This is the cheapest 4-camera, 18:9 phone we've seen thus far

There are two trends that dominated the smartphone industry this past year. One involved the camera, where dual- and quad-camera systems were introduced. At the center of the other trend was the screen. The wider it is, the better.

One smartphone we saw online — the 5.5-inch Leagoo M9 — has both: four cameras (8MP + 2MP rear and 5MP + 2MP front) and an 18:9 display. And the best thing about it is its price. It costs only P3,866, or roughly $76 on Lazada Philippines.

Leagoo M9 price and specs in the Philippines

The Leagoo M9, as seen on Lazada Philippines

Huawei’s Nova 2i quad-camera phone with 18:9 screen, on the other hand, sells for P14,990 or $294. Local brands Cherry Mobile and Cloudfone jumped on the bandwagon, but while they have brought the prices down to a more affordable level, their Flare S6 Plus and Next Infinity Quattro, respectively, retail at P9,999 ($196) and P12,999 ($255).

Then again, we all know there are downsides to getting the M9. The Shenzhen, China-based Leagoo has not entered the Philippines, so the unit featured here is from the gray market. Good luck if and when the time comes that you need to avail yourself of official warranty. Also, we don’t know its quality, as we haven’t used the smartphone yet.

However, if you want to risk it, know that the Leagoo M9 is powered by an MT6580A chipset paired with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal memory. It has a 2,850mAh battery, and it’s based on Android Nougat.

Learn About This Author

Alora Uy Guerrero

Editor-in-chief: Alora Uy Guerrero has 22 years of experience as an editor for print and digital publications such as Yahoo. She took time off journalism to manage OPPO’s digital-marketing campaigns. When not busy with her babies, she’s working on Revü, a passion project — or probably traveling or obsessing over her favorite bands, movies, TV shows, and basketball teams.