UMIDIGI A9 – Is a R$ 600 smartphone worth it?

UMIDIGI A9 – Is a R$ 600 smartphone worth it?" title="UMIDIGI A9 – Is a R$ 600 smartphone worth it?" />

UMIDIGI A9, this is the smartphone that we are going to test today! A plastic frame in a traditional design of mid-range devices, but with an interesting differential such as an infrared temperature gauge. Is it worth paying 600 reais on this smartphone? That's what we're going to find out now.

Look, I confess that I had never heard of this brand and I was even surprised when researching it and discovering that the Chinese manufacturer has already launched more than 20 smartphone models since 2019. Of course, the brand's main focus is the Chinese market, but somehow their cell phones reached the West and here we are, with the Umidigi A9 in hand. It is a simple device, but even beautiful. The model we received for testing is blue. The back cover has a texture that is pleasant to the touch, but that is lost if you use the cover that comes with the kit in the box.

In addition to the traditional power and volume buttons, on the opposite side, the A9 has a customizable button. By default it is configured for you to quickly access the temperature gauge, but it is possible to register up to three shortcuts, through different touches on the button.

The Umidigi A9 has a fingerprint sensor on the back and also the option of face unlock, but neither the first nor the second is very accurate. Finger unlocking sometimes takes time and the facial then, not even mentioned. Better to register a PIN or Pattern to speed it up.

Shall we see its specs? The A9 is equipped with a processor MediaTek Helio G25 Octa-core, 3GB RAM and 64GB storage – can receive a microSD card of up to 256GB. His screen is 6.53″ LCD with HD+ 1600x720p resolution. The battery is from 5150mAh of good autonomy and its charger is of 10W.

The main camera consists of a sensor of 13MP, another 8MP ultrawide and a 2MP sensor for the depth effect. The front camera is 8MP and videos from both cameras max out at FullHD30fps. This smartphone runs android 11. Yes, it comes super updated from the factory.

So let's see the strengths of the Umidigi A9

Strong points

temperature gauge

Undoubtedly, the infrared temperature meter is a differential of the Umidigi A9. Is it useful? This we can discuss. It's needed? I don't know if I was measuring correctly, but it didn't seem very reliable, no. Don't use the Umidigi A9 as a base to find out if your child has a fever, okay? But ok, a temperature gauge is not seen on smartphones every day, is it?

two speakers

Here is a differential that you would like to know. Despite not offering the same sound quality, nor being an effectively stereo sound, the Umidigi A9 propagates sound through two places when you are playing games or watching videos – the speaker for calls and the one positioned at the bottom of the device.

Price

Purchased via AliExpress or Banggood you can find the Umidigi A9 for prices below R$ 600, making this smartphone a valid option for those who don't want to spend more than that. The price actually enters here as a positive point because of the low value, but then I'll tell you the weak points of the Umidigi A9 and maybe you'll change your mind.

weak points

poor performance

The first weakness already knocks down any expectations of anyone looking for a cheap and good device to play. The Umidigi A9 is quite modest in this regard. Games that run super well on the massive majority of devices, have impaired graphics on the Umidigi A9, such as Asphalt 9, CoD Mobile and PES2021. O Genshin Impact so it looks like a slideshow. Experience with heavy games is not funny.

exclusive loader

The Umidigi A9 simply does not recharge the battery with chargers other than the original one. I know that the recommendation is to always use the original charger, but until today I have never seen a device that does not charge the battery with a charger from different brands.

This means that if, by chance, the original charger breaks down, it's bad for you!

bad cameras

Accompanying the modest performance of the processor, the photos do not go beyond that either. Selfies even have a decent result, but it is little for what is expected nowadays. If the lighting conditions drop then the result is a Photograph shaky, with little definition and full of noise.

Let's agree that, given the price of the product, the photos are consistent with the category.

In photos of environments, landscapes and places with many framed elements, the photos are even acceptable, as there is no focus of attention on a single object, as in this beautiful landscape of Porto Alegre.

Anyway, these are modest photos for a modest smartphone.

competitors

But all is not lost, my friends. Within the Umidigi brand itself there are models that can gain our attention such as the Umidigi A11, the A9 Pro and the Umidigi Bison 2021. The latter, for example, uses cameras sony, Helio P60 processor, 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, certification IP68 and much more. Oh and the values are no more than R$ 1200 on AliExpress.

Poco X3 Pro

If you want to continue the search for a quality Chinese smartphone, the tip is Poco X3 Pro, recently released and found for approximately R$ 1400.00. It will simply have all the better specs than the Umidigi A9 – on the downside of having a slightly higher value.

• Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 (7nm)
• cpu: Octa-core (1×2.96 GHz Kryo 485 Gold and 3×2.42 GHz Kryo 485 Gold and 4×1.78 GHz Kryo 485 Silver)
• Operational system: android 11
• RAM memory: 6GB and 8GB
• Internal Storage: UFS 3.1 and 128 GB
• Screen - Type: IPS
• Screen – Size: 6.67
• Screen - Resolution: 2400x1080
• Screen - Density: 395 ppi
• Screen – Protection: Gorilla Glass 6
• Screen – Extras: 450 nits, 120Hz and HDR10
• main camera: PDAF and 48 MP, f/1.8, 28mm (wide), 1/2.0, 0.8µm
• 2nd camera: 8 MP, f/2.2, (ultrawide)
• 3rd camera: 2 MP, f/2.4, (macro)
• 4th camera: 2 MP, f/2.4, (depth)
• Frontal camera: 20 MP, f/2.2
• Drums: 5160 mAh
• Charger: 33W
• Xiaomi POCO X3 Pro – Full technical sheet

Galaxy M21s

With a little less, around R$ 1200.00, you can find the Galaxy M21s, whose configurations are similar to those of the Umidigi A9, but it has the guarantee of sale in Brazil and performance in practice much superior. I recommend!

• Processor: Exynos 9611
• Operational system: Android 10 and OneUI 2
• RAM memory: 4GB
• Internal Storage: 64 GB
• Screen - Type: Super AMOLED
• Screen – Size: 6.4
• Screen - Resolution: 2340x1080
• Screen - Density: 403 ppi
• Screen – Protection: Gorilla Glass 3
• Screen – Extras: 420 nits
• main camera: 64 MP
• 2nd camera: 8 MP (ultrawide)
• 3rd camera: 5 MP (depth)
• Frontal camera: 32MP
• Drums: 6000 mAh
• Charger: 15W
• Samsung Galaxy M21s – Full technical sheet

It is worth it?

So my friends, the Umidigi A9 is not worth it! You pay cheaply for a device with updated Android and a temperature gauge that, in my view, does not add value to the product. Other points would be more interesting, such as better cameras and, of course, performance. It is much more worth looking for the Umidigi A9 Pro 2021 – which has a more premium footprint and superior settings, without raising the price too much.

Thank you very much, Umidigi, for the experience, but I can't!

Where to buy?

The indication of purchase for this product is imported, through AliExpress, the official UMIDIGI store, they sent it to us.

BUY HERE: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_AnjjbP

IMPORTANT: Remember that when importing products you may be subject to taxation.

A hug and see you next.