Samsung introduced a new device recently on their Galaxy A series line-up. The new device, Galaxy A9 Pro features a really big screen as well as huge battery. It was intended to be in the phablet category as the Galaxy Note, but it is bigger. Specifications wise, it’s still a mid-range phone but packed with great features.
The Galaxy A9 Pro packaging looks the same as other Galaxy A series devices. Inside you’ll find the device itself, Fast Charging charger with USB cable as well as in-ear earphones and the usual SIM pin alongside warranty and guides. The packaging is pretty straightforward and if you wanted to get a case, you have to find one on your own.
[nextpage title=”Build”]The build of the Galaxy A9 Pro is almost the same as other Galaxy A Series. Samsung has standardized the design language for all the new Galaxy A Series. The A9 Pro looks pretty much the same as other Galaxy A Series devices.
On the top you get your dedicated microSD card slot, which you can add extra 128GB via microSD card. There’s also a noise-cancelling microphone situated at the other side of the top part of the frame. Sadly, there’s no IR blaster on the device, so you won’t be able to use it as a remote for your TV or media player.
On the bottom you get the typical audio jack slot, micro USB port as well as speaker and microphone. The speakers are quite small in my opinions for this device, given the size.
On the right you get the power button as well as the dual SIM slot. Each SIM slot are mark for you so you won’t get confused on which SIM you wanted to set later on in the software.
On the left, there’s volume rocker and nothing else. All these are pretty similar as all the Galaxy A Series devices this year.
[nextpage title=”Specifications”]Under the hood, the Galaxy A9 Pro powered by Qualcomm Octa-core Snapdragon 652 with 4 GB RAM running Android Marshmallow (6.0). It has 32 GB of internal memory which is expandable with the free 64 GB microSD card that comes with the phone itself. It has a giant SAMOLED display at 6” with Full HD resolution with a subpar speaker. However, it does support video playback at 4K resolution despite the Full HD display.
On network site, the phones support a wide range of LTE band which is good for travelers. It has dual band Wi-Fi AC, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS with GLONASS, as well as Fingerprint Sensor and the likes. Sadly, it does not have built-in gyroscope, so you can’t use it for AR purposes.
All these backed with its huge battery capacity at 5000 mAh which could last you a day, easily with heavy usage. Given the huge display and battery, the device weigh at 210g which quite hefty for me to carry around.
[nextpage title=”Display”]
Like other phablets, the Galaxy A9 Pro display is really big. It’s even bigger than the Galaxy Note series, suits the tagline that Samsung use for the devices, “GO BIG.” Personally, I am fine with the Full HD resolution display, but for some, they would prefer at least Quad HD display for size of display. However, you have to remember that higher resolution display would use more battery power and at the same time, lessen your usage time.
Just like other Samsung devices, this device display features SAMOLED panel as well. It has brighter and much vibrant color compared to typical LCD panel. For pixel peepers, you might find the display a bit pixelated, but as normal average user, you won’t notice the difference.
[nextpage title=”Camera”]
On specs, the main camera features 16 MP with f/1.9. Although the camera has very big aperture, it doesn’t do well under low-light condition. Most of the time, I have to manually switch to Pro mode to get less noisy photos, instead of relying to the Auto mode. When on Auto mode, the photos produced are very noisy and you lose a lot of details. However, when you have sufficient light, the camera works wonderfully.
The autofocus snaps into place quite fast too. Maybe it’s not as fast as the flagship phone like the S7 edge, but it is still fast nonetheless. With the quick action (double press the home button to activate the camera), you won’t be missing any moments that you want to capture.
The front camera also has the same aperture as the main camera, however, it has lower megapixels, only at 8 MP. It’s good enough for your normal selfie on normal days, but don’t get you hope up when you’re in dim-lit situation. Just like the main camera, the photos become very noisy, and you don’t have the Pro mode to manually set down the ISO to get less noisy photos.
[nextpage title=”Speakers”]
Speakers has to be the big disappointment for the Galaxy A9 Pro. It has average speakers just like its siblings. It is the part of the phone that don’t scream big, despite the size of the phone. It would be nicer if Samsung features a dual stereo speaker at the top part of the phone as well, giving the consumer much more satisfaction when watching videos on its big display. Maybe next gen, Samsung could do that instead of relying on just one speaker at the bottom. After all, this phone is meant for consumer who wanted entertainment on-the-go, what could be better than a dual stereo speaker to accompany its big screen.
[nextpage title=”Software”]
As the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge, the Galaxy A9 Pro comes pre-loaded with Android 6.0 Marshmallow. It’s the latest Android version being released on the market right now. For that, kudos to Samsung. Out of the box, you’ll be given an option to set it to encrypted mode as well. Although it might take longer time to boot the phone, which you won’t be doing that often on this phone given its battery life. At least, if anything happened, no one will be able to use your phone, aside from using it as paperweight.
The TouchWiz skins also being toned down. There’s no longer a big bar title at the top of the app in Overview screen. And, I kinda like that very much. It’s the same for the notification panels as well. The old TouchWiz used to have a very big font, even though you set the Font settings to Tiny. They have changed that on the recent Android 6.0 version. It’s much more pleasing to the eye now.
In software features, Galaxy A9 Pro doesn’t differ much from any other Galaxy A Series phone. However, it does have one-handed operation options where you can switch the keyboard for one-handed use at either one side of the display. It also has option to reduce the app screen size, but it doesn’t support all apps.
[nextpage title=”Performance”]As the performance goes, it is awesome. Backed with its 4GB RAM, you won’t have any stutter or lags with the animations, or any apps in general. You won’t be needing to clean the Overview screen with the apps you launched as well. It’s the same for Chrome. Any pages that you’ve loaded, won’t need to be reload just because you’re out of RAM. You won’t have that problem with the Galaxy A9 Pro.
As per usual, we kicked our performance test with the Vellamo benchmark. How good would it be if your phone can’t handle heavy site right? Here you’ll see the Galaxy A9 Pro scores 4361 on Vellamo. It’s a bit lower than the Galaxy S7 edge, but you have to remember that this isn’t a flagship device. Despite the score, the Galaxy A9 Pro handles the web perfectly fine.
On Epic Citadel at Ultra High Quality setting with 100% resolution, the Galaxy A9 Pro scores an average of 51 fps. In general, 51 is decent enough for gaming purposes. It’ll be better if it can score 60 fps, but I would be able to achieve that if I reduce the performance level to High Quality instead.
After running Epic Citadel for the third times, the CPU temperature clock at average of 58 ºC. It won’t be hot even if you’re on your phone playing high demanding graphic. But it will be if you play which Fast Charging it.
[nextpage title=”Battery”]
This is the biggest big thing on this device, aside from the big display that is. The battery is huge, like power bank huge. It has 5000 mAh battery capacity. To put in perspective, your average 5000 mAh power bank won’t be enough to fully charge this phone, if you’re using it while charging. Although the battery is big, the big display also a battery drainer. Fret not, with its 5000 mAh battery, it would still last you at day at least with super heavy usage.
In case you still need a quick refill the battery, you can use its Fast Charging charger. In fact, I still think the Fast Charging charger is still the only thing you need to charge this device. A normal charge would take you an ages to fully charge it. But with the Fast Charging charger, you only take a little more than 2 hours to fully charge it from zero. In half hour, you can get up to 24% of its battery capacity. Maybe 24% isn’t much for normal phone, on this it’s a lot. It could still last you a few hours on-the-go. Sadly, I’m not sure why the Galaxy A9 Pro doesn’t support the QC 3.0 charger, given that it’s running on Snapdragon 652. It should able to, theoretically.
[nextpage title=”Wrap Up”]
Overall, Galaxy A9 Pro is a remarkable phablet. It’s still have a long way to be the best phablet out there, but it’s still one of the best on its category. There’s not much phones at 6” display at the moment, but this phone is one of them. For those tablet user who like to watch videos on-the-go, the Galaxy A9 Pro should be you first pick if you’re under budget.
That said, the device itself will still cost you quite a sum of money. You can get one at any Samsung retailer, or maybe give it a try to see if you like it. I’m sure I do. The Galaxy A9 Pro was priced at RM1999 and you can find it at any Samsung retailer nationwide.
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