LEAGOO S9 Unboxing and First Impressions

LEAGOO S9 was made available in the Philippines more than two weeks ago. It's an under PHP 10K notched smartphone. 

LEAGOO S9

For PHP 7,845 you will get a 3D glass-like acrylic back cover and a 5.85-inch 2.5D curved IPS screen with 19:9 screen aspect ratio and HD+ 1512 x 720 resolution in front.

It also boasts of under 30 minutes charging that gives out 40 percent of battery using its 5V/2A wall charger. 

But how well does the LEAGOO S9 perform? Let's find out by starting with our full review part 1! 

LEAGOO S9 Specs

Display: 5.85-inch 2.5D curved IPS screen w/ HD+ 1512 x 720 resolution at 287 ppi

CPU: 1.5GHz 64-bit MT6750 octa-core processor

GPU: Mali-T860 MP2

RAM: 4GB

ROM: 32GB expandable via microSD card slot up to 128GB

Back Camera: 13MP f/2.2 Sony sensor + 2MP w/ AF and LED flash

Selfie Camera: 8MP f/2.0

Battery: 3,300mAh LiPo w/ Pump Express fast charging

OS: Android 8.1 Oreo w/ LEAGOO OS 4.0

Connectivity: WiFi b/g/n, 4G LTE Cat 6, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, dual SIM (hybrid)
Sensors: Accelerometer, light, proximity, sound, magnetic

Others: Fingerprint scanner, AwinicTM audio chip, Colors: blue, black, gold

Dimensions: 146 x 72 x 8.5 mm

Weight: 174 g

Price: PHP 7,845

Unboxing/Accessories

What's inside?

Inside the box is the device itself, cable, 5V/2A wall charger, TPU clear case, SIM ejector tool, and the usual paper documents. It has no earphones included. 

LEAGOO mentioned that the 5V/2A wall charger can fill up the S9 up to 40 percent in just 30 minutes! This made us excited to see how fast the LEAGOO S9 can be charged. 

Build Quality/Design

Glass-like acrylic back

The LEAGOO S9 is made of a sturdy plastic build and a glass-like acrylic back cover. In front, LEAGOO has no mention of any Corning Gorilla Glass protection, but the smartphone is pre-installed with a screen protector.

We are also happy that LEAGOO included a TPU clear case which we highly recommend that you use it.

3.5 mm headphone jack on top

USB Type-C charging port and grille speakers on bottom

microSD card and one SIM slot on the left

Volume rocker and power buttons on the right

In terms of design, LEAGOO looks premium because of its glass-like back. It may have a simple black back color but gets light flares when under light, making it look attractive. 

LEAGOO S9 features an iPhone-like notch along with thin side bezels. It has a little thick chin bezel but it's very much smaller with similarly priced smartphones. The overall slimness of the phone is fine. It is 8.5 mm slim.

The 3.5 mm headphone jack is placed on top. Meanwhile, the micro-USB port for charging is placed on the bottom along with two grille speakers. 

On left, lies the microSD card and one SIM slots. While on the right, are the volume rocker and the power button.

Ergonomically, LEAGOO S9 is fine and not slippery to hold. It's prone to fingerprint smudges and scratches that's why we highly recommend that you put on the case right away.

Initial Findings

AnTuTu Benchmark

1. So far, LEAGOO S9 looks decent and premium for the price. Its glass-like acrylic back made it look attractive in the eyes. It is one of those affordable smartphone with notched displays in the country.

2. Under the hood, this device is running with the ageing 64-bit MT6750 octa-core processor by MediaTek. It is paired with Mali-T860 MP2 GPU, 4GB RAM, 32GB expandable storage, and 3,300mAh battery with Pump Express fast charging technology. 

3. It runs on the Android 8.1 Oreo along with LEAGOO OS 4.0 out of the box. The LEAGOO OS 4.0 does not feel new to me at all, it has the similar user interface experience with the other operating systems.

4. It sports a 13MP f/2.2 Sony sensor + 2MP w/ AF and LED flash at rear and 8MP f/2.0 in front. The secondary sensor of the rear camera is for the depth or background bokeh effect.

5. LEAGOO S9 has LED notification and fingerprint scanner. 

As of the moment

So far, the LEAGOO S9's performance is fine for an under PHP 10K smartphone. It looks decent, speedy enough, nice battery capacity, and dual cameras seem to do well.

But we still need to make more tests so watch out for our full review!