Samsung Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9+ Launched: All You Need to Know

Samsung at an exclusive event in Barcelona, ahead of the Mobile World Congress 2018, launched its next flagship smartphones- the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+. The company also showcased its improved DeX Pad along with the wireless Fast Charging dock.

The new Samsung Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy S9+ retains the form factor which was introduced by the S8 and S8+ last year and can be seen as improved versions. The Galaxy S9 and S9+ offer an almost similar spec sheet but Samsung has ensured that the bigger and expensive S9+ makes more sense to buyers.

The Galaxy S9+ is powered by a 10nm, 64bit, octa-core Exynos 9810 (4x 2.9GHz + 4x 1.9GHz) with 6GB of RAM and support for up to 400GB microSD card. The device will be available in 64GB, 128GB and 256GB internal storage variants. Note that both the Galaxy S9 and S9+ will be available with Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC in the western markets. As always, India will get the Exynos SoC model. Coming to the display, the Samsung Galaxy S9+ offers a 6.2-inch Quad HD+ curved display with an aspect ratio of 18:5:9 (Infinity Display). Samsung says that they have made the bezels even thinner and have darkened it as well to enrich the “bezel-less feel".

There’s a dual-lens camera setup in the bigger Galaxy S9+ with 12MP telephoto and 12MP wide-angle lenses with an aperture of f/2.4 and f/1.5 respectively. There is of, course, autofocus and Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) on both the lenses. Samsung says that the camera is built for low lighting photography with dual aperture and multi-frame noise reduction. It’s claimed that the new phones offer 30% less noise than the older Galaxy S8.

On the front, there is an 8MP f/1.7 A/F camera for selfies. There is a wide-angle mode along with other features too. Other camera features include super slow mode at 960 FPS. Interestingly Samsung has added an “auto slo-mo" feature which automatically detects motion in a still frame and records a slow-motion video of the moving object in the frame. You can also use these slo-mo videos as a GIF or even as a desktop wallpaper.

Samsung has taken advantage of the smart camera to make its assistant called Bixby even smarter. Bixby now offers Live translation, names unknown locations and even show calories in food. All you have to do is just call the “Bixby Vision" option the camera UI and point your camera to get the information. Now coming to Emojis. Samsung has included. Augmented Reality (AR) emojis in both the S9 and S9+. This feature is similar to the one you get with the iPhone X, popularly called “Animoji".

You can create a 3D picture of yourself and customise it to make realistic emojis of your own expressions. The feature will available directly on the keyboard and will support all social media platforms as its created as a GIF. You can send these AR emojis as a GIF to any other smartphone. There is dual stereo speakers tuned by AKG (by Harman)  on both flagship Galaxy phones now offering Dolby Digital 360 surround sound experience. Of course, the 3.5mm headphone jack is also there.

As far as security is concerned, the new Galaxy phones offer facial recognition along with the iris scanner. The fingerprint scanner at the back is now below the camera module making it more easily accessible unlike in the S8 or S8+. The device is powered by the latest Samsung Knox security solution. The Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ are IP68 water and dust resistant with 4G VoLTE connectivity, Bluetooth 5, dedicated dual-SIM card slot, NFC, Samsung Pay, DeX support, USB Type-C port among others. All the software and connectivity goodies in the Galaxy Note 8 are there in the new Galaxy S9 and S9+.

Both the flagship are powered by Android 8.0 Oreo operating system. The Galaxy S9 is powered by a 3,000 mAh battery and weighs 163 grams while the bigger Galaxy S9+ is backed by a 3,500 mAh battery and weighs 189 grams. It will be available in four colours- Black, Blue, Grey and in a new Lilac Purple. On the other hand, the smaller Samsung Galaxy S9 has almost everything that the bigger S9+ has got to offer. The only differences are the smaller 5.8-inch display, 3,000mAh battery and a single lens 12MP camera setup at the back. The Galaxy S9 and S9+ will be available starting in March 16, 2018 in select markets and will be offered in Midnight Black, Titanium Gray, Coral Blue and a new hue, Lilac Purple.

Samsung DeX Pad

Talking about the new Samsung DeX Pad, it has been redesigned to allow users to use the 3.5mm headphone jack on the phone. It now supports up to 2K monitors. For enterprise usage, Samsung now lets IT managers add the logo of their company on the DeX screen and also the option to control access to certain apps. So, certain apps like Facebook can be blocked when the device is connected to the DeX but it can be used when the phone is unplugged from the DeX dock.

Samsung Galaxy S9+ Specifications

6.8-inch Quad HD+ 18:5:9 Display

Android 8.0 Oreo

10nm, 64bit octa-core Exynos 9810 (4x 2.9GHz + 4x 1.9GHz) processor

6GB RAM

64GB/128GB/ 256GB internal storage

Up to 400GB expandable

12MP f/2.4 (telephoto) + 12MP f/1.5 wide-angle camera with Dual OIS and multi-frame noise reduction

8MP f/1.7 front selfie camera

AR Emoji, Bixby Vision, 960p SloMo

3,500 mAh battery

Dual SIM, 4G VoLTE, Bluetooth 5, 3.5mm headphone jack, Gigabit LTE, NFC, Samsung Pay

IP68 water resistant

Dual stereo speakers powered by Dolby 360 surround sound.

Fingerprint scanner, Face recognition, Iris scanner

Galaxy S9 specifications

The only differences are the smaller 5.8-inch display, 3,000mAh battery and a single lens 12MP camera setup at the back.

(The author is attending MWC 2018 in Barcelona on the invite of Samsung Mobile India.)

Also watch: Samsung Galaxy S9, S9+ First Look at MWC 2018