Xiaomi Mi CC9 vs Realme 3 Pro Specs Comparison – The New Best Budget Gaming Phone?

Realme 3 Pro is arguably the best budget gaming phone for the first half in 2019, as it’s priced at a very competitive P12,990. Now that Xiaomi has debuted its Mi CC9 with a price of CNY 1,799 or ~ P13k before taxes, could we finally see a shift in power?

READ: Xiaomi Mi CC9 series launched: SD 710, 48MP Triple Camera, P10k price

Xiaomi Mi CC9 and Realme 3 Pro Differences

Advantages of Mi CC9

1. metal and glass build (premium design)
2. Super AMOLED panel
3. HDR display support
4. triple main camera
5. 32MP selfie camera
6. aptX HD codec
7. under-display fingerprint scanner
8. NFC
9. Infrared port
10. USB Type-C

Advantages of Realme 3 Pro

1. polycarbonate build (durable and lighter design)
2. dedicated microSD slot
3. 16MP f1.7 main sensor
4. capacitive fingeprint scanner (faster and more accurate)
5. 20W VOOC 3.0 fast charging

Xiaomi Mi CC9 and Realme 3 Pro Similarities

1. teardrop notch
2. FHD+ resolution
3. Corning Gorilla Glass 5
4. Android 9 Pie
5. up to 6GB/128GB
6. expandable storage up to 256GB
7. secondary depth sensor
8. singe selfie camera
9. 3.5mm audio jack
10. Wi-Fi ac
11. BT 5.0
12. FM Radio
13. at least 4000mAh battery
14. at least 18W fast charging

Which is a better buy between the Xiaomi Mi CC9 and Realme 3 Pro?

Design

Both phones have a similar design — from the teardrop notch to the iridescent hue on the back. Where the two differ is the way it will feel when in use. The Mi CC9 sports a glass and metal body that feels substantially more expensive in the hand. On the other end, the Realme 3 Pro sports a polycarbonate body with a glass-like finish on the back. The upside to this design is the fact that it’s more durable when dropped and less slippery in the hand.

Display

With both clocking in at FHD+ 6.3″, there’s a significant difference in display quality. Thanks to the Super AMOLED panel on the CC9, the quality looks better due to the infinite contrast ratio and vibrant colors. Although the IPS LCD panel on the Realme 3 Pro looks muted, it has wide viewing angles and not prone to permanent burn-in.

Performance

The similarities continue as both make use of Snapdragon 710 chipset. However, the base configuration of the Realme device is 4GB/64GB. While the Xiaomi device has more headroom in the 6GB/64GB configuration. The added RAM should translate to more apps open in the background and smoother transitions between apps. In terms of day-to-day usage, your experience may vary between MIUI 10 and ColorOS 6 — both based on Android 9 Pie.

READ: Smartphones with Snapdragon 710 in 2019

Camera

Buyers will need to take a look at the camera personalities as one is clearly better than the other. In the case of Realme 3 Pro, it has a decent dual main camera offering — 16MP f1.7 and 5MP f.24 depth sensors. Perhaps, the only advantage of it in this comparison is the brighter aperture. As for the CC9, it’s a jam-packed setup featuring a 48MP f1.8 wide + 8MP ultrawide + 2MP depth.

While the selfie camera favors the Xiaomi device with its 32MP f2.0 sensor, the Realme competitor isn’t far behind with a 25MP f2.0 sensor. You can check out the sample shots from our review.

Battery

With at least 4000mAh battery in tow, even the fast charging output is very close. The CC9 goes up to 18W while the Realme 3 Pro goes up to 20W, boasting up to 50% in 30 mins.

Others

We are glad to report that both phones have an audio jack. But the CC9 is far ahead with the use of a USB Type-C port, under-screen scanner, NFC, and infrared port. All of these are missing from the Realme 3 Pro, except for the fingerprint scanner that’s of capacitive type.

Price

The Mi CC9 is estimated at CNY 1,799 (~P13,300) for the 6GB/64GB model and goes up to CNY 1,999 (~P14,800) for the 6GB/128GB. While the Realme 3 Pro is priced at P12,990 for the 4GB/64GB model and P14,990 for the 6GB/128GB model.

Conclusion

In another comparison, we assumed that the CC9 is priced at P16k (around P15,990). Applying that term here, the CC9 is clearly the better overall phone. However, there’s no stark difference in performance. Which means — the Realme 3 Pro is still the best budget gaming phone at P12,990.

READ: Xiaomi Mi CC9 vs Mi 9T (Redmi K20) Specs Comparison – Which is better at P15,990?