Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018) vs OnePlus 6T: Which one of these should you buy?

Samsung is best known for introducing the new features to their smartphones well before anyone. The recently launched Samsung smartphones, the Galaxy A9 (2018) brings quadruple rear camera set up at the back. On the other end, OnePlus is known to bring out flagship devices with mid-range prices that make it one of the best selling smartphones in the market. The latest by OnePlus, the 6T and the Galaxy A9 (2019) cost Rs 37,999 and Rs 33,990 respectively. So it would be confusing which one to buy. Here is an in-depth comparison for you to make the right decision.

Design

The Samsung Galaxy A9 sports a 6.3-inch 18.5:9 aspect ratio display while the OnePlus 6T sports a 6.41-inch 19.5:9 aspect ratio display with a Notch. Both the devices sport a Super AMOLED Panel. The similarities in the design end there. The OnePlus 6T sports a raindrop notched display and a thin chin, while the A9 takes a more traditional approach with the no notch and quite a hefty chin at the bottom. The rear is made out of the glass with A9 sporting a fingerprint sensor a the back along with the quad camera setup. The 6T has an in-display fingerprint sensor and only a dual camera set up at the back.

Overall, design-wise both the smartphones are completely different. While the OnePlus went for a more modern design with Raindrop notch and a minimalist look, Samsung went for more of a traditional look along with a fancy paint job on the back if you want that. One thing to mention with the displays is that the panel on the 6T is inherently less bright than the panel on the A9. Also, the A9 sports a 3.5mm headphone jack which the 6T misses out on.

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Software

The Samsung Galaxy A9 runs on Android 8.0 Oreo with Samsung Experience 9.0 skin on the top with Android Pie arriving somewhere in the second quarter of 2019 while the OnePlus 6T runs on Android 9.0 Pie with Oxygen OS 9.0.11 on the top.

OnePlus offers a cleaner and optimized version of Android with some minute modifications that add great value to the user while the Samsung goes for a complete custom experience with completely changed UI. Which software is better is completely a personal preference, but due to fewer customizations to Android and background services in the Oxygen OS will make it a better OS when it comes to performance while the Samsung Experience offers features that make life much easier. I personally would prefer the Oxygen OS but your mileage may vary.

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Performance

Performance is the major concern for any smartphone. The Galaxy A9 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor coupled with an Adreno 512 and 6/8GB of RAM. Our unit comes with 6GB RAM and 128GB of internal storage. The OnePlus 6T is powered by a Snapdragon 845 processor coupled with an Adreno 630 and 6/8GB of RAM. Our unit comes with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. As the processor on the OnePlus 6T is far better than the A9, we know who will take the lead here. Also, the difference in the RAM will affect the scores but not that much.

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We ran out usual AnTuTu 7 benchmark and GeekBench 4 benchmarks to test out the performance.

The results show us that the OnePlus 6T pulls ahead absolutely destroys the Galaxy A9. This is due to the A9 sporting a mid-range processor while the 6T sporting a flagship processor.

Camera

The camera is something people care about these days. Samsung was clearly aiming at making great camera phone with these by including a quad rear setup. The Galaxy A9 sports a 24-megapixel, f/1.7 aperture main sensor with PDAF, 8-megapixel, f/2.2 aperture depth sensor along with a 10-megapixel 2x Zoom sensor. For selfies, it packs a 24-megapixel sensor with an f/2.0 aperture. The OnePlus 6T features a 16-megapixel primary sensor with an f/1.7 aperture and a 20-megapixel 2x Zoom sensor with an f/1.7 aperture. On the front, there is a 16-megapixel selfie shooter.

The rear camera of the Galaxy A9 offers much more functionality like the wide angle lens which the 6T simply cannot due to lack of hardware. With the things both the smartphone can do, the bokeh mode of the 6T is more subtle than the A9 and the details on the Galaxy A9 are better than the 6T. Overall, the rear camera performance of the A9 is better than the 6T.

The story is a little different on the front. The front camera of the Galaxy A9 provides a more brightened image. The OnePlus 6T offers more of natural colors in its photos which is appreciated. Some people like the brightened image, so the front cameras are neck to neck.

Overall, the camera performance of the Galaxy A9 is better than the OnePlus 6T, with the features like the wide angle lens being specially usefull. The addition of a depth sensor also helps take more detailed photos. However, OnePlus 6T also is not that bad in comparision.

Battery

The Galaxy A9 sports a 3,800mAh battery while the OnePlus 6T  sports an almost similar 3,700mAh battery. In our daily usage, the battery life of both the smartphone was almost equal. The Dash charging provided a quick juice to go, but also the A9 has Samsung's adaptive quick charge which provides good enough charging times too. In the battery department, both the phones are neck and neck.

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Conclusion

The Samsung Galaxy A7 starts at Rs 33,990 while the OnePlus 6T starts at Rs 37,999. The Galaxy A9 sports a better camera set up along with a no notch on the display along with the retention of the headphone jack. However, with the performance improvement that the OnePlus 6T offers, it is really hard to recommend the Galaxy A9 unless you absolutely have to have the wide angle lens or a Samsung device.