It’s here. One of the most awaited smartphones of 2018 – the Samsung Galaxy S9 – has been finally announced at a pre-MWC event going on in Barcelona, Spain. The Samsung Galaxy S9 is a flagship smartphone and is successor to last year’s Samsung Galaxy S8 which is still one of the best looking smartphones available in the market right now.
The Samsung Galaxy S9, like its predecessor, comes with a bezel-less design. The top and bottom bezels of this smartphone are minuscule. In fact, they are bit smaller than the ones we saw on last year’s Galaxy S8.
In terms of design, not much has changed from S8 to S9. However, Samsung has made some nice, much needed changes on the S9. Yes, we are talking about that fingerprint scanner. Last year’s Galaxy S8 came with fingerprint scanner at the back that was placed awkwardly right next to rear camera, but this year, Samsung has rectified its mistake and has now placed the fingerprint scanner below the camera module – making it easier to reach.
Speaking about the innards, the Samsung Galaxy S9 is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 chip that’s laced with 4 GB RAM and backed by Adreno 630 GPU. However, only those living in the US will be able to buy the Galaxy S9 with Snapdragon 845 SoC, as other markets will get the Exynos 9810 variant with the same amount of RAM.
The Samsung Galaxy S9 features the same 5.8-inch Infinity Display that we saw on Galaxy S8 which has a resolution of 2960 x 1440 pixels and an aspect ratio of 18.5:9. Above the display is an 8 MP camera with Iris Scanner. However, this time around, the Galaxy S9 comes with a feature called Intelligent Scan “that intelligently uses the collective strength of iris scanning and facial recognition technology to quickly and conveniently unlock a user’s phone in various situations”.
That said, moving on to the back, you get a 12 MP Super Speed Dual Pixel camera which comes with variable aperture. Well, what it means is that the aperture of the camera changes between f/1.5 and f/2.4 to adjust to the lighting conditions so that you can take “crisp and clear” photos irrespective of whether it’s dark or too bright.
Apart from this, the camera on Samsung Galaxy S9 now also comes with Super Slow-Mo that lets you record videos at a rate of 960 frames/second. And, once you are done recording that super cool slow-mo video, you can make it much more cooler by adding music to it. Besides, users can also make a GIF out of it if they wish.
That said, Samsung has also introduced AR Emoji with the Galaxy S9. With this feature, users “create an emoji that looks, sounds and acts like them”. Does it remind you of Animoji that Apple introduced on the iPhone X last year? Yes? Well, you aren’t alone.
Anyways though, moving on, the Galaxy S9 comes with support for Dolby Atmos while also feature AKG-tuned stereo speakers. Besides, you also have Samsung Bixby at your disposal which can be quickly summoned by pressing that dedicated hardware button on the left side of the phone.
The Samsung Galaxy S9 comes with a new SmartThings app that lets you control connected devices. And, it also comes with support for DeX Pad that lets you turn your smartphone into a portable workstation.
Lastly, the Galaxy S9 comes in four colors – Midnight Black, Titanium Gray, Coral Blue, Lilac Purple – and, ships with a 3000 mAh battery that keeps the entire package up and running.
“The way we use our smartphones has changed as communication and self-expression has evolved. With the Galaxy S9 and S9+, we have reimagined the smartphone camera. Not only do the Galaxy S9 and S9+ enable consumers to shoot great photos and videos anywhere, it’s a smartphone that’s designed to help them connect to others and express themselves in a way that’s unique and personal to them.” said DJ Koh, President and Head of IT & Mobile Communications Division, Samsung Electronics.
Samsung Galaxy S9 Specifications
- CPU: Snapdragon 845 (in the US), Exynos 9810 (in rest of the world)
- RAM: 4 GB
- Operating System: Android 8.0 Oreo
- Display: 5.8-inch Quad-HD+ (2960 x 1440 pixels) Curved Super AMOLED Infinity Display
- Rear Camera: 12 MP Super Speed Dual Pixel camera with variable aperture (f/1.5-f/2.4), Optical Image Stabilization, Super Slow-Mo, AR Emoji and LED flash
- Front Camera: 8 MP with f/1.7 aperture
- Internal Storage: 64/128/256 GB
- External Storage: Expandable up to 400 GB via microSD card
- SIM: Available in Single SIM and Dual Hybrid SIM variants depending on the market
- Connectivity: 4G VoLTE, GPS, Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, NFC, 3.5 mm headphone jack, USB Type-C
- Other: Fingerprint Scanner, Iris Recognition, Intelligent Scan, Dolby Atmos, AKG-tuned Stereo Speakers, IP68 Dust and Water Resistance, Bixby, Heart Rate Monitoring, Knox 3.1
- Battery: 3000 mAh with Fast Wired Charging compatible with Quick Charge 2.0, also supports Wireless Charging
Samsung Galaxy S9 Price and Availability
- Price: $739 (US), £739 (UK), €849 (Europe)
- Availability: To be available from March 16 in select markets
