For those looking for smartphones between Ksh 19,000 and 21,000, the Tecno Spark 9 Pro and the Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 are some of the two devices on your list. The Spark 9 Pro is the most recent one to launch in Kenya and is available in stores for Ksh 20,500 for the 4GB variant with 128GB of storage. The Redmi Note 11 was launched a few months back and is available starting from Ksh 20,500 for the 4GB variant with 128GB of storage.
I have been using the Tecno Spark 9 Pro for a few weeks now and I am impressed so far. It is one of the best smartphones I have used from Tecno recently.
Both the Tecno Spark 9 Pro and the Redmi Note 11 focus on performance, reliability and those who want better camera performance. With that said, you should choose carefully which one you go with.
Read: Top 5 Things to Know about the Tecno Spark 9 Pro
Performance and Hardware
The Tecno Spark 9 Pro is powered by the MediaTek Helio G85 processor with 4GB of RAM and either 128 of storage. The Redmi Note 11 on the other hand is powered by the Snapdragon 680 processor with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The Snapdragon 680 is a slightly better processor in my opinion and is more comparable to the Helio G96 and not the G85. With that said, it gives the Note 11 slightly better performance advantage.
For the build quality, the Spark 9 Pro is one of the best smartphones from the company I have ever used. It does feel premium and the design and build quality is very different from other smartphones from the brand.
Software
The Spark 9 Pro comes with Android 12 out of the box while the Redmi Note 11 comes with Android 11. The Redmi should be upgraded to Android 12 at some point this year.
The two phones offer different software experiences but there is no big difference between them. Performance is quite good for both of them and the features are pretty much the same. In summary though, the Redmi Note 11 has an edge over the Spark 9 Pro.
Display
The Tecno Spark 9 Pro has a slightly bigger 6.6 inch display with a resolution of 1080 x 2460 pixel. The Redmi Note 11 on the other hand has a 6.4 inch AMOLED display with 1080 x 2400 pixel resolution. Both displays are good and as you probably know, AMOLED displays are quite superior and the blacks you get are just unmatched. Both displays have 90Hz refresh rate.
AMOLED displays are also 20% brighter, offer 20% lower power consumption and 80% less sunlight reflection.
Cameras
Looking at the cameras, the similarities are still there. The Tecno has a triple camera setup while the Redmi has a quad-camera setup. Both devices have a 50MP wide main sensor with the Spark 9 Pro having an additional 2MP ultra wide sensor and QVGA sensor. The Redmi has an 8MP ultrawide sensor, 2MP macro lens and 2MP depth sensor.
The shots you get with either phone are quite detailed with the right balance of saturation. There is no big difference between the shots you get with these phones.
The Spark 9 Pro has a 32MP selfie shooter while the Redmi Has a 13MP one. Just like with the back cameras, there are no big differences in quality of shots between the two phones but for this case, the Spark 9 Pro has a slight edge.
Battery
The Tecno Spark 9 Pro has a 5000 mAh battery which is the same as the one on the Redmi Note 11. The advantage the Redmi has is it supports 33W fast charging that can fully charge the phone from 0 to 100% in less than 60 minutes.