Home Phone comparison Nothing Phone (3a) and Xiaomi Redmi 9 - Which is better?

Nothing Phone (3a) vs Xiaomi Redmi 9

69 out 100
Nothing Phone (3a)
VS
42 out 100
Xiaomi Redmi 9
Nothing Phone (3a)
Xiaomi Redmi 9

Compared 2 smartphones : Nothing Phone (3a) Manufactured in March, 2025, with display 6.77 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3, vs Xiaomi Redmi 9, Manufactured in July, 2020 with chipsetMediaTek Helio G80. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery Life
  6. Cameras
  7. Comments (0)

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Nothing Phone (3a)
  • Larger display: 6.77in
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.4 vs 5
Reasons to choose Xiaomi Redmi 9
  • Higher pixel density: 395ppi
  • Lighter design: 198g vs 201g
  • Higher battery capacity: 5020mAh vs 5000mAh
  • Infrared port
  • Includes charger

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 12/256 GB		 - 3/32 GB
- 4/64 GB
- 4/128 GB
- 6/128 GB

Review

Key Specs Nothing Phone (3a) and Xiaomi Redmi 9
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Camera
Main & front camera tests
Performance
App & system performance
Games
3D gaming performance
Battery
Battery life, charging speed & type
Connectivity
Connectivity features
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
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Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison
Smartphones:
Nothing Phone (3a)
vs
Xiaomi Redmi 9

Display

Display quality comparison
Type AMOLED IPS LCD
Size 6.77 in 6.53 in
Resolution 1080x2392 pixels 1080x2340 pixels
Aspect ratio n/a 19.5:9
Pixel density 387 ppi 395 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (60-120 Hz) No
Max brightness 1300 nits 400 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ No
Screen-to-body ratio 88 % 83.2 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming		 n/a
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Nothing Phone (3a)
1272 nits
Xiaomi Redmi 9
423 nits
sRGB gamutn/a93 %
PWM (Flicker)n/a500 Hz
Response timen/a35 ms
Contrastn/a710:1
Sources: NotebookCheck [Xiaomi Redmi 9]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 163.52 mm (6.44 in) 163.3 mm (6.43 in)
Width 77.5 mm (3.05 in) 77 mm (3.03 in)
Thickness 8.35 mm (0.33 in) 9.1 mm (0.36 in)
Weight 201 g (7.09 oz) 198 g (6.98 oz)
Water resistance IP64 No
Cooling system Vapor chamber n/a
Back panel n/a Plastic
Frame n/a Plastic
Colors - White
- Black
- Blue		 - Gray
- Green
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes rear
Screen-to-body ratio
Nothing Phone (3a)
88 %
Xiaomi Redmi 9
83.2 %

Performance

Testing Nothing Phone (3a) and Xiaomi Redmi 9 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 MediaTek Helio G80
Max Frequency 2500 MHz 2000 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 4) 8 (2 + 6)
Architecture - 4/1.8 (Kryo Silver (Cortex-A520))
- 3/2.4 (Kryo Gold (Cortex-A720))
- 1/2.5 (Kryo Prime (Cortex-A720))		 - 6/1.8 (Cortex-A55)
- 2/2 (Cortex-A75)
Process TSMC TSMC
Transistor Size 4 nm 12 nm
Neural Processor Yes Yes
Graphics Adreno 810 Mali-G52 MP2
GPU Cores 256 48
GPU Frequency 1050 MHz 950 MHz
FLOPS 537.6 GFLOPS 91.2 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Nothing Phone (3a)
1178
Xiaomi Redmi 9
514
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Nothing Phone (3a)
3214
Xiaomi Redmi 9
1559
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)1178514
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)32141559
Geekbench Compute (GPU)4435n/a
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Nothing Phone (3a)]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Nothing Phone (3a)
708353
Xiaomi Redmi 9
263655
CPU21562193634
GPU19771538883
Memory14564962983
UX14936868155
NanoReview Score708353263655
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Nothing Phone (3a)
n/a
Xiaomi Redmi 9
664
Max Surface Temp.n/a47 °C
Stabilityn/a98 %
Graphics Testn/a3 fps
Graphics Scoren/a664
Sources: 3DMark [Xiaomi Redmi 9]
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Nothing Phone (3a)
n/a
Xiaomi Redmi 9
8330
Writing scoren/a9134
Web scoren/a7371
Video editingn/a5562
Data manipulationn/a6064
NanoReview Scoren/a8330

Memory

RAM
RAM Size - 8 GB
- 12 GB		 - 3 GB
- 4 GB
- 6 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4X LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency 2133 MHz 1866 MHz
Channels 4 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB		- 32 GB
- 64 GB
- 128 GB
Storage TypeUFS 2.2eMMC 5.1
Memory CardNoMicroSD

Software

OS Android 15 Android 10 (Upgradeable to Android 12)
OS Size n/a 13 GB
UI Skin Nothing OS 3.1 MIUI 13

Battery

Volume 5000 mAh 5020 mAh
Max Charging Power 50 W 18 W
Battery Type Li-Po Li-Po
Removable No No
Wireless Charging No No
Reverse Charging No No
Fast Charging Yes (61% in 30 min) Yes (50% in 80 min)
Full Charge Time 1:06 h 3:05 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Nothing Phone (3a)
25:03
Xiaomi Redmi 9
22:51
Web Browsing08:06 h08:45 h
Video Playback16:25 h13:56 h
Games05:49 h05:30 h
Standby Mode131 h113 h

Main camera

Matrix 50 MP 13 MP
Photo resolution 8192x6144 pixels 4128x3096 pixels
Zoom Optical, 2x Digital
Flash LED LED
Stabilization Optical Digital
8K Recording No No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 30 fps) No
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 30 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (720p) 120 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° 118 °
Lenses count Standard: 50 MP
Telephoto: 50 MP
Ultra-wide: 8 MP		 Standard: 13 MP
Ultra-wide: 8 MP
Macro: 5 MP
Depth: 2 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
Main lens
Matrix50 MP13 MP
Aperturef/1.9f/2.2
Focal length24 mm28 mm
SensorSony LYT-600Omnivision OV13B10
Sensor size1/1.561/3.1
Pixel size1 μm1.12 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocusPhase autofocus
StabilizationOpticalDigital
Telephoto
Matrix50 MPn/a
Aperturef/2.6n/a
Focal length50 mmn/a
Sensor size1/2.74n/a
Pixel size0.64 μmn/a
StabilizationOpticaln/a
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix8 MP8 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length15 mm13 mm
SensorSony IMX355OmniVision OV8856
Sensor size1/4.01/4.0
Pixel size1.12 μm1.12 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital

Front camera

Matrix 32 MP 8 MP
Photo resolution n/a 3264x2448 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.0
Focal length 22 mm 27 mm
Sensor CMOS CMOS
Sensor size 1/3.44 1/4.0
Autofocus No No
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 30 fps 1080p (Full HD) at 30 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display		 - Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.4 5
Bluetooth features LE LE, HID, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort No n/a
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Galileo
- QZSS		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No Yes
Connectivity
SIM Count*22
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *NoNo
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM 850/900/1800/1900GSM B2/3/5/8
3G BandsUMTS 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 19HSDPA B1/2/4/5/8
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B17/B18/B19/B20/B26/B28/B38/B40/B41/B42/B48/B66)LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B20/B28)
LTE categoryn/a7
5G SupportYesNo

Sound

Speakers Stereo Mono
3.5 mm Jack No Yes
FM Radio No Yes
Dolby Atmos n/a No
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Nothing Phone (3a)
n/a
Xiaomi Redmi 9
83.7 dB

Other

Class Mid-range Budget
Announced March, 2025 yr June, 2020 yr
Release Date March, 2025 yr July, 2020 yr
Launch Price ($) 329 130
Sensors - Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included No Yes 10 W
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Nothing Phone (3a) the clear winner in this comparison.

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