Realme recently announced the GT 2 and GT 2 Pro, which would launch on January 4 at 9 a.m. IST (10:30 pm ET). The GT 2 Pro would be the first smartphone with an ultra-wide-angle sensor with a 150-degree field of view. It would also have a “fisheye mode” to make photographs more appealing. While the GT 2 series would launch next week, they would not be the only smartphones from the tech giant to be released in the first quarter of 2022. A leaked listing on Aliexpress has revealed the Realme 9i, which is expected to launch in China in January 2022. There have been suggestions that the company is working on several smartphones in the Realme 9 series, such as the Realme 9, the Realme 9 Pro, 9 Pro+, 9 Pro Max, as well as the 9i. Meanwhile, 91mobiles has also confirmed via a tipster that four of these models would be launching in India over the final week of January/early February, which would be spread over two launch events.
A file photo of a Realme 8. The company confirmed the Realme 9 series in September. Andy Boxall/Digital Trends
The Realme 9i seems to be a budget device, similar to the 8i from the Realme 8 series. It is expected to be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 processor and would be equipped with 4GB of RAM. Its 6.59-inch LCD display would have a 90Hz refresh rate, with a resolution of 399 ppi. It would have a triple rear camera setup, consisting of a 50MP wide-angle primary camera, an 8MP ultrawide angle, and a 2MP depth camera. Meanwhile, the front camera would be a 16MP sensor with Full HD video recording at 30 fps. The dual NANO-SIM smartphone would have 128GB of storage space, which would be expandable up to 256GB. Finally, the 5000mAh battery would have 33W of fast charge via a USB Type-C port. Considering that the Realme 8i with its 4GB RAM+64GB space and the 6GB RAM+128GB versions are currently priced at $173 and $200 respectively in Asian markets, the cost of the 9i should hover around that mark.