SAMSUNG GALAXY S9-The Next Gen

SAMSUNG GALAXY S9-The Next Gen

The Samsung Galaxy S9 and Samsung Galaxy S9+ (shortened to S9 and S9+, respectively) are Android smartphones produced by Samsung Electronics as part of the Samsung Galaxy S series. The devices were revealed at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on 25 February 2018, as the successors to the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+.[2]

The Galaxy S9 and S9+ has nearly identical features of the S8 batch, with the same display size and aspect ratio, just like its predecessor. One highly regarded change to distinguish between the models is the location of the fingerprint sensor. While the S8's is found beside the camera, the S9's is directly underneath it. Most notably, however, the S9 line is primarily equipped with several camera improvements over the S8.

The phone has received generally favorable reviews, with critics mostly noting the enhanced camera and better positioned fingerprint scanner.

Specifications

Hardware

On the front, the Galaxy S9 and S9+ look identical to the S8 and S8+. They both feature 1440p Super AMOLED displays, with an 18.5:9 aspect ratio. The S9 has a 5.8-inch panel, while the S9+ uses a larger 6.2-inch panel.[5]

In most countries, the S9 and S9+ both come with a Samsung Exynos 9810 SoC. Versions sold in the United States, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Latin America instead come with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC.[5]

The S9 comes with 4 GB of RAM; the S9+ comes with 6 GB of RAM.[6] Both devices come with storage options of 64, 128 and 256 GB, and feature the ability to use a microSD card to expand the storage to a maximum of 400 GB.[7]

The battery capacities are the same as their predecessors: 3000 mAh for the S9, and 3500 mAh for the S9+.[7]

The S9 and S9+ now have stereo speakers tuned by AKG and the phones also have Dolby Atmos surround sound support; furthermore, the S9 and S9+ are two of the few smartphones that still have the 3.5mm headphone jack.[5]

Where the S9 and S9+ have the most noticeable change from the S8 line is on the back of the phone. The fingerprint sensor has been moved from the right of the camera to a more centralized location just below the camera like on the Galaxy A8 and A8+ for convenience. A more secure unlocking method has been added, where face recognition and iris scanning have been merged into Intelligent Scan.[8]

The cameras on both phones received improvements. The S9+ has a dual-lens camera setup on the back, like on the Galaxy Note 8, while the S9 only has a single camera on the back. Both phones have a Dual Aperture rear camera which can switch between f/1.5 and f/2.4, depending on lighting conditions.[9] The phones can shoot 4K at 60 frames per second, 1080p at 240 frames per second and 960 frames per second "Super Slo-Motion " video at 720p.[5] AR Emoji, similar to Apple's Animoji feature on the iPhone X, is a new feature that lets the user make emojis based on themselves.[10] Third party app support is provided for this feature.

Software

The S9 and S9+ ships with the Android 8.0 "Oreo" mobile operating system with Samsung's Samsung Experience 9.0 skin on top of it. It features a tighter integration with Bixby, such as using the camera for live language translation.[11] In addition, the phone can be used horizontally, even on the home screen.[8]

Reception

John McCann from Techradar complimented the improved camera and the new location of the fingerprint sensor, but criticized that it was too similar to its predecessor (Galaxy S8) and had limited AR Emoji functionality.

Brian Heater of TechCrunch reviewed the S9+ on March 8, 2018, and said that the phone is built on the "success [of the S8] in a number of ways".[13]

Computer World gave the phone a positive review and said it was "measurably better than its predecessor", but did note there wasn't a new feature that was particularly "exciting".[14] PC Magazine also gave the Galaxy S9 and S9+ positive reviews.[15]

CNBC's Todd Haselton on March 8 said that the S9+ was superior to the S9, for reasons such as the larger screen and second camera, as well as more RAM and battery power.[16]

Samuel Gibbs from The Guardian gave the S9+ 5/5 stars, with the headline it was "the best big-screen smartphone by miles". Screen and camera were praised, but the review noted battery life could be better. He also appreciated the inclusion of a headphone jack, despite many other phones not having one.[17]

The larger S9+'s camera received a score of 99 from DxOMark, which, at the time was the highest score awarded by them to a mobile device camera.[18] It was soon surpassed by the Huawei P20 and P20 Pro, which scored 102 and 109 respectively.[19]

Dan Seifert of The Verge gave the S9 a score of 8.5, stating that its performance, camera and design were satisfactory. However, he was not amused by the average battery life and the addition of Bixby, also saying that Samsung has a poor history of updating their smartphones.[20]