Braun Series 9 PRO+ 9477cc Review: a premium shave that finally rivals blades (but your wallet will feel it)

I’ve been using the Braun Series 9 PRO+ 9477cc for a few weeks now, coming from a mix of mid-range foil shavers and the usual Gillette manual razors. I bought it during a discount, because there’s no way I’d pay the full RRP. I went in pretty skeptical: I’ve tried Philips rotary and older Braun models before, and they were fine, but never quite as close as a proper wet shave. So I wanted to see if this one actually lives up to the hype or if it’s just another overpriced gadget with a fancy stand.

To test it properly, I shaved in different conditions: daily shaves, 2–3 day stubble, and once with a full week of growth. I also tried it dry, with a bit of foam, and in the shower. I used the cleaning station, the PowerCase, and did some manual cleaning too. Basically, I tried to use it like a normal person would, not like some lab test. I paid attention to how fast it shaves, how my skin reacts, and how annoying it is to maintain.

Overall, the shave quality is very good and genuinely close to a blade for me, especially on 1–3 day stubble. I haven’t had razor burn or cuts, which is a big plus. But it’s not magic: on a week’s beard, it needs multiple passes and a bit of patience, and the whole setup is noisy as hell. Also, the running cost of cleaning cartridges and the initial price are not trivial. You feel like you bought a premium shaver and a small appliance for your bathroom at the same time.

If you’re thinking of upgrading from a cheaper electric razor or ditching manual blades, this thing definitely gets the job done and then some. But you really need to be okay with the price and the extra clutter (cleaning station, case, cartridges). In this review I’ll break down how it actually performs day to day, not just what the box says, so you can decide if it’s worth saving for or if a cheaper Series 7/8 or even a basic foil will do the job just as well for you.

Let’s talk money because that’s the big sticking point with the Series 9 PRO+. The official RRP is frankly high for a shaver. Most people, including me, only consider it during big discounts, where the price drops into the £250–£300 range. Even at that level, it’s not cheap. You can get decent shaves from much cheaper electric razors or from a pack of blades and gel. So the real question is: does the comfort and convenience justify the cost for you personally?

From a pure performance and comfort angle, I’d say yes, it does offer a clear step up from mid-range models. Shave is closer, faster, and kinder on the skin. If you shave regularly and hate irritation, that alone might be worth paying more, especially if you plan to keep it for 5–7 years. Spread over that time, the cost per year isn’t insane. But you have to add: replacement heads roughly every 18 months and cleaning cartridges if you use the station a lot. Those extras slowly add up and keep the total cost of ownership quite high.

Where the value feels a bit stretched is on the extras: the SmartCare station and the PowerCase. They are nice, but not essential for everyone. The station is convenient but noisy and takes up space, and you can easily live with manual cleaning plus occasional station use. The PowerCase is handy if you travel like a consultant or pilot, but if you just go on normal holidays with access to sockets, you won’t use the extra battery often. If Braun sold a simpler bundle with just the shaver and a basic case at a lower price, that would probably be the sweet spot for many people.

So in my view, the value is good only if: you get it at a strong discount, you actually shave often (daily or almost), and you care a lot about comfort and convenience. If you only shave twice a week and don’t have sensitive skin, a cheaper Braun Series 5/7 or a Panasonic might give you 80% of the result for much less money. This is more for people who want a top-end tool and are okay paying for it, rather than someone just looking for the cheapest way to get rid of stubble.

Design-wise, the Braun Series 9 PRO+ looks like what it is: a top-of-the-range foil shaver. Silver body, shiny accents, big shaving head, and a fairly slim handle. In the hand, it’s comfortable and well-balanced. The handle has enough grip that you don’t feel like it will slip, even with slightly wet hands. The head is large, though, so if you’re coming from a smaller Series 3/5 or a simple travel shaver, it will feel a bit chunky at first when getting into tighter areas like under the nose or around the jawline.

The head has a flexible design that pivots and the foils move individually. In practice, this helps especially around the chin and jaw. I noticed I needed fewer weird wrist angles compared to older flat-head shavers. There’s a head-lock button that lets you freeze the movement for more control in tricky spots. I actually used that more than I expected, especially when I wanted to do short, precise strokes on the neck or under the nose. The built-in pop-up trimmer is a nice touch too: it’s not as sharp as a dedicated trimmer, but for sideburns and cleaning up edges, it’s fine.

The downside of the design is mainly the overall footprint of the system. The shaver itself is fine, but the SmartCare station is big and quite tall. It needs a stable, flat surface and a power socket nearby. If you like a clean, empty sink area, this thing will annoy you. Same with the PowerCase: it’s sturdy and looks decent, but it’s thick and heavy. In a carry-on bag, it takes up about the space of a small speaker. For most trips where you have access to a plug, I honestly just throw the bare shaver and the cable in my bag and leave the case at home.

Visually, it does the job: it looks like an expensive piece of kit, but not flashy in a tacky way. The display is simple and functional, showing battery percentage and a few icons. No color screen, no gimmicks. I prefer that. Overall, the design is practical for daily use, but the accessories add bulk. If you’re into compact, minimalist gear, you might find the whole thing a bit overkill in terms of space, even if the shaver itself is nice to handle.

The internal battery on the Series 9 PRO+ is honestly very solid. Braun claims around 60 minutes of runtime, and that lines up with what I’ve seen. I shave for about 4–6 minutes at a time, and I easily get two to three weeks of daily use before I feel the need to recharge. The display helps here: it shows the battery level in percentages, so you’re not guessing based on some vague bar. Charging from almost empty back to full doesn’t take very long; I usually just drop it in the station overnight and it’s done.

The PowerCase is where things get a bit more mixed for me. On paper, it’s cool: a travel case with a built-in battery that can recharge the shaver for up to “6 weeks of use” depending on how often you shave. In practice, if you already get two to three weeks from a full shaver battery and you’re travelling somewhere with regular power outlets, the case feels like nice-to-have but not essential. It’s also heavy. For a short business trip or a week’s holiday, I’d rather pack just the shaver and the small charger. The case makes more sense if you travel a lot, go camping, or are often away from sockets.

One thing I do like about the PowerCase is that it protects the shaver better than the usual soft pouch. If you’re the type who just throws everything in a backpack, it’s reassuring. But again, you pay for that in weight and bulk. For people who live out of a suitcase, it might be worth it. For someone who travels a couple of times a year, it will probably sit in a drawer most of the time, like some reviewers mentioned.

So on the battery front, the core product (the shaver itself) is great: you charge it rarely, it holds charge well, and there’s no obvious battery drain. The extra PowerCase is more of a niche accessory. Good idea, well executed, but not something everyone will actually use regularly. If Braun released a cheaper bundle without the case, I think that would make a lot of sense for most people.

In terms of comfort on the skin, the Series 9 PRO+ is one of the easiest shavers I’ve used. I’m prone to irritation on the neck and under the jaw with manual razors, especially if I shave two days in a row. With this Braun, I’ve done daily shaves for over a week just to see what happens, and I didn’t get razor burn or obvious redness. I felt a slight warmth on the skin right after shaving, but nothing that lasted more than a couple of minutes. No nicks, no cuts, no ingrown hairs so far.

I mostly used it dry, sometimes right after washing my face and patting it dry. I tried it once with foam, and to be honest, it didn’t add much for me besides making the cleaning a bit messier. The foil is already smooth enough on the skin. I also used it briefly in the shower: it works, but I don’t really see the point unless you’re really trying to combine everything into one routine. For pure comfort, dry use is already fine and simpler to manage.

Now, the downside: it is noisy and it vibrates noticeably. The shaver itself has a strong buzzing sound; not unbearable, but if you’re used to a quieter mid-range shaver, you’ll notice the jump. The vibration in the hand is also stronger than on smaller models. It doesn’t hurt or anything, but you’re definitely aware that it’s running. If you shave early in the morning and share a small flat, people will hear it. And when you put it into the cleaning station, that’s even louder. The cleaning cycle includes pumping fluid and running the motor at high speed, so it’s not exactly discreet.

So comfort is a bit split: on the skin, it’s very good, especially if you have sensitive areas or hate razor burn. But in terms of sound and general “presence”, it’s not subtle. If you want something super quiet and gentle in terms of noise, this isn’t it. Personally, I’ll take the noise over irritation, but it’s worth knowing what you’re signing up for if your bathroom is close to a bedroom or you shave at odd hours.

In terms of build, the Series 9 PRO+ feels sturdy enough for daily use. The body doesn’t creak, the head mechanism feels solid when you lock/unlock it, and the pop-up trimmer doesn’t wobble. It’s made in Germany and rated as waterproof, so you can rinse it under the tap or use it in the shower without stressing. I’ve rinsed the head under hot water several times and used the cleaning station regularly, and so far there’s no sign of damage or weird wear.

The main maintenance points are the foil/cutter head and the cleaning station. Like most foil shavers, you’ll eventually need to replace the head (Braun usually recommends around 18 months, but it depends how often and how aggressively you shave). Those replacement heads are not cheap. So if you keep the shaver for, say, 5–7 years, which is what Braun suggests as its design lifespan, you’ll probably buy a few heads over time. The good news is that if you clean it often (either manually or with the station), it should keep cutting well for a long time.

The SmartCare station does a good job cleaning and lubricating the head, but the downside is the cartridges. The cleaning fluid gets dirty relatively fast if you use it after every shave, and it also evaporates over time. Some people burn through a cartridge in under a month. The official cartridges are not cheap, and I personally wouldn’t mess with third-party liquids because of the risk of rust or damage. If you’re on a budget, you can reduce how often you use the station: for example, rinse under hot water most days and run a full cleaning cycle once or twice a week instead of daily.

Overall, I expect this shaver to last several years if not abused. It feels better built than cheaper models I’ve owned, and the 2‑year warranty is standard. But you should go in knowing that the real cost is not just the initial price: it’s also replacement heads and cleaning cartridges over time. If you accept that and keep it reasonably clean, it should be a long-term tool, not something you replace every couple of years.

On to the thing that actually matters: how well it shaves. On 1–2 day stubble, this thing is genuinely very good. I can go from scruffy to office-ready in around 3–5 minutes. It picks up most hairs on the first pass, and a second quick pass against the grain cleans up the rest. The finish is very close to a blade for me, especially on the cheeks and neck. Running my hand against the grain after shaving, I feel only a tiny bit of roughness in some tricky spots, but nothing that looks bad in a mirror or that anyone would notice.

On 3-day stubble, it actually seems to work even better than on very short growth, which matches some of the Amazon reviews. The ProLift trimmer seems to grab the slightly longer hairs more easily, and you don’t get that feeling of the foil just skating over very short, stubborn stubble. The shave is still quick and smooth, and I didn’t have any pulling or tugging. Skin-wise, I had almost no irritation: no redness, no burning, even on the neck which is usually my weak spot with manual razors.

Where it starts to show some limits is on 5–7 day growth. I tried it once after a full week without shaving. It does manage, but you have to be patient. You need multiple passes, and you sometimes hear and feel it miss certain longer hairs. That’s when the pop-up trimmer becomes useful: I had to use it to catch odd long hairs around the jaw and under the chin. It still gave me a very smooth result in the end, but it took longer than a quick wet shave with a new blade would have. Also, with a week’s growth, you feel more vibration and noise because the head is really working.

Overall, performance is strong if you use it the way it’s meant to be used: daily or every 2–3 days. It’s fast, close, and gentle. If you regularly let your beard grow for a week or more, it can still handle it, but don’t expect it to mow through like a dedicated beard trimmer. For that, I’d still start with a trimmer and then use this to finish. For daily office use or people who don’t like shaving but need a clean look, this makes the process more tolerable and quicker than dragging blades over your face every morning.

Out of the box, the Braun Series 9 PRO+ 9477cc looks like a full kit, not just a shaver. You get: the shaver itself, the 6‑in‑1 SmartCare cleaning/charging station with one cleaning cartridge, the PowerCase (a chunky travel case with a built-in battery), a standard charger, and a small cleaning brush. The whole set is not light: the listed weight is around 1.16 kg including everything, and you feel that once you add the dock and case to your bathroom or bag.

The shaver arrives basically empty on battery, so you need to charge it before the first use. You can either plug it directly or drop it into the cleaning station. First impression when you hold it: it feels solid but not brick-heavy. The body is mostly plastic with a metallic finish, so it doesn’t feel cheap, but it’s not some metal tank either. If you’ve used cheaper Braun or Philips models, this definitely feels more premium in hand, mostly thanks to the finish and the weight balance.

The head has the typical Braun foil layout: several cutting elements (they say 5 “shave elements”, but you visually see 4 main foils/trimmers) and a flexible head that moves to follow your face. There’s also a built-in precision trimmer that slides up from the back. I like that it’s integrated and not a separate clip-on part. The controls are straightforward: one main power button, a lock button for the head, and a simple display that shows battery level and cleaning indicators. No app nonsense, no Bluetooth, which I appreciate.

Overall, the first contact is reassuring: it looks like a high-end device, the accessories match that image, and nothing feels flimsy. But you also immediately see the other side: the cleaning station is quite bulky, the PowerCase is big and heavy, and you realize this is not a minimalist setup. If you live in a small flat or have limited bathroom space, this is something to keep in mind. You’re not just buying a shaver; you’re committing to a whole ecosystem on your sink.