Samsung A9 Pro review: The giant that doesn't stumble

Don't want to miss the best from Business Standard?

You want a good looking phone. You want it to work fast, without snags and lags. And, you want the battery to last long. Samsung’s Galaxy A9 Pro is just the device for you. There’s something really impressive about Samsung’s 2016 A-series, and the best of the lot is the Galaxy A9 Pro.

Among phones, it is a behemoth at six inches. But it’s not a bumbling giant. On the contrary, it’s graceful, and even better, cheaper than the flagship S-series. Yet, you would be hard put to find out where corners have been cut. You also have the option of getting it in gold, black and white.

Samsung knows how to make big phones well. If you are not fond of the glass-and-plastic combination, maybe you will steer clear of this phone. The A9 Pro, however, is most likely to leverage its smashing design as a selling point. The metallic (aluminium) body makes it feel “solid” in one’s hand — nothing plasticky here. It easily outweighs a Galaxy Note 5 or iPhone 6s Plus. Like the premium S7 or Note 5, the A9 Pro has a fingerprint scanner, which is quite accurate most of the time. Also, the display colours are impressive.

If the outside is impressive, the inside is no less. Powered by a powerful octa-core Snapdragon 652 processor and a generous 4 GB RAM, its performance is comparable to flagships, that is, pretty fast. One reason why the phone is so large is that it has to contain the massive 5,000 mAH — larger than many power banks. It charges fast (0 to 100 in two hours flat) and lasts two days with regular use. 

Of course, at its price (Rs 32,490), some corners had to be cut. The water resistance of A9 Pro cannot compare with the S-series. Its camera, too, leaves much to be desired. A 16-megapixel (MP) primary snapper has optical image stabilisation. All the wonderful Durga Puja pictures I took were on this device. But there are plenty of other devices that could beat it in this department.

Yet, I feel the low prices and the basket it has put on offer make it a powerful device, quite ready to take any competition head on. You could buy a weaker brand, but if you like a large device — as I do — this might be the best you can get.