Samsung Galaxy A9

amazon Samsung Galaxy A9 reviews

Design:

If Apple’s “rabbit ears” design cannot be overpowered by Samsung, the back of the color transition effect (gradient), which is loved by many phone companies from China, has make the Korean tech giant must “think about it”. Samsung Galaxy A9 2018 is Samsung’s first smartphone to follow the gradient design, which is part of a new strategy in its mid-end / high-end segment: Bringing new features and designs to the products of this segment first, then deployed on the flagship S and Note.

Samsung Galaxy A9 has a more square design than the S series but is “softer” than the Note series, still in the familiar “glass sandwich” style with two glass and metal frames. The back of the machine is curved 3D, while the front screen is only 2.5D. The edges are completed quite well, there is no extra detail but there is still a small gap to insert the money sheet. This can be understood by the glass back and metal frame are the materials with different shrinkage.

The back of the Galaxy A9 2018 looks superior than if compared to the Samsung Galaxy A7 in the mid-range segment that BiaReview recently evaluated. The ultra-green colors Samsung chooses look pretty cool and subtle, unlike Chinese firms that often choose bright, brilliant tones. However, the back of the device still clings quite a lot of fingerprints. Samsung has included a good quality transparent silicon case, so users can feel secure.

On the left side of the device, we have a 4-camera cluster – the most prominent feature of the Galaxy A9 2018 – placed vertically, with LED flash right below.

Unlike the Galaxy A7 2018, which puts fingerprint sensors on the side of the camera, the one-touch fingerprint sensor of Galaxy A9 2018 is placed in the center of the upper half of the back. Because the hand is quite large, the writer has no difficulty in getting the finger to the sensor, and according to the writer, placing the sensor on the back is still the most optimal position. However, the area of ​​the sensor is a bit small, the fingerprint setup process can be a bit difficult if the user has a big finger and the machine sometimes does not unlock because the position of the hand is incorrect. However, after about a week of use, finger “positioning” for the standard will also improve gradually.

On the front, like the 2018 Galaxy A7, Samsung has already glued a very fit screen sticker to the Galaxy A9 2018. The top edge of the Galaxy A9 has been remarkably “trimmed” but still quite thick, the screen ratio figure / front is 80.5%. The top edge of the device is still quite “wide” but Samsung removed the selfie flash and notification LED. Of course, Samsung still has Always on Display mode to display notifications, but not everyone likes to use this feature. Galaxy A9 2018 is also not equipped with infrared facial recognition sensor.

On the sides, the device still has full ports, familiar keys and 2 independent SIM card slots with microSD memory card tray. The microUSB port has been removed for replacement by the new and more convenient USB Type C port. The edges are covered with a beautiful glossy blue paint.

Dimensions are 162.5 x 77 x 7.8mm, Samsung Galaxy A9 is a bit longer and bigger than the flagship Samsung Galaxy Note 9 but is lighter, only 183g compared to 201g of Note 9. The grip of Galaxy A9 quite good, sleek, less slippery though 3D curved back. Unfortunately, the machine lacks water resistance / dust resistance despite being in the high-end segment.

Overall, in terms of design, the Galaxy A9 2018 is like a real upgrade in Samsung’s high-end segment. Keep the luxurious metal frame and high-class glass back, but the trim screen is “trimmed” neatly with the unique 4 rear camera cluster.

Screen and sound: familiar features of Samsung

Galaxy A9 2018 uses Super AMOLED 6.3 inch screen, ratio of 18.5: 9, Full HD + resolution (1080 x 2220 pixels), reaching a pixel density of 392 ppi. The quality of the panel still carries the full characteristics of Super AMOLED screen: good brightness, comfortable for outdoor use, wide viewing angle, high contrast and deep blackness. Samsung’s “display optimization” mode significantly boosts color saturation, making the image fresher and flattering. Of course, Samsung also has a level of screen hierarchy. Super AMOLED panels on the high-end S and Note models have a difference in class compared to the A series, which looks brilliant and has a much depth.

One of the biggest advantages of AMOLED screens compared to LCD monitors is the Always On Display feature, which displays basic information (date, time, notification, etc.) when not using the machine without causing waste too much power. Users can also schedule this feature, such as turning off when going to bed from 12 pm to 7 am the next time to save even more battery.

Besides the ability to change the navigation bar color and position of virtual navigation keys, Samsung also allows to hide the navigation bar to maximize the display area. In addition, users can also activate gesture navigation, but instead of swiping on the sides, Galaxy A9 can only swipe from the bottom edge, making the right hand move long distances due to the big screen.

In terms of sound, the Galaxy A9 2018 integrates Dolby Atmos technology for audio through wired headphones (but only supports 3.5mm port) and Bluetooth headsets. Sound quality improves when the Atmos mode is turned on, the volume is larger, the bass is stronger. Speakerphone on Galaxy A9 2018 is a single speaker with acceptable sound quality, volume is not too big but not noise when rising to high level.

Software: running Android 8.0 quite old

Galaxy A9 2018 currently runs Android 8.0 software with Samsung Experience 9.0 interface, although not the latest Android version, but basically Android 8.0 and 8.1 are not too different. Samsung has announced that it will deploy the One UI interface (based on Android 9.0 Pie) for Galaxy S9 and Note 9 in January 2019, but it is unclear when the phone will receive this update.

In terms of visual perception, the Galaxy A9 2018 has a fast response speed, and the manipulation and transition effects are all carried out smoothly. Bixby virtual assistant, according to Samsung, has improved a lot.

On the other hand, the software on the phone is full of familiar features on Samsung phones, such as changing themes, security folders (creating a safe space for files and applications, only access by password or fingerprint. ), split the screen (run two parallel apps with the screen), unlock the phone with a face with a fast recognition speed, Dual Messenger dual application (allows to use 2 Facebook or Messenger apps or Skype … at the same time) and launcher games (bring games to one place and support notifications blocking tools, hide navigation keys, screen capture and screen recording when playing games). However, quite confusing is that the machine does not support Samsung Pay payment feature, unlike the announcement of the company.

Performance:

In terms of performance, Galaxy A9 2018 is equipped with SoC Snapdragon 660 with 4 high-performance Kryo 260 clock 2.2GHz and 4-core 1.8GHz Kryo power-saving. The chip has a 20% higher performance than the Snapdragon 636 and is 79% higher than the Snapdragon 625. Compared to Exynos 7885 on the 2018 Galaxy A7, the Snapdragon 660 also offers significantly stronger performance. 6GB RAM is more than enough, even a little “redundant” to meet the usual multitasking needs, and if you are not satisfied with 128GB of internal memory, you can still expand the storage capacity with microSD card when Galaxy A9 Support card up to 512GB.

In actual use, the machine provides fast, smooth processing speed when opening the application, the standby speed for downloading games or image processing applications also has very low latency. Machines play well the popular games like CrossFire: Legends, Mobile Union or even Dead Triggers 2 at the maximum graphic level with an average FPS of about 58-60 and high stability. However, to the PUBG Mobile game, it is unclear for what reason that Galaxy A9 is quite “cool”, the average FPS is only 25, while the other machines with the same configuration can be up to 30. In addition, the machine It also heats up quickly when playing heavy games but compensates for the heat loss.

On performance measurement applications, the device also scores similar to the actual experience. The performance of A9 2018 is not too outstanding, can be lost if compared to the cheap flagship from China.

Good battery life, enough to use on average about 1.5 days

The battery of Galaxy A9 2018 has a large capacity, 3,800 mAh according to the manufacturer’s announcement. Through some familiar tests of BiaReview, battery life of the device will definitely make users happy. The movie player is continuously watching for 11 hours and 11 minutes, playing games continuously for 6 hours 3 minutes and surfing the web continuously for 7 hours and 12 minutes. Note that in these tests, BiaReview only calculates the battery time from full battery to 10%, not when the battery is completely exhausted.

Use the Galaxy A9 2018 as the main machine for about a week, with 4G / Wi-Fi connection always on, main tasks include surfing the web, Facebook, watching Youtube and sometimes “running” PUBG Mobile, complete device meet one working day. Arriving home at about 6pm, Galaxy A9 still has nearly half of the battery, and the writer can still continue to use it quite comfortably until bedtime.

According to AccuBattery’s data, the on-screen time machine is about 9 hours 16 minutes. In standby mode, the device consumes about 1.8% every hour when 4G / Wi-Fi is turned on continuously to receive notifications, and Always On Display is only turned off for the period of 12h p.m-7h a.m.

The Galaxy A9 2018 is still integrated with Samsung’s Adaptive Fast Charging fast charging technology, equivalent to Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 2.0. The charger included on the inside of the device is a quick charger, but unfortunately, it doesn’t support wireless charging technology.

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Camera: 4 cameras for all types of needs

What users are most interested in on Galaxy A9 2018 will certainly be the first 4 camera cluster in the world. Of course, you might think that this is just a guest game, but in fact, you have no reason to refuse the smartphone with more cameras. For example, dual camera smartphones, for example, we never had a standard for dual cameras: it could be the main camera combined with wide-angle, telephoto, black and white cameras or simply sensor cameras. We always have to choose “trade-off”, and now, Samsung is giving us a product with more options.

In terms of configuration, the rear 4 cameras of Galaxy A9 include the main camera with 24MP aperture f / 1.7, an 8MP ultra wide-angle camera of 120 degrees with the f / 2.4, a 10MP camera with f / 2.4 telephoto offering 2x optical zoom function and the final camera has a resolution of 5MP f / 2.2 to measure the depth for the Live Focus font removal feature. In the front, the camera has a 24MP selfie camera with f / 2.0. So, in total, this phone has up to 5 cameras.

There are 3 out of 4 A9 rear camera of 2018 similar to the cluster of A7 2018 cameras that BiaReview has evaluated not long ago. The camera makes the difference between these two phones as a 10MP telephoto camera to capture quality uncompressed zoom like digital zoom with software.

About software, camera application on Galaxy A9 2018 almost no difference with Galaxy A7 2018. It has shooting modes such as panorama shooting, professional (Pro), beauty, font removal (Live Focus) , slow motion videos, AR Emoji and fast motion videos Hyperlapse. The camera app on this phone also has a custom scene-based mode like on the Galaxy Note 9, which can identify 19 different settings to customize the corresponding shooting settings.

Just above the shutter button, we have three icons to quickly switch between the main camera, super wide-angle camera and telephoto camera. The conversion took place quite quickly, within a second with one touch. However, you can only switch the camera in Auto and Scene Optimiser. The camera cannot switch cameras in modes such as Live Focus, AR Emoji, Panorama or Pro mode.

When recording a video, you can shoot with any camera, but keep in mind that when you select a telephoto camera and press the recording button, you will actually recording with the main camera with 2X digital zoom. This allows you to switch between normal and zoomed scenes while shooting, but the icons remain unchanged. There are no notifications or indexes to let users know that they are not using telephoto cameras. On the other hand, you can start shooting with a super wide-angle camera, but as such, you can’t switch to another camera while shooting.

Regarding the image quality, in addition to the difference in focal length, the rear 4 camera groups also differ in resolution, sensor, aperture, focus technology … So when shooting, the quality of images from the cameras is also there is a big difference.

In bright enough conditions, all Galaxy A9 cameras work well. Photos are bright and sharp, especially when viewed on the phone, with Super AMOLED screens. When put on the computer, the sharpness and freshness of the colors look reduced but still in good condition.

The ultra-wide camera has a 120-degree viewing angle, useful for capturing landscapes and buildings, making it easy to capture panoramic scenes without moving as far as with a conventional camera, while allowing you to be creative with new perspective. Wide-angle will also cause image distortion, but Samsung also has the option to adjust the distortion after shooting with wide-angle camera. Photos from wide-angle cameras have good quality when bright enough, colors are natural and the level of detail is acceptable if viewed on a phone or computer. However, the disadvantages of detail and color show quite clearly with low-light images. In addition, this camera can only focus fixedly, does not support focus as with the main camera.

Photos taken from the main camera 24MP capture good detail in bright enough conditions, colors are quite close to reality and fast focusing speed. In difficult situations such as lack of light, backlight or complex lighting, this camera still performs well, especially with street shots, colors reproduced naturally and without hints.

Telephoto camera, upgrade point of Galaxy A9 2018 with A7 2018, provides good quality images, very different when compared to 2X digital zoom images when shooting bright enough. However, in some situations, shots from telephoto cameras push the focus a bit too much, looking unnatural.

For a long time, telephoto cameras have a common weakness: lack of light is not good due to narrow lenses. On the Galaxy A9 2018, Samsung handled this weakness by switching to digital zoom using the rear camera. When switching to a telephoto camera to capture low-light images, Galaxy A9 will switch to the main camera and display a digital zoom image. This sometimes occurs even during daytime shooting, under intense sunlight.

With the font deletion photo, the camera has a quite fast shooting speed and can also adjust the level of font removal like many other Samsung phones. The Art Bokeh effect allows to change the round dots in the background into a star shape, butterfly wings … creating more interesting for the photos. In favorable lighting conditions, the background of the captured image is quite natural, less erased from the subject.

On the front, the camera has a 24MP selfie camera with f / 2.0 aperture fixed. Photos of acceptable quality in price range, nothing outstanding. The mode of saving photo fonts is quite slow, but in return, it is good to identify the subject, is less susceptible and the background is smooth and natural.

Conclude

In the smartphone market, there are countless options available, the Galaxy A9 2018 is a very clear product: aimed at young users, the generation likes to share everyday photos on Facebook and Instagram. The cluster of 4 rear cameras has just made a difference for the product and brings a variety of shooting experiences from ordinary photography, removing fonts, zooming to wide-angle image capture. Image quality is not enough to make a strong impression but the diversity of photographic capabilities is a factor to record in this product.

In addition to cameras, screen quality, battery and design are also plus points of the product. The configuration is not the same as compared to competing products, especially when compared to Chinese brands, but still at a sufficient level, especially when the product is aimed at people who like to take pictures, not for gaming.