Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No it’s the Samsung Galaxy A9 Star! The smartphone takes a break from traditional Samsung designs as this is one of the very few times we’re seeing a smartphone outside the famed flagship S series to bear an almost full-front display. Keeping the costs relatively low, the smartphone would nevertheless set you back a sum of Rs. 45-65,000 upon arrival.

Looks wise, okay. Aesthetically pleasing though

On our first sightings of the Galaxy A9 Star, we found the smartphone to be a good mixture of looks and aesthetics. However, we do believe it could’ve slightly improved upon its looks but when it comes to a dual-glass panel design with an aluminum frame in between, its aesthetics are pretty much top drawer.

Its dimensions include a 7.6mm width which is excellent but the same cannot be said of its 191g weight; that’s massively attributed to a BIG battery it’s carrying inside.

Full-fledged display upfront

While most other smartphone manufacturers have heavily started to copy the iPhone X, Samsung seems adamant not to let that temptation come into their way. Instead, the A9 Star is quite a Samsung Galaxy S8/S9 lookalike from the front; what we’re seeing here is a large 6.3 inches Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with 392ppi pixel density.

That equates to a wealthy 1080p HD resolution which would definitely cook and serve some beautiful graphics atop that all-conquering display. Your graphical experience would not be let down.

Massive power in the cameras

The Galaxy A9 Star’s cameras are filled with muscle. Whether it’s the primary one or the secondary camera, you’re sure to get a punch in both of them.

Delving deeper into the two, we’re seeing a 24 + 16 MP primary sensor with phase detection autofocus and customary camera features that include an LED flash, geo-tagging etc. The selfie sensor on the other hand features a 24 MP sensor of its own that ensures that you get to snap each and every detail in your selfies. All in all, the A9 Star is a star in its own right in the cameras department without any doubts whatsoever.

Good omens carry-on into the hardware department

It was pretty much expected that the Galaxy A9 Star would feature excellent hardware for what the aforementioned specifications pointed towards. The smartphone is powered by an octa-core processor with 4 gigs of RAM to power the built-in Android Oreo. That’s a lot of power even for Android and you should expect a lag-free user experience.

The smartphone’s internal storage at 64 gigs is welcome news while an external card-slot up to 400 gigs is an added bonus. Doing things differently from the flagships, the A9 Star features a traditional styled and placed rear-mounted fingerprint scanner with USB type-C, Dolby Atmos Sound and fast charging being its other noteworthy mentions.

We mentioned something about a big battery before didn’t we? The smartphone features a big 3700 mAh power-plant that’s fully capable to juice the smartphone up for more than a day. Colour schemes are pretty limited with only Black and White colours available.

Galaxy A9 Star pros:

• Good value for money for the price it commands when it comes to Samsung phones
• Does things differently from traditional Samsung design
• Excellent all-round specifications and build quality

Galaxy A9 Star cons:

• Can be beaten for amount payable but other releases from Vivo, Xiaomi etc.
• Could’ve improved upon its looks