In the Milky Way of Samsung's range of smartphones, here comes another Galaxy, and the company is proudly showing off its 'big' design. The new Samsung C9 Pro, priced at Rs. 36,000, is a 6-inch phablet which looks like a toned-down version of Samsung's Note. So, did we have a blast using this one? Read on to know more.
Pros:
- Good battery life
- Premium build
- Large, vivid screen
- Works without a lag
- Bright selfies
Cons:
- Disappointing camera performance
- Low audio output
- Gets quite warm after active usage
What’s Good?
The phone looks stunning. With a matte-finished metal back, rounded edges and a curved glass front, the phone looks every bit premium for its price. The home button on the front houses a fingerprint scanner, and grooved antenna lines add to the overall design of the back.
Samsung C9 Pro runs on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, and uses Samsung's custom Touchwiz UI overlaid, which adds extra functionalities.
The smartphone uses Snapdragon 653 processor, paired with 6GB RAM. Adreno 510 graphics set comes integrated. This combination effectively makes the smartphone work like a breeze in daily usage and handles heavy-duty games easily as well.
The phone has a 4,000 mAh battery, which gives you enough juice to last the day. But this probably comes at the cost of display resolution. C9 Pro has a Super Amoled HD display, which though bright and vivid, doesn't satiate our wish of seeing a quad-HD display on a phone this big.
The phone comes with 64 GB of storage on-board, which is Samsung's first big offering outside its flagship series. The storage can also be expanded to 256GB via a microSD card. Additionally, the microSD card slot is different from the dual-SIM slot, and there is no 'dreaded' hybrid tray. There's some hope for humanity.
The phone has a 16 megapixel selfie camera which manages to get in decent light for brighter selfies, but the quality of photographs is not up to the mark. The photographs look blurred, and you need a really steady hand to click a shake-free shot.
What’s Bad?
The phone raises temperatures, and not just in figurative ways. Often with camera use, and internet surfing, our review device turned quite warm around the top edge. We tried our best to not think of Note 7 in those moments.
The camera is quite disappointing. We expected a lot better because C9 Pro comes from the house of Samsung, and has a premium price-tag. But the camera performance remained below-average, with grainy shots, poor focusing ability, and overexposed photographs.
The audio output on the phone is really low, even when the company claims to have 'stereo speakers' on the phone. The stereo speaker setup kicks in by using the earpiece as a secondary speaker, along with the speaker grille on the bottom.
Why Buy It?
Samsung's C9 Pro competes with the likes of Moto Z and OnePlus 3T as far as pricing is concerned, and a few of the specifications too.
If you wish to invest somewhere around Rs. 30,000 to 35,000, and you prefer performance, we advise you to go for the OnePlus 3T. But if you need a phone with a big screen, compared to Xiaomi Mi Max or Asus Zenfone Ultra, this one clearly feels like a good bet to go with.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)