Realme 9i specs highlighted by new leak; will feature a Snapdragon 680 SoC, 90Hz LCD screen and more

Last month (November 2021), Realme took the covers off its upcoming Realme 9 series of smartphones and said they're slated for an early 2022 launch. We can expect at least five smartphones under the Realme 9 moniker by previous launches. Thanks to the Vietnamese news outlet The Pixel, we now have a decent idea of what the Realme 9i could have in store for us.

Unlike its predecessor, the Realme 8i, which used a Mediatek Helio G96 SoC, the Realme 9i will switch over to team Qualcomm and use a Snapdragon 680 SoC instead. It is an incremental upgrade over the Snapdragon 678 and is bereft of a 5G modem, indicating that the Realme 9i will not support the technology.

Twitter leaker @chunvn8888 adds that the Realme 9i could reuse its antecedent's 50MP camera sensor. Given OEMs have opted to keep it out of their current devices, it'll be interesting to see if the 2MP macro/depth sensors make it through. Leaked renders of the phone showcase a total of three modules in the rear camera housing, and it'll be interesting to see what Realme has in store for its growing fanbase.

Other Realme 9i specs include an LCD panel with a refresh rate of 90 Hz- a flat-out downgrade from the 120Hz panel on the 8i. Information about its battery capacity, fingerprint sensor, etc., are unknown. Realme is expected to launch the Realme 9i in Vietnam before February 1. It is the only Realme 9 series phone we'll get to see for a while, as its successors, the Realme 9s, Realme 9, Realme 9 Pro, Realme 9 Pro+, aren't expected to arrive until Q3, 2022.

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