The Galaxy C9 Pro is the first Samsung smartphone with 6GB RAM.
A faulty Galaxy Note 7 will not stop Samsung from releasing new phones, starting with the Galaxy C9 Pro. The phone will only be available in China starting November 11 for around $470.
Samsung has aimed for the midrange smartphone market for a number of years, but as that sector of the market has evolved over the years, the company is looking to evolve accordingly it with the Galaxy C9 Pro.
Starting with the exterior, the phone features a metal build on the back that curves at the edges to meet the curved glass on the front. Similar to Oppo’s R9s and R9s Plus, the Galaxy C9 Pro reduces the antenna bands to three thin lines that run parallel to each other, which helps maximize the use of metal.
The front of the phone features a large 6-inch, 1,920 x 1,080 pixel resolution Super AMOLED display, while a 16-megapixel camera with a wide f/1.9 aperture sits above the display and around back. Below that display is the combination of a home button and capacitive back and multitasking buttons that are familiar to those used to Samsung-made phones.
Under the hood, Qualcomm’s new octa-core Snapdragon 653 chipset is the star of the show with its 6GB RAM, a first for a Samsung phone, handling multitasking duties. Keeping the lights on is a 4,000mAh battery, which is a larger power pack than we are used to seeing. Furthermore, if you need more storage than the 64GB offers natively, there is a MicroSD card slot for your needs.
Other odds and ends include a Cirrus Hi-Fi audio codec for improved audio performance, as well as support for Samsung Pay. Finally, the Galaxy C9 Pro runs Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow out of the box, though we presume it will receive an update to Nougat sometime in the near future.
When the Galaxy C9 Pro goes on sale starting November 11, it will be available in gold and rose gold for 3,199 yuan ($470). Unfortunately, the phone seems destined to remain in China, with Samsung giving no hint that it will go elsewhere.
