Umidigi G9C Review: Features, Price, and Performance
Umidigi G9C:
The Umidigi G9C is an affordable smartphone that aims to offer great performance, modern features, and an overall solid user experience within its budget. Umidigi, a Chinese smartphone manufacturer known for producing affordable smartphones, has gained popularity by offering feature-rich devices at affordable prices. The G9C is one of the company's newer models and continues this tradition. Let's take a closer look at the design, display, performance, camera system, battery life, and software to understand what makes it so appealing.
Design and Finish :
The Umidigi G9C features a sturdy yet lightweight plastic body. It's not the most high-quality device on the market, but it's well-made for the price. The back is slightly textured to improve grip and reduce fingerprints. The device is slim and relatively compact, making it easy to hold and operate with one hand.
On the front, it has a 6.53-inch display, which gives it a good screen-to-body ratio. It's fairly thin around the edges, but a bit thicker at the bottom edge. The phone is available in a variety of colors, allowing users to customize it to their liking. In terms of buttons and ports, the G9C sports a standard layout, with the power button and volume rocker on the right side, and the headphone jack, USB-C charging port, and speaker at the bottom.
For the price, the Umidigi G9C's design is practical and doesn't feel cheap or flimsy. It's not groundbreaking, but it's usable and fits the market segment well.
Screen :
The Umidigi G9C sports a 6.53-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels, giving it a Full HD+ resolution. This equates to a pixel density of about 395 PPI (pixels per inch), which is very adequate for an entry-level device. The display produces vibrant colors and good contrast, and is bright enough for indoor use, although it may struggle a bit in direct sunlight.
It's not the highest quality screen you'll find on a flagship device, but considering the price, the G9C's screen quality is excellent. Watching videos, browsing, and playing games on this display should be satisfactory for most users.
Performance and Software :
Under the hood of the Umidigi G9C is the Unisoc T610 chipset, an entry-level processor. The device has 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage, which can be expanded with a microSD card. The T610 chip is good for everyday tasks such as browsing, social media, light gaming, and video streaming. However, it may not be up to the task of more demanding tasks such as intensive multitasking or running graphics-intensive applications such as high-end games.
Performance is good for the price, but don't expect the same responsiveness or smoothness as you'd expect from a high-end device. The phone should be good enough for general daily activities, but users should be aware of its limitations when it comes to performing more demanding tasks. The software experience on the Umidigi G9C is based on Android 11, a relatively new version of the Android operating system. It offers a virtually unchanged Android experience. The good news is that it's not overloaded with extra bloatware or unnecessary features. This makes the software clean and responsive. You also get access to the full range of Google's services, including the Play Store for downloading apps and games. The downside, however, is that this phone may not receive software updates as frequently as popular brands, so security patches and Android version updates may be slower to arrive.
The camera system on the Umidigi G9C isn't one of the phone's standout features, but it is quite functional for the price. The rear camera packs a 13MP primary sensor and a 2MP depth sensor. On the front is an 8MP selfie camera.
The 13MP camera is capable of taking decent photos in good lighting conditions, producing images with good detail and color accuracy. However, like many budget phones, the camera struggles in low light, producing grainy, blurry images when lighting isn't ideal. The 2MP depth sensor is useful for portraits and provides a basic bokeh effect that blurs the background, but the results can look unnatural.
The front camera is good for selfies and video calling, but it also doesn't perform well in low light. Overall, this camera system is good for casual photography and social media posts, but it won't satisfy users looking for more advanced photography capabilities.
Overall, the Umidigi G9C is a solid budget smartphone that offers a good balance of features, performance, and battery life at a very affordable price. The design is functional, the display is good for its class, and performance should be good enough for everyday tasks. The camera system isn't outstanding, but it's good enough for everyday use, and battery life is one notable feature that makes it an attractive choice for budget-conscious users.
Network Technology
- GSM / HSPA / LTE
Launch
- Announced: September 2024
- Status: Available, Released September 2024
Body
- Dimensions: 167.2 x 77 x 7.9 mm (6.58 x 3.03 x 0.31 in)
- Weight: 189 g (6.67 oz)
- SIM: Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM
Display
- Type: IPS LCD, 90Hz
- Size: 6.75 inches, 110.0 cm² (~85.4% screen-to-body ratio)
- Resolution: 720 x 1600 pixels, 20:9 ratio (~260 ppi density)
Platform
- OS: Android 14
- Chipset: Mediatek Helio G36 (12 nm)
- CPU: Octa-core (4x2.2 GHz Cortex-A53 & 4x1.6 GHz Cortex-A53)
- GPU: PowerVR GE8320
Memory
- Card Slot: microSDXC (uses shared SIM slot)
- Internal: 128GB, 6GB RAM
Main Camera
- Dual:
- 50 MP (wide)
- 2 MP (depth)
- Features: LED flash
- Video: 1080p@30fps
Selfie Camera
- Single: 8 MP (wide)
- Video: Yes
Sound
- Loudspeaker: Yes
- 3.5mm Jack: Yes
Communications
- WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
- Bluetooth: 5.4, A2DP, LE
- Positioning: GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS
- NFC: Yes
- Radio: FM radio
- USB: USB Type-C, OTG
Features
- Sensors:
- Fingerprint (side-mounted)
- Accelerometer
- Compass
- Virtual proximity sensing
Battery
- Type: 5000 mAh
- Charging: 18W wired
Miscellaneous
- Colors: Rock Black, Grass Green
Design and Finish :
The Umidigi G9C features a sturdy yet lightweight plastic body. It's not the most high-quality device on the market, but it's well-made for the price. The back is slightly textured to improve grip and reduce fingerprints. The device is slim and relatively compact, making it easy to hold and operate with one hand.
On the front, it has a 6.53-inch display, which gives it a good screen-to-body ratio. It's fairly thin around the edges, but a bit thicker at the bottom edge. The phone is available in a variety of colors, allowing users to customize it to their liking. In terms of buttons and ports, the G9C sports a standard layout, with the power button and volume rocker on the right side, and the headphone jack, USB-C charging port, and speaker at the bottom.
For the price, the Umidigi G9C's design is practical and doesn't feel cheap or flimsy. It's not groundbreaking, but it's usable and fits the market segment well.
Screen :
The Umidigi G9C sports a 6.53-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels, giving it a Full HD+ resolution. This equates to a pixel density of about 395 PPI (pixels per inch), which is very adequate for an entry-level device. The display produces vibrant colors and good contrast, and is bright enough for indoor use, although it may struggle a bit in direct sunlight.
It's not the highest quality screen you'll find on a flagship device, but considering the price, the G9C's screen quality is excellent. Watching videos, browsing, and playing games on this display should be satisfactory for most users.
Performance and Software :
Under the hood of the Umidigi G9C is the Unisoc T610 chipset, an entry-level processor. The device has 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage, which can be expanded with a microSD card. The T610 chip is good for everyday tasks such as browsing, social media, light gaming, and video streaming. However, it may not be up to the task of more demanding tasks such as intensive multitasking or running graphics-intensive applications such as high-end games.
Performance is good for the price, but don't expect the same responsiveness or smoothness as you'd expect from a high-end device. The phone should be good enough for general daily activities, but users should be aware of its limitations when it comes to performing more demanding tasks. The software experience on the Umidigi G9C is based on Android 11, a relatively new version of the Android operating system. It offers a virtually unchanged Android experience. The good news is that it's not overloaded with extra bloatware or unnecessary features. This makes the software clean and responsive. You also get access to the full range of Google's services, including the Play Store for downloading apps and games. The downside, however, is that this phone may not receive software updates as frequently as popular brands, so security patches and Android version updates may be slower to arrive.
Camera System :
The camera system on the Umidigi G9C isn't one of the phone's standout features, but it is quite functional for the price. The rear camera packs a 13MP primary sensor and a 2MP depth sensor. On the front is an 8MP selfie camera.
The 13MP camera is capable of taking decent photos in good lighting conditions, producing images with good detail and color accuracy. However, like many budget phones, the camera struggles in low light, producing grainy, blurry images when lighting isn't ideal. The 2MP depth sensor is useful for portraits and provides a basic bokeh effect that blurs the background, but the results can look unnatural.
The front camera is good for selfies and video calling, but it also doesn't perform well in low light. Overall, this camera system is good for casual photography and social media posts, but it won't satisfy users looking for more advanced photography capabilities.
Battery Life :
One of the Umidigi G9C's biggest strengths is its battery life. The phone comes with a 5150mAh battery, which is a very large capacity for an entry-level smartphone. With normal use, the G9C will easily last a full day, and with light use, the battery life can last up to two days. This is a great feature for users who value longevity over fast charging, or who don't want to worry about charging their phone frequently.
The G9C supports 18W fast charging, which is a decent enough charging speed, but not the fastest charging standard available. Still, for most people, you'll get enough charging speeds to top off your phone in a reasonable amount of time.
Conclusion :
One of the Umidigi G9C's biggest strengths is its battery life. The phone comes with a 5150mAh battery, which is a very large capacity for an entry-level smartphone. With normal use, the G9C will easily last a full day, and with light use, the battery life can last up to two days. This is a great feature for users who value longevity over fast charging, or who don't want to worry about charging their phone frequently.
The G9C supports 18W fast charging, which is a decent enough charging speed, but not the fastest charging standard available. Still, for most people, you'll get enough charging speeds to top off your phone in a reasonable amount of time.
Conclusion :
Overall, the Umidigi G9C is a solid budget smartphone that offers a good balance of features, performance, and battery life at a very affordable price. The design is functional, the display is good for its class, and performance should be good enough for everyday tasks. The camera system isn't outstanding, but it's good enough for everyday use, and battery life is one notable feature that makes it an attractive choice for budget-conscious users.
