OPPO Reno vs Realme 3 Pro vs Xiaomi Mi 9 SE: Which one to get?

A few days from now, a new premium mid-range smartphone in the form of the OPPO Reno. It sports an immersive screen, a pop-up camera, and a Snapdragon 710 chipset. It’s not going to be left unchallenged though as there are other smartphones in the market in the same caliber — the Realme 3 Pro and the Xiaomi Mi 9 SE. Let’s compare their specs to see which one looks the best on paper.

Display

Let’s start with the display. The OPPO Reno already has the advantage for having the largest screen size and a more immersive display because of its notch-less design, which is a plus for those who don’t like notches getting in the way of their viewing. It also has Gorilla Glass 6, which is newer than the Gorilla Glass 5 found on its competitors.

All sport the same Full HD+ resolution, but since the Mi 9 SE has the smallest screen, the pixels are denser. Although I don’t think you’ll notice the difference.

As for the display type, both the Reno and Mi 9 SE sport AMOLED panels while the Realme 3 Pro has IPS. Both display types have their own advantages, but if you’re going to ask me, I’ll go for AMOLED for deeper blacks and punchier colors.

Cameras

If you’re after the number of cameras, the Mi 9 SE has the advantage for having three which includes an ultrawide and telephoto lens. The other two only have two cameras with the secondary used for depth-of-field effects. In terms of resolution, the Reno and Mi 9 SE are tied at 48MP, but the former has a wider F1.7 aperture. The Realme 3 Pro also has an F1.7 aperture but with a lower 16MP resolution.

For the selfie cameras, the Realme 3 Pro wins in terms of resolution at 25MP, this is followed by the Mi 9 SE at 20MP, then the Reno at 16MP. All have F2.0 apertures.

As for the quality, we’ll know once we have all units for a shoot-out so stay tuned for that.

Storage

When it comes to storage, the Reno wins in capacity, offering up to 256GB. The Realme 3 Pro and Mi 9 SE, on, the other hand, maxes out at 128GB. In terms of speed, then we recommend the Reno and Mi 9 SE for sporting UFS 2.1. However, if you’re looking at expandability, the Realme 3 Pro blows the two out of the water for having a dedicated microSD card slot.

CPU and RAM

This is one of the reasons why these three devices were compared. The Reno and Realme 3 Pro share the same Snapdragon 710 chipset, while the Mi 9 SE has the higher-clocked Snapdragon 712. All three have the Adreno 616 GPU. As for the memory, the Realme 3 Pro and Mi 9 SE maxes out at 6GB RAM while the Reno offers up to 8GB RAM.

Given the configuration, we can expect the same level of performance from all three. Unless you opt for the Reno with 8GB RAM as it can handle more background processes than the other two.

Battery

In terms of capacity, the winner here is the Realme 3 Pro, followed by the Reno, then the Mi 9 SE. To top it off, the Realme 3 Pro and Reno support VOOC 3.0 flash charge. So if you want the biggest battery capacity with the fastest charging technology, go with these two.

Other features

Now let’s take a look at the bells and whistles. Both the Reno and the Mi 9 SE have NFC and USB Type-C, while the Realme 3 Pro has microUSB.

The Reno and the Realme 3 Pro has a 3.5mm audio port which is a great feature for those with wired headphones. Sadly, the Mi 9 SE doesn’t have that and relies on a dongle.

The Reno and Mi 9 SE have in-display fingerprint scanners, while the Realme 3 Pro uses the traditional rear-mounted one.

The Realme 3 Pro is the only device with an FM Radio, while the Mi 9 SE is the only one with an IR blaster for controlling appliances.

Price

The differences between these devices can be highlighted in their prices. The OPPO Reno starts at PHP 26,990USD 460INR 38,990EUR 438CNY 3,349 (6GB + 256GB). The Xiaomi Mi 9 SE goes for PHP 15,990USD 272INR 23,099EUR 260CNY 1,984 for the 6GB + 64GB and PHP 17,990USD 307INR 25,988EUR 292CNY 2,233 for the 6GB + 128GB. The Realme 3 Pro, on the other hand, costs PHP 12,990USD 221INR 18,765EUR 211CNY 1,612 for the 4GB + 64GB and PHP 14,990USD 255INR 21,655EUR 243CNY 1,860 for the 6GB + 128GB.

Which one to get?

If budget is an issue, the Realme 3 Pro is the best choice. You miss out on some cool features, but you get the essentials and then some, at a lower asking price. If you can stretch the budget a bit for some extra features, then you can go for the Mi 9 SE. But if you can splurge for that fancy pop-up camera, immersive screen, and attractive design, the Reno is the one to get.

How about you, which one do you think provides the most value? Let us know in the comments below.