Summary
- Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus unveiled at MWC 2018.
- Both phones bear a resemblance to Galaxy S8, though the footprint has decreased.
- Both phones come with dual AKG tuned stereo speaker.
- The Galaxy S9 has a single 12MP rear camera and the S9 Plus has a dual 12 MP rear camera.
- Both phones are embedded with a mechanical lens which opens and closes.
- Samsung Galaxy S9 is capable of recording slow-mo video at 960 fps.
- Comes with Animated Emojis features, just like iPhone X’s Animojis.
- A revamped Intelligent Scan technology for security from Samsung.
- Bixby now comes with improved AI. Can scan your food for nutritional facts.
- The Galaxy S9 comes with 4GB RAM and the Galaxy S9 Plus with 6GB RAM.
- Will be available in Nepal soon.
Finally, the drapes have been pulled down. Samsung has unveiled one of the most awaited flagship duos of the year the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus. Both of the smartphones improvises upon last years Galaxy S8 in every corner.
While the Galaxy S8 was perfect from every angle the S9 overcomes some of its flaws, whilst adding new and powerful features at the same time.
The Galaxy S9 bears a resemblance to last years model with some minor tweaks, offering a much more seamless experience. The display size and form factor are somewhat similar to its predecessor — i.e. 5.8-inch for the S9 and 6.2-inch for the S9 Plus — though, the foot-print has decreased a little bit, allowing the phone to be used comfortably with one hand. It’s also safe to say that users now won’t have to fiddle with fingerprint scanner since it has been shifted just below the camera sensors. Both the Galaxy S8 and Note 8 had a fingerprint scanner in an awkward position — at the side of the camera.
The Super AMOLED Infinity display present on the both S9 and S9 Plus is as bright as it gets popping out a brightness level of 700 nits; the S8 produced 600 nits of brightness. That’s some serious light there.
Likewise, there’s also an impressive stereo speaker, the first from the company on its flagship. The audio experience on the past Galaxy devices has been nothing sort of amazing and we are all known to this. This time Samsung has fixed it with the pair of AKG tuned speakers which as claimed is 1.4 times louder than the normal speakers. Samsung has also shaken their hands with Dolby for the addition of Atoms codec to both smartphones for an immersive audio experience.
The company has been known to make improvements on camera every year. And this time its no different. Samsung has made some considerable tweaks to its Galaxy S9’s camera, making it a bit superior to last year’s already good Galaxy S8.
The Galaxy S9 has a similar 12MP super speed dual pixel sensor found on the S8. On the other hand, the S9 Plus has a dual-camera setup at the rear. It’s similar to found in the Galaxy Note 8 with a 12MP telephoto lens with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) and f/2.4 aperture. Either of the handsets has an 8MP front-facing camera with a f/1.7 aperture capable of shooting bright selfies even in low-lighting conditions.
Although the camera of the Galaxy S8 was no slouch, the phone’s low-lighting performance was a bit of a let down for most of the users. However, it looks like that won’t be the case with the S9. The Galaxy S9 is embedded with a mechanical lens which opens and closes as per the need. It will use a f/2.4 aperture in bright lighting conditions, whilst a wider f/1.5 aperture will be used in low-lighting situations. This allows the phone to absorb 28 percent more light than the S8.
What’s more interesting is that Samsung has upped their game in terms of video shooting capability. The Galaxy S9 is now capable of shooting slow-mo videos at an astonishing 960 fps as opposed to the Galaxy S8’s 240 fps at 720p. Though it has been done before, the presence will definitely make other companies think about if they should follow the similar footstep.
The phone’s front camera is not only used to take selfies but also make the AR Emojis; much like Apple’s Animojis. With the help of the front camera, the phone captures your face and analyzes it to create either life-like version or a cartoon-like version of you. The software also allows you to change your skin tone, hair colour, and add items like glasses or clothes. After finishing with it, the phone itself saves 18 GIFs into your phone, which later can be shared with your friends. That’s some fun stuff considering that Apple’s Animojis is limited to iMessage only. However, the one from Samsung is reported to not capture as many expression as the iPhone X can.
Aside from the camera, Samsung has made a ton of customization to its personal assistant Bixby. The changes cast a bright light to Samsung’s work on generalizing AIs on smartphones. Bixby now can detect the food and provide users with its nutritional information, while on the other hand it also lets users try different makeup from Sephora and CoverGirl with an option to buy it directly from Bixby.
Now let’s talk about security options here. Aside from the fingerprint scanner, the Galaxy S9 comes with Intelligent Scan — Samsung’s new security feature. It combines both Iris scanning feature and the Face unlocking feature, which can be seen in last years Galaxy flagship. As reported by Samsung, the Intelligent Scan technology will make use of different situations, i.e. the phone will use Iris scanner for apps that need critical security, including banking apps and Samsung Pay. And for normal purpose and unlocking the phone will make use of its facial unlocking feature. Although Samsung has claimed that both features will work seamlessly, the practicality of it in day-to-day usage is yet to be seen.
And finally, the internals. The Samsung Galaxy S9 is first to use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset. Though, the Snapdragon variant, as usual, will only be available in for selected markets, including the USA. Other markets will see Samsung’s very own Exynos 9810 chipset. The Galaxy S9 will come with 4GB of RAM, whereas the S9 Plus will be available with 6GB of RAM. Both phones will come with 64GB of internal storage and a support for microSD card slot. And, of course, the S9 duos are IP68 certified.
It looks like Samsung has yet again delivered. Although the design language of both the phones is minimal, the subtle changes and improvements made by the company will definitely make the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus a phone to be desired for. As for the pricing, the Galaxy S9 will go on sale $719.99 for the base model and the Galaxy S9 Plus will be priced at $839.99. Both phones will go on sale from 16th of March, 2018. Availablity of both phones is yet to be known, however, expect it to be sooner than later.
