Realme 9 series India launch in Q1 of 2022 - could have four models

We first heard about the Realme 9 series and two other devices back in March, and then in July when they listed on the company's official website. Their launch had to be delayed due to the global chipset shortage but, now we hear that the Realme 8 successor would arrive in the first quarter of 2022 with four models. 

In the interregnum, the company landed the Realme GT2 Neo range and is also set to launch the premium Realme GT 2 Pro. Based on these developments, we could safely assume that the company has left behind the severe chipset shortage it led to delays in launching the numbered series. Earlier, Realme India CEO Madhav Sheth had blamed the shortage for postponing a second set of launches from the brand we have come to expect each year. 

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What's in a name? 

Coming to the Realme 9 series, a report on 91Mobiles quotes an exclusive leak from tipster Mukul Sharma to suggest that four devices arriving in the first quarter of 2022. The four variants could be named as Realme 9, Realme 9 Pro, Realme 9i and the Realme 9 Max or Pro+. While the phone maker hasn't regularly used the Max or Pro+ moniker, but India did see the arrival of rebranded Realme GT Neo as the Realme X7 Max 5G.

Back in August, Sheth had confirmed to TechRadar that the company had officially replaced the earlier X series with the Realme GT series. "The X will be replaced by the GT; so the GT is the new X," Sheth had said adding that the C and numbered series of phones will likely remain unaffected.

Four top-end devices?

Having clarified the naming conventions of the brand, owned by Chinese tech giant BBK Electronics, the tipster now claims the four models of the Realme 9 lineup could be arriving in India by end-January or definitely in February. He also suggests that the launch could happen over two events. 

In the recent past, the Realme 9 Pro+ was reportedly on the IMEI database sporting the model number RMX3393. Compared to the rest of the Realme 9 series, this device could sport top-end specifications. The same model was also spotted on the EEC Portal alongside the Realme 9i that carried the model number RMX3491. 

We believe that the Pro+ could be powered by the Snapdragon 870 chipset with 120Hz AMOLED screens and a 108MP primary shooter. We expect the Realme 9 specs to be robust if anything, given the brand's stated objective of shifting to premium devices.

Customer trust and premium aspirations

The Realme GT packs in the Snapdragon 888 flagship chipset, high refresh rates, AMOLED display, and much more and Realme founder CEO Ski Li recently set a much higher challenge by suggesting that his company would enter the premium devices segment of devices priced around $800 dollars (approx. Rs.60,000). 

In line with these aspirations, we already know that the Realme GT 2 Pro could be one amongst the earliest devices to be powered by the flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen1 chipset. It is tipped to include a 6.5inch FHD+ Super AMOLED display, high refresh rate, and 12GB RAM coupled with 256GB onboard storage.

These reports confirm that Realme could be heading for a highly innovative year ahead, given that the brand has already scored on the perceptions battle, at least in India. A recent survey indicated that Realme had the highest brand trust score of 55% per cent and led the field over second-placed Samsung and third-placed Apple. 

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