Micromax today unveiled the In Note 2 in India, the successor to its In Note 1 from the year 2020. The In Note 2 comes in the budget segment where Realme recently also launched a smartphone called Realme 9i. So let’s take compare them both on the basis of specifications and check out which one offers a better value for your money.
Display
Micromax In Note 2 comes with a 6.43-inch Full HD+ AMOLED Display with a Resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels, 20:9 aspect ratio, 100% NTSC coverage and 550nits of maximum brightness. It sports a side-mounted fingerprint scanner as well as face recognition for security.
The Realme 9i sports a 6.6-inch IPS LCD full HD+ display with 1080 × 2408 pixel resolution and a 90Hz refresh rate. Moreover, the display panel has peak brightness levels of 480 nits. This one also has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner.
Now, while you get a slightly bigger display with a high Refresh Rate on the Realme 9i, the In Note 2’s display will produce sharper images and punchier colours as its an AMOLED panel. Moreover, it is brighter than the Realme 9i’s display which will help in comfortable viewing under direct sunlight. So you’ll have to choose between a high refresh rate LCD panel or a brighter AMOLED panel.
Processor, Software
Under the hood, the Micromax In Note 2 is powered by an octa-core MediaTek Helio G95 SoC which is coupled with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of UFS 2.1 internal storage. The memory can be expanded by up to 256GB via micro-sd card slot. It runs on Stock Android 11 OS.
The Realme 9i is powered by the Snapdragon 680 Chipset coupled with up to 6GB RAM and 128GB internal storage. In addition, the storage is expandable up to 1TB via a dedicated microSD card slot. This device runs on Realme UI 2.0 based on Android 11.
While the Realme 9i has a latest SoC, if we compare both the processors on the basis of on-paper specs, the MediaTek Helio G95 turns out to be a better one. However, you shouldn’t notice a major difference in day to day tasks as both of them are capable SoCs.
Further, the Realme 9i has a slight EDGE over the In Note 2 as it supports expandable storage up to 1TB in comparison to just 256GB on In Note 2. But that depends on the user as to how much expandable storage they need. Further, RAM and Storage are identical on both the phones for the variant we are comparing.
As for software, you get Stock Android on In Note 2 as compared to Realme UI on the Realme 9i. It is up to the user if they want a simple experience or one with more features and a heavily skinned version of Android with Realme UI. We would prefer Stock Android over Realme UI considering it should get faster updates and may perform better as its not heavily skinned and comes without any type of bloatware.
Read More: Micromax In Note 2 – First Impressions
Battery
Both the phones pack a 5000mAh battery. Where the Realme 9i charges at 33 watts, the In Note 2 charges at 30 watts. This is a difference that you wont be able to notice in real life. Further, it depends on the software optimisation on each of these devices to determine which one of them lasts longer. But as we haven’t tested the Realme 9i, we will end this round with a tie.
Cameras
The Realme 9i comes equipped with a triple camera setup. It comprises a 50-megapixel primary camera with an f/1.8 Aperture and PDAF, a 2-megapixel macro camera with f/2.2 aperture, and a 2-megapixel Monochrome camera with an f/2.4 aperture. In addition, there’s a 16MP front-facing camera for selfies.
For the camera, In Note 2 is equipped with a quad-camera setup with a combination of a 48-megapixel primary camera, a 5-megapixel ultra-wide angle sensor, a 2-megapixel depth camera and a 2-megapixel macro camera. The phone has a 16-megapixel front camera sensor for selfies and video calls.
While we can’t tell you which one has better cameras as we haven’t checked out the Realme 9i, we can say that the camera setup on the In Note 2 seems much more practical than the Realme 9i. This is because it is having a Wide-Angle sensor which Realme 9i misses out on. Moreover, we don’t think a monochrome sensor is as useful as a wide-angle sensor can be, because of which the In Note 2 wins this round.
Price
The In Note 2 costs Rs 13,490 for the sole 4GB/64GB variant while the Realme 9i costs Rs 13,999 for6GB/64GB. Moreover, you can currently get the In Note 2 for with a discount of Rs 1,000 as a part of an introductory offer. It will go on sale starting January 30 while the Realme 9i has gone on sale starting today.
We think that the In Note 2 makes more sense at this price as it gives you a better software along with an AMOLED panel and a wide angle camera sensor. Realme 9i may not be a bad phone, but it fails to stand strong when put against the In Note 2.
