Samsung Galaxy S9 / S9+ preview and deals

Design

The Galaxy S9 and S9+ have the same size as S8 and S8+ respectively. The S9 has a 5.8-inch screen, and the S9+ has a 6.2-inch display. You may notice that they are slightly heavier than the predecessors, probably because of the additional components which offer the new camera features.

The same displays as the predecessors mean that you will have the same Infinity Display on S9 and S9+. 1440p Super AMOLED displays with an 18.5:9 aspect ratio hasn’t been changed. However, Samsung says that it’s brighter than the S8 and S8+.

There are noticeable changes on the back. The fingerprint sensor has been moved from the right of the rear camera to below the rear camera. As a result, you may be less likely to touch the camera lens and put your fingerprint on it.

The camera of S9 and S9+ has a new feature, and it’s elaborated in the Camera section. Aside from the feature, the S9+ has a dual-lens camera on the back, while the S9 has a single camera on the back.

Camera

While the 12-megapixel rear camera has continued since 2016’s Galaxy S7, Samsung introduced a new Super Speed Dual Pixel camera, and the S9+ has a second camera lens. The main 12-MP lenses have a variable aperture that can switch between a f/1.5 and f/2.4 aperture depending on brightness in the environment. The S8 has a fixed aperture of f/1.7. The wider aperture can help letting in more light so you can take pictures in dark environment. The second camera lens on the S9+ is a 12-MP telephoto lens which offers 2x optical zoom.

Another new and significant camera feature is Super Slo-Mo video capabilities. It can slow down to 960 frames per second at 720p resolution. You can make a setting for this feature kicking in automatically or manually. The automatic mode detects a motion to start Slo-Mo recording. But, because of the sensitivity of motion sensor, the automatic mode is not always successful. If you know the moment to capture Slo-Mo video like blowing birthday candles, throwing a surprise party, or playing a prank on your friend, it’s better to use manual mode.

Processor and Storage

The new Snapdragon 845 powers the S9 and S9+. The new processor offers a 25 percent boost in performance and a 30 percent improvement over the Snapdragon 835, which powers the S8 and other top Android phones came out in 2017.

The S9 comes with 4 GB of RAM, and the S9+ comes with 6 GB of RAM. Both devices come with storage of 64 GB. And there is a slot for a microSD card to expand the storage to a maximum of 400 GB.

Software and Other Features

The S9 and S9+ will run Android 8.0 “Oreo.” Bixby digital assistant was introduced with the S8’s release. And, it remains on the new S9. Samsung has improved Bixby and added new features like real-time translation by using the camera. When you point the camera at a sign or menu, it translates to the language you configure. It’s worth noting that it won’t change any other objects than foreign characters on the screen. It’s one of Augmented Reality features.

Another feature using Augmented Reality coming with S9 is AR Emoji. It’s similar to Apple’s Animoji. While Animoji turns your face into animal characters, AR Emoji turns your face into animated human characters.

The battery capacities are the same as S8 and S8+. It’s 3000 mAh for the S9, and 3500 mAh for the S9+. However, the battery life has improved thanks to the new Snapdragon 845 processor. According to Qualcomm, the new processor improves the power efficiency by up to 30 percent for some tasks.

Price and Deals

The unlocked S9 costs $719.99, and the S9+ costs $839.99. They are lower than the S8 ($750) and the S8+ ($850.) If you make a contract with or switch carriers, you may get a lot of discount combining with other options like a trade-in. Click here to see details of S9/S9+ pre-order at Best Buy.

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