Samsung has a surprise for Chinese smartphone buyers, a bigger and better version of the Galaxy A9 (2016) it unveiled in December last year: the Galaxy A9 Pro. The device, which showed up on the website of Samsung China, has more RAM, a larger battery and a better rear camera than the 2016 edition of Samsung’s upper mid-range Galaxy A9 smartphone.
The battery on the Galaxy A9 Pro has been bumped up to 5,000mAh from the 4,000mAh unit on the Galaxy A9. RAM has also been increased from 3 GB to 4 GB. The cameras also have higher megapixel count than those on the ordinary A9. There’s a 16-megapixel (f/1.9 with OIS) sensor at the back and an 8-megapixel (f/1.9) shooter on the front, an upgrade from the 13-megapixel sensor on the Galaxy A9 (2016).
Other specifications include the 6-inch full HD display which remains unchanged from the A9, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 processor clocked at 1.8 GHz and backed by an Adreno 510 GPU, NFC (for Samsung Pay which is now available in China), Bluetooth 4.1, support for fast charging and Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow.
The Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro (model number SM-A9100) will be available in white and gold colours.
The device is selling for an equivalent of $540 in China. It is unlikely to made available in other markets.