Don't buy a Philips S9000 Prestige shaver, go for the newer standard S9XXX models (and a quick note comparing with Braun's Series 9)
Hey there, I've been looking for information about how the top tier Philips shavers compare, since most reviews, even seemingly updated for 2022, talk about the Philips S9000 Prestige as the top-of-the-line model. But it is such an expensive unit that I wanted to wait for a Black Friday sale. And when Black Friday came... I found instead a really good deal for the Philips S9987 model (/59 variant, that includes the cleaning station, charging stand, travel pouch, cleaning brush and an extra beard trimmer head). The "lower" model was $182 for Black Friday instead of the Prestige at $423 at the time of purchase (in Denmark).
As much as I tried to look online, I couldn't find any relevant in-depth reviews for this specific model, even less comparisons with the Prestige one. Everything online seemed to claim that nothing would be as close and comfortable as the Prestige model, but I really, REALLY didn't want to go with one without a cleaning station. So I still went ahead and bought the S9987.
Now that I've used it for a few days, and comparing to what I'm reading online, I can honestly say there is absolutely no point in buying the Prestige models.
The Prestige models do have an aluminum construction and support wireless Qi charging, but that's about all the benefits you get out of it.
In fact, the newer S9XXX models (which include the 9700, 9800 and 9900 models) use the exact same blades as the Prestige models, which you can buy replacements for online on Philips' official website and are listed as compatible for all those models, same features: https://www.philips.co.uk/c-p/SH91_50/shaver-series-9000-and-sp900-replacement-shaving-heads
So what do you get with the newer models that the Prestige model doesn't have, despite having generally lower prices? After all, every in-depth review of the Prestige (Shavercheck, T3, etc.) claimed that the Prestige is by far the closest shave due to its unique shaver heads. What makes the non-Prestige models better?
For one, you get the cleaning station (on some of the bundles only)! This alone is a super incredibly useful addition since it takes care of all the maintenance on its own and actually makes the heads smell quite well. No need to take out the blades out every month to thoroughly clean them every month like you need to do with the Prestige one.
Second, newer models have an LED that changes color based on the amount of pressure you put on the blades/your face. So if it starts to go yellow, you know you are putting too much pressure. Useful to reduce and eliminate irritation.
Third, you get a full OLED display with more information than the Prestige model's basic number display, such as indicators when it's time to put it into the charging station. It also lets you change between different speed modes, turn on the travel lock and, in particular...
... it lets you connect the shaver to your smartphone. Yes, the newer models connect to the phone and tell you how much pressure you are putting on your face as well, and guide you to do the circular motions better. Nothing super fancy, but it's there, and it also has a bunch of other guides and tips to get the beard style you want.
Finally, the non-Prestige models actually include a pop-out trimmer as part of the unit's body, no clicking attachments on and off.. Nothing super fancy, but it works well enough to trim the sideburns with precision. My model also came with an additional adjustable beard trimmer that you can exchange with the shaving heads, was useful when trimming after a Movember moustache 😄
So... basically, don't go for the Prestige models. They simply do not offer anything that is better than the rest of the 9000 series today despite being much more expensive. If closeness is what you want out of a rotary shaver, all the current S9000 series use the same shaver heads that will be just as effective as the Prestige ones.
Oh, and as a note, I came from a Braun Series 9, which is an absolutely fantastic shaver, but was giving me trouble with my neck hairs, constantly. While my new Philips S9987, being a rotary shaver, doesn't always cut quite as close as the Braun foil heads, the difference is small enough that within an hour after shaving I wouldn't notice the difference. Overall I'm extremely happy with my purchase! Yes, I know it is a bit overkill to go from one top-of-the-line foil shaver from Braun to the top-of-the-line rotary from Philips. Both are excellent shavers and will give fantastic results, but how they perform on specific areas of the face (in my case, the neck) and with different types of beard (I have very coarse beard) can be quite different.
So there you go, my 2 cents to help those who may have been left as confused as I was when researching for which was the best model to buy. Hope it helps at least someone!
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Man, I just went for the 9000 series (not prestige) and was having doubts on if I should have just went for platinum. This saved me so much FOMO lol, appreciate the write up. This is my first electric razor in almost 10 years that isn’t a Gillette One Blade, I love having a clean face again!
Glad this helped, even if after the purchase 😁 That said, how was the Guillette one? I understand it's similar to Philip's OneBlade system, which I personally always liked for it's simplicity and size, even if it wasn't always that close of a shave.
Hey dude your thread shows up when googling the topics and stuff :) Maybe you could give your POV here if you see my reply? :
Hey so 9000 series dropped on bigger sale again. And Im now considering this model (again) due to sale price.
Here is filter link: https://www.philips.dk/etc/philips/b2c/compareproducts.html?locale=da_DK&catalog=CONSUMER&ctn=S7882/55,S9987/59R1
As you can see from the link the 9000 ueses other heads, which cost almost the same as the heads of the 7000 series. So either one wont cost more than the other. I dont care about the app bullshit and so on.
What would you buy? I thougt about buying 7000 series just to keep it simple. I dont need crazy features. From what I can tell its just the 9000 series uses other heads and the screen can show some more things.
...You also talk about in the OP about the cleaning station, I dont care about that, Im used to just cleaning it as you say once a month or so on my older series 5000 :) So maybe I should just go 7000, cause the new 7000 model is very recent like last year. Seems good.
Maybe this helps (if I'm not too late) https://shavercheck.com/philips-shavers-guide/
thanks some good info as well.
I've had a Norelco / Philips shaver in the past, but I had trouble shaving in the spots on my lip directly under the outer parts of both sides of my nose. How do you shave there with a Philips like this one?
I had trouble with the hairs directly below my nose the first time I used it, but they were also a lot longer than usual due to having just finished doing the Movember campaign (even after trimming first). But the rest of my shaves since then, either a day or two in-between shaves, have been no problem there. I go in smaller circles with two of the shaver heads, through my upper lip. I didn't feel a need to even pass through it too many times.
I have pretty dense, coarse and thick black hair there, and yet it seems to shave quite efficiently. Since it was the end of Movember, I even took a few before and after shots 😅 Mind you that I've been able to get a close shave since, once I got used to switching to a rotary shaver.
Thanks!
Thank you, this was very helpful, and helped me choose the right shaver. The only thing the S9000 Prestige ones have going for them over the S9XXX models is that they look cooler, but that's not enough to counter all the missing features etc.
Yeah, definitely looks cooler with that aluminum body, but not worth losing a cleaning station, proper cable charging, the pop-up trimmer...
same, the prestige’s only real pro is that it’s not plastic… but that can also be a con from weight fatigue.
counter space in bathrooms are such a premium that having a huge charging mat makes no sense.
I'm looking at a 9031 with V-Track Blades. Are these the same blades as on your shaver?
Uhmm... Not sure I know what the V-Track blades are. Those don't appear mentioned anywhere in my country (Denmark), but these are the ones my shaver can use: https://www.philips.co.uk/c-p/SH91_50/shaver-series-9000-and-sp900-replacement-shaving-heads
Hi! Thank you for your information! I’m at the exact same situation! I’m deciding between the S9000 and the prestige (both with the angular heads). I am so confused that Philips ad said prestige uses nano blade and s9000 use steel blade. But they use the same replacement head. So are they using the same blade or different blade?! I asked philips and they couldn’t explain themselves…
and also I see some boxes of prestige saying 150,000 cuts /min on the box but some say 160,000 cuts/min.
Regarding the. Blades, Philips said the nano tech is not on the blade, it’s within the unit itself. I was not convinced because they said those blades are hardened by nano practical to make it sharper on their own website. So the information are very confusing and contradictory.
Do you think the blades on the prestige are actually different? Or everything are just advertising bs and they are just the same ?
Uh, it makes absolutely no sense that the nano blades would be part of the unit itself. All the cutting elements are within the replaceable shaving heads (it's easy to check when you open them), so I think the support person you were talking to was probably just as confused as we are by Philips' weird marketing strategy for differentiating these units 😅
Yea it’s ridiculous. So I asked three their online chat 3 times, and 3 different person couldn’t answer it. The first person said they are the same and if I wanna get the non prestige, that’s great. But I didn’t question her more regarding the misleading info. But when I questioned the next two person, they all said it’s in the unit itself and then they can’t answer more and had to refer me to higher personnel for assistant. It’s ridiculous coming from this big company like Philips.
Yea I don’t wanna miss out the good tech on the prestige but… it seems they are the same and the extra money paid are just paying for their ad….
Do you know if there is a difference between the prestige model with the rounded heads vs. prestige with angular heads..which is newer, and any advantage/disadvantages to either?
I've been wondering the same, but apparently the rounded heads are not available on any of the newer models of either prestige or not. You'd think the rounded heads make it easier to reach all areas of the face, but instead they moved onwards with the pentagonal shape. Maybe because it glides better?
I tried calling and they said (though somewhat unconvincingly) that the one with angular heads was newer. Also mentioned that the SH91 blades would fit all 9000 series models, while the SH98 was only for the prestige models S98xx (which is now seemingly the old style). Personally I think the rounded head looks better but also want to trust the science/tech in the latest model. Trying to ask the difference between the 2 blades was a lot less successful - no one can actually explain it. That said, if in fact the latest tech is the angular head, then really can’t see the benefit of the prestige beyond optics.
Can you tell me which philips shaving head is the absolute best? Is it the sh91 or sh98 or some other shaving head ?
Well, I can't buy the SH98 here anymore. In Denmark it has been fully replaced with the SH91 for all modern S9000 shavers. They should be quite similar, if not almost identical. None of the info I've found online can claim one is better over the other. If anything, I see that the SH91 also replaced an older SH90 that had a much less smoother shave due to pulling and tugging of the hairs due to how it was designed.
I have a 9300 with cleaning station. Has anyone used the SH98 heads with the cleaning station? I'd rather just use the better heads and keep the cleaning station.
Thank you! this is exactly what I as looking for.
I use a standard philips 3000(64$) ,Don't use the highest price 200+$. I have big cracks because multiples operations,shave for 10-15 min,works great
bro speaking facts
Hi, I just purchased an S9987 and I have an issue. I don't have the skiniq symbol on my display to choose from those three sertings. În all the videos I see that when they turn on the shaver they have that symbol and they can choose one out of three options. Do you have it? Pressure guidance it's called
Skin IQ is just the branding for a combination of the tech they use for their shavers. It is not a separate shaving mode.
Pressure sensitive guidance is what you see on the shaver's LED light going orange, blue or green based on the amount of pressure you put on the shaver against your skin.
check on minute 1:00
Ah, no clue. I choose those settings directly from the phone app. Did it once, haven't changed them again since.
Yep, I have those on the phone app but on the display:) weird:)
Does anyone know if the nose hair attachment works with this model. It doesn't list the specific model on the page but I don't know if that's because it's newer or they just haven't updated it. It obviously works with the beard styler because that comes with it.
Thanks for this OP. I was about to purchase the prestige and after reading your review I opted for the S9987 that came with two pod refills, for about $50 less than the prestige model. I tried it out with a 7-day growth of facial hair and was VERY impressed with the Norelco S9987. I did use some pre shave cream (Freelette) but it handled everything with ease and even removed the stubborn neck hairs that the Arc5 had trouble with. I did notice the Norelco is gentler on my skin versus the Arc5 which I felt somewhat burning sensation afterwards. I'd encourage folks who are on the fence to give this model a try.
Glad to hear the change worked out for you!
While I understand that this post may be dated, I believe that individuals searching for a new shaver are seeking the best information to make an informed decision. I want to clarify that I am not influenced by any bias, but it's worth noting Philips' own marketing claims. Whether you choose to believe the hype or not, it appears that the Prestige model boasts a high cutting rate.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-Prestige-Electric-SP9885-35/dp/B0BSP1W3FX/ref=sr_1_6?crid=20G8RZR70UZPJ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.UB-VyE1LBAhgk1b87uErKux7o7EwE2hiv1Oyko6--MjGXxIKLNTXg2_Dk4PSD_qGdf6tzlku5j5n3smzwt8oRpE1Oz-QWUci8G8BvqxslAJK2CcqjO3uwMLdW3B0S-c83wF42SqyfvtmGRmacEvtCm6FGAw0zaH_mRAVjfXjOWjNrMTFwzpefOt41u4B9csQvpI-YsCgCcvgSB51lzbwngjovb6Msb-xjEjZ4rECYfM.ekhERIBByCcnmxYxDfzFLVjtCjpPeqSq3HUIFviiFJA&dib_tag=se&keywords=philips%2Belectric%2Bshavers%2Bmen%2Bseries%2B9000%2Bprestige&qid=1705489842&sprefix=philips%2Belectric%2Bshavers%2Bmen%2Bseries%2B9000%2Bprestige%2Caps%2C141&sr=8-6&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.d7e5a2de-8759-4da3-993c-d11b6e3d217f&th=1
If you look further down they have a comparison between 5000 - 9000 prestige model. I hope this helps you to choose the right model.
I have one, I really don't like it, I prefer my brain s5, the triangle tripe blade on the Philips doesn't work good for me, I prefer the straight style blade.
Different people with different types of beards will have different experiences I guess. It really sucks that there's really no way to find out how a different shaver will work for you until you've bought one and used it, making them difficult to return.
Philips and Braun, at least in Germany, offer a 100 day money back if it's not for you. I guess they realised that if they don't offer something like this, people won't switch, because they aren't going to buy such an expensive thing just for trying it out.