Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro Review: The phablet returns to India

Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro: The front camera is good at capturing groups and can be activated by voice

I had sleepless nights pondering the matter; my friends’ conflicting views confused me further. Was there no answer in sight? I was hopelessly perplexed. Let me tell you how things came to such a pass.

My tale began with this basic premise: If you’re looking for a phone in the Indian market, there are two options. One, buy a flagship product from storied brands; and two, pick the device which could blow the socks off a flagship, from one of the newer companies (and it helped that the challenger’s phone would cost a lot lesser than the flagship).

But what was I to make of the Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro (Rs 38,900)? At first glance, it seemed like a sleeker successor to Samsung’s Mega phablet range; yet it was packed with 6GB of RAM, six-inch screen and 16-megapixel (MP) front and back cameras — features we’ve come to expect from the upstarts in the mobile market. Yet, the C9 Pro most certainly isn’t an inexpensive phone — the price coming in a shade below Samsung’s flagship models.

The matte black review unit, while not exactly a lightweight, looked sleek and I daresay like phones from a certain Taiwanese manufacturer, especially from the back. Gone are Samsung’s signature shiny metal highlights; what one gets instead is the power button on the right, with slots for the dual SIMs and a dedicated slot for the expandable memory card. The volume rocker’s on the left, while the home button-cum- fingerprint scanner rounds off the front face. A headphones port, USB Type-C port and speaker grille are at the bottom edge. The back has the Samsung monogram just below the camera, which juts out a bit.

Sadly, the phone runs Android Marshmallow out of the box; Samsung’s familiar TouchWiz UI is surprisingly fast (like I found on the Galaxy S7 edge) though it still has bloatware. A secure folder lets one not only keep private stuff private, but also a separate WhatsApp account, something I’ve found quite useful. But with a Snapdragon 653 octa-core processor, I just wanted to game. Asphalt: Airborne 8, Riptide GP Renegade and Pokémon Go were my allies as I achieved gaming glory virtually everywhere — from on my way to work, to after my morning jog and even late at night. The brilliant Super Amoled screen (and the “always on” function carried over from the S7) was a pleasure to use, even under direct sunlight. The phone did heat up a bit, especially when I multi-tasked. But there were no lags and the touch experience was top class.

I wanted to watch the next episode of The Blacklist. I loved the way the phone brought out the play of light and shadows in Gotham. A caveat: Use the supplied earphones or else the speaker is quite tinny. Opera Max is bundled as well, to “secure” Wi-Fi, while Game Launcher is a godsend for any gamer.

I was looking forward to capturing some snaps as I loved the S7’s camera; A walk in the neighbourhood park in the morning and in sunlight yielded some fabulous pictures, which looked a tad oversaturated on the C9 Pro’s screen, but showed their natural colours on the PC. The front camera is good at capturing groups and can be activated by voice. One evening in a dark room, I focused a light on an object and clicked a picture; the results were very encouraging. Thus I tried clicking pictures in low light. And I was disappointed. After the S7’s stupendous performance in low light, this was a let-down. Also, the phone doesn’t shoot videos in 4K — a strange omission.  

Unlike the S7, the C9 Pro isn’t water or dust proof, and is prone to scratches and smudges if it shares your pocket with keys. The fingerprint scanner is a bit of a hit and miss while the 4,000 mAh battery lasts through the day. What I liked one could keep as many apps as one wanted running in the background and yet performance didn’t take a hit. Also, I could pick up from right where I left off — as I did so many times on Quora. And I started reading frequently again, using the Kindle app. Despite its heft, this was possible the easiest phablet I used one-handed.

And I got my answer. The Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro is a curious mix of features and price and could well herald the return of Samsung in the phablet segment it pioneered in India. And since it’s a phablet, the C9 Pro does very well for consuming media and playing games, besides being a capable phone. But if you want a fabulous camera, pay a few thousands extra and get the Galaxy S7 instead.

Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro

Price: Rs 38,900

Weight: 190 g

Display: 6-inch Super Amoled

Processor: Snapdragon 653

RAM: 6GB

Storage: 64GB, expandable

Camera (rear/front): 16MP/16MP

Battery: 4,000 mAh