The Tecno Phantom 9 and the Samsung Galaxy A50 has so much in common, that if you are in search of a midrange smartphone (price wise), but with reasonable high-end specifications and features, chances are, you might have come across either of these two devices at one point or the other. The post therefore, is a specification comparison between the latest Tecno Phantom 9 and the Samsung Galaxy A50.
Obviously, while Tecno is still in the midrange to low-end smartphone segment with the Phantom 9 being the company’s flagship device, Samsung on the other hand, has been a major player in the high-end as well as the midrange to low-end market. In fact, 2019 Galaxy A-series are a combination of both low-end and high-end Samsung Galaxy devices, of which the Galaxy A50 is in the middle.
So between the Tecno Phantom 9 and the Samsung Galaxy A50, which should you pick? A flagship of a midrange smartphone player, or the midrange device from a high-end player?
Tecno Phantom 9 vs Samsung Galaxy A50
| Tecno Phantom 9 | Samsung Galaxy A50 | |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 6.4 inches Full-HD+(2340x1080p) AMOLED Display | 6.4 inches Full-HD+(2340x1080p) Super AMOLED Display |
| CPU & GPU | 2.35GHz Mediatek MT6765 Helio P35 CPU and PowerVR GE8320 GPU | 2.3GHz Samsung Exynos 9610 CPU and Mali-G72 GPU |
| Storage & RAM | 128GB ROM, 6GB RAM and 256GB via SD card | 64/128GB ROM, 4/6GB RAM and 1TB via SD card |
| Cameras | Triple: 16 + 8 + 2 MP Back (Quad-LED & 32 MP front (Dual-LED) | Triple: 25 + 8 + 5 MP Back (LED) & 25MP front (soft flash) |
| OS & UI | Android 9.0 (Pie) Based on HiOS v5.0 | Android 9.0 (Pie) Based on One UI |
| Data | 2G/3G/4G LTE, support Wi-Fi (2.4GHz/5GHz) & Bluetooth 4.2 | 2G/3G/4G LTE, support Wi-Fi (2.4GHz/5GHz) & Bluetooth 5.0 |
| Battery | 3500 mAh Li-ion Battery | 4000 mAh Li-ion Battery (15W Fast Charging) |
| Additional Features | Dual SIM, Fingerprint Sensor (in-screen), USB 2.0 | Single/Dual SIM, Fingerprint Sensor (in-screen), USB Type-C |
| Dimension (Weight) | 158.46 x 75.3 x 7.85 mm, (186g) | 158.5 x 74.7 x 7.7 mm (166g) |
| Price | $209 (N77,000) | $219 (N79,000) |
Comparison Summary
From the table above, the two phones are closely related that it would be difficult to pick one over the other, especially those who are not ‘that’ technically inclined. But for me, Samsung is having a little upper hands in certain areas.
- Some folks, including myself, will prefer the Exynos 9610 CPU in the Galaxy A50 over the Helio P35 SoC in the Phantom 9. This is because the Exynos 9610 is an impressive 10nm architecture, comprising of a quad-core 2.3 GHz Cortex-A73 and quad-core 1.7 GHz Cortex-A53 CPUs. Whereas Helio P35 SoC is built on just Cortex-A53, which is a 12nm process.
- The Galaxy A50 has about 500mAh battery larger than the battery on the Phantom 9, and even declared support for 15W fast charging, a feature which is absent in the Phantom 9.
- For folks who use a single smartphone above a year or more, the Galaxy A50 might be your best buy option. This is because Tecno are not known to provide consistent and extended Android updates for their devices. On the contrary, some Samsung devices of 2015 are still getting update in 2019.
But on a bright side, could pick up the Tecno Phantom 9 if budget is a constrain, or perhaps, I wish to enjoy larger storage space without breaking the bank. The price of the Galaxy A50 above, is for the standard version with 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage. The high variant with 6GB RAM and 128GB internal storage will definitely cost more than the above, which of course, gives the Phantom 9 a big leap over the Galaxy A50.
In the end, purchase choice of many, is going to be influenced either by personal choices or brand loyalty. In either case, please do let us know what your choice is in the comment section below. No affiliate or purchase link. If you wanna buy, please head over to Jumia, eBay or Amazon.
