we haven’t tested the two devices, there is no way of establishing a clear-cut winner. Camera software would make a big difference here, and Xiaomi tends to come up on top in that aspect, but without fully testing both phones, it quite hard to tell.

In terms of performance, the Redmi Note 9 has a slight advantage with the newer MediaTek chipset. However, Realme offers 128GB of storage as compared to 64GB storage on Note 9. While you can upgrade to 128GB of the Redmi Note 9, it will set you back Rs 13,499.

Both the Realme Narzo 10 and Redmi Note 9 are pretty evenly matched on the battery front. However, the software on both these devices tells two completely different tales. In our view, Realme UI is relatively cleaner and does a much better job handling notifications from pre-installed apps than MIUI.