Here’s an interesting match-up – Samsung’s soon-to-be-launched 6-inch Galaxy C9 Pro pitted against Huawei’s dual-Leica-toting 6-incher, the Mate 9. It’s a mid-ranged phablet versus a flagship tier 6-incher. Obviously, the mid-tier C9 Pro falters when compared to the flagship Mate 9, but it’s still very much a competitive device, especially when you factor in the price difference between the two. Let’s play it out and see which is better at what.
Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 653 octa-core processor
- Qualcomm Adreno 510 GPU
- 6GB RAM
- 6-inch FHD Super AMOLED display, 1920 x 1080 resolution, Corning Gorilla Glass
- 64GB of expandable storage, via microSD
- 16-megapixel rear camera, f/1.9 aperture, PDAF, dual-LED flash
- 16-megapixel front camera, f/1.9 aperture
- Dual SIM
- 3G, LTE
- WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS
- Fingerprint scanner, USB Type-C port
- 4000mAh battery, fast charging
- Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow (TouchWiz UI)
- Php 25,500
Read:Â Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro Hands-on, Initial Review: First Samsung Phone With 6GB of RAM
Huawei Mate 9
- HiSilicon Kirin 960 octa-core processor
- ARM Mali-G71 MP8 GPU
- 4GB RAM
- 5.9-inch FHD IPS display, 1920 x 1080 resolution, 2.5D curved glass, Corning Gorilla Glass 3
- 64GB expandable storage, via microSD
- Dual Leica rear cameras, 12-megapixel color sensor, 20-megapixel monochrome sensor, f/2.2 aperture, OIS, BSI, 4-in-1 Hybrid AF, dual-tone LED flash
- 8-megapixel front camera, f/1.9 aperture, AF
- Dual SIM
- 3G, LTE
- WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS
- Fingerprint scanner, USB Type-C port
- 4000mAh battery, Huawei SuperCharge
- Android 7.0 Nougat (EMUI 5.0)
- Php 31,990
Read:Â Huawei Mate 9 Review: The Best Big Phone That You Can Buy Today
The mid-range Snapdragon 653 is no match for the flagship Kirin 960
What did you expect? Huawei’s flagship HiSilicon Kirin 960 was made to compete with the likes of Qualcomm’s top-of-the-line Snapdragon 820 and 821, as well as Samsung’s Exynos 8890. The SD653 is only a mid-range SoC. It’s not a fair fight in this category, and that also holds true for the GPUs as well.
The C9 Pro gets a slight edge over its rival with its large RAM capacity of 6GB, though.
The C9 Pro trumps the Mate 9’s display
Samsung’s Super AMOLED display technology is rarely rivaled. The Mate 9’s display just can’t compete with that. It’s not that the Mate 9’s 5.9-inch IPS display is bad per se, but when compared to the C9 Pro’s vivid, 6-inch sAMOLED screen, it falls short in terms of vibrancy and sharpness.
The Mate 9 wins with its rear shooters, the C9 Pro claims the better selfie snapper
The C9 Pro cannot hope to beat the Mate 9’s dual Leica optics rear cameras, but it does one-up its rival when it comes to selfie snappers. With both handsets’ front cameras lacking significant features, it (theoretically) all boils down to megapixel count, and the C9 Pro doubles down with a 16-megapixel selfie shooter.
Battery charging thoughts, OS versions
Huawei’s patented “SuperCharge” battery charging technology is installed in the Mate 9, able to fully charge the unit in around 20 minutes. The C9 Pro doesn’t even have the latest Quick Charge 3.0 support, and while it has “fast charging” capabilities, it’s not going to match SuperCharge’s throughput.
As for OS versions, it’s the Mate 9’s Nougat against the C9 Pro’s dated Marshmallow. UI implementations aside, why, oh why, Samsung?
Verdict: At this tier, given the large price difference, choose what you want.
Raw hardware power, powerful and versatile rear cameras, and better uptime? Go for the more expensive Huawei Mate 9 flagship at Php 31,990.
Samsung’s C9 Pro is 4-grand cheaper, at Php 27, 990. It features a slightly larger, but significantly better quality display and a larger megapixel rating on its selfie shooter. Not really a performance (gaming) enthusiast, or a shutterbug? Love selfies? Then this is the better option of the two.
