Samsung Galaxy A7 vs A9 (2016) – Which is better in camera & speed?

We finally put the two top Galaxy A series, the Samsung Galaxy A7 2016 vs Galaxy A9, into a comprehensive review and full comparison covering their display, design, speed test, performance and benchmarks, battery life, speaker, and the camera in low and daylight.

Separated by a few key features and specs, which is the right A series to buy between the Galaxy A7 and A9 2016 edition? Is the Galaxy A9 worth it and really better than Galaxy A7? Let’s find out in our Ultimate Comparison.

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Design

The two are identical phones that inspired by the Samsung Galaxy S6. The glass in front and back are 2.5D curved and backed by a sleek aluminum frame. Both felt a bit heavy but smooth in hands. The Galaxy A9 is heavier and bulkier due to its screen size.

The fingerprint scanner embedded at the home button of each device works fast. But we noticed that Galaxy A9 has faster response time, maybe due to its more powerful CPU.

Ports positioning is the same with a few difference in managing the secondary SIM slot. The Galaxy A9 has a dedicated second SIM tray for the 2nd nano card while Galaxy A7 has a hybrid microSD + no. 2 nano-SIM card support. Overall, the two phones look premium and solid.

Winner: Tie

Display

There is not much difference in picture quality and viewing experience on the Super AMOLED screens of these two phones. The A9 has a larger 6-inch 1080p FHD vs the 5.5-inch 1080p FHD of the A7.

Quality is what you’d expect from Super AMOLED, punchy colors, deep and inky blacks, and great viewing angles in outdoors. Despite the pixel count gap, the sharpness remain good in both screens. On top of each is a Gorilla Glass 4 protection.

Winner: Tie

Camera

Primary shooter on the backs of the two camera phones is a 13MP with OIS or Optical Image Stabilization and 1080p video shooting mode. The front-facing selfie cameras are different on each, the bigger Galaxy A9 has an 8MP while Galaxy A7 has 5MP. Both records 1080p video calling.

See also: Best Mid-range Camera Review

With closer inspection, images don’t really differ in each camera. Shots are bland, unnatural and lack vivid colors. But all these remain bright and well-exposed, though, there are times of over exposure. However, HDR could provide better output than auto mode.

Winner: Tie

Daylight camera review

Low light and night shooting camera review

Selfie camera review

Performance

The primary advantage of the Galaxy A9 is the Snapdragon 652 octa-core chipset and larger internal storage. In terms of speed, the bigger phone beats the Galaxy A7 2016 with a Snapdragon 615 octa-core chip. RAM in both is 3GB with support for up to 128GB microSD card expansion.

Winner: Galaxy A9

AnTuTu benchmark scores

• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016) – 34272
• Samsung Galaxy A9 – 65481

Battery

We were impressed by the battery life and stamina modes of both Galaxy A phones. The A9 packs an enormous 4000mAh sealed battery while A7 has a 3300mAh juice. The two could last a day and a half without using the battery saver mode, which is really a great improvement.

Charging time is about 2 hours in each.

Winner: Galaxy A9

Samsung Galaxy A7 2016 Battery Life Rating

Samsung Galaxy A9 2016 Battery Life Rating

Speaker

Equipped with a single or mono speaker positioned at the bottom, audio output is good in each phone with Galaxy A9 slightly performing well in bass, vocals and overall volume or loudness.

Winner: Galaxy A9

Pricing and Verdict

Samsung Philippines is yet to release the Samsung Galaxy A7 and Galaxy A9 2016 editions locally. So our price is just an estimate based on the current pricing of the Galaxy A5 2016 in the PH. Probably, the Galaxy A9 will have an SRP of P27-28k pesos and Galaxy A7 at P23k official price PH.

Now to answer the question: Which is a better buy between the Galaxy A7 and Galaxy A9? If you want slight speed bump and larger screen estate, then the price difference of A9 over A7 is worth it. But if the size of the A9 is already big for you, we suggest getting an A7. In fact, we still prefer the latter as the difference is really not that big and it’s quite manageable with one-handed usage.

So which A series do you think is for you? Do you have a specific comparison in mind? Let’s know in the comments.

Samsung Galaxy A7 vs Galaxy A9 Comparison Video