Review, Enrichment, Pg.48, April 17, 2018
The Samsung Galaxy S9|S9+
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+.
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, while criticizing the fact that they were rather very similar to the Galaxy S8 line as a whole.
Samsung Galaxy S9|S9+ SPECS:
Dimensions: 147.7 x 68.7 x 8.5 mm
Weight: 163g
Screen size: 5.8-inch
CPU: Snapdragon 845 / Exynos 9810
RAM: 4GB
Storage: 64GB
Camera: 12MP rear, 8MP front
Battery: 3,000mAh
The Samsung Galaxy S9 is a great phone, but one that hasn't really kicked on from the Galaxy S8, bringing a very similar design and screen to 2017's version. The improved biometrics was sorely needed, and the camera is a leap forward, but the amazing low light capabilities have resulted in sacrifices elsewhere. A top, top phone, but the S9 Plus outshines it. The Samsung Galaxy S9 release date was March 16.
The Samsung Galaxy S9 is the phone that's supposed to lead the charge where the Galaxy S8, one of the best phones ever tested, left off - but it's not as much of an upgrade. Well, that's at first glance, because there is a raft of updates that some would find appealing. Yes, the design is identical to the Galaxy S8, and in reality this really should have been the 'S' variant of that model if Samsung ever wanted to ape Apple's naming strategy.
But there's also a new, high-power camera on the back that brings genuine innovation in the dual-aperture shutter, as well as a more robust frame and so, so much more power under the hood. The screen is brighter and the dual speakers make this more of a media marvel - and the Galaxy S9 fixes one major flaw with the S8 by making it easy to unlock the phone with your face or finger, which 2017's model failed at - and that's why we've named it as one of our best smartphones around at the moment. Galaxy S8 would have realized quite quickly that the biometric unlocking features of that phone almost made it unusable. The fingerprint scanner was too hard to reach, the iris scanner too unreliable and the facial recognition just too poor. Samsung needed to do something, and it has, with all three features now working seamlessly and interchangeably.
Intelligent Scan marries the iris scanner and facial recognition to make unlocking your phone with your face a far, far simpler task, and as mentioned the fingerprint scanner is much easier to hit. The speed of the Intelligent Scan feature is so much better than last year... where the iris scanner and facial recognition on the S8 were between 30% and 50% accurate, the two together on the Galaxy S9 yield success almost every time.
In low light the iris scanner is still a bit slow to react, and not always pleased to let you in (in this case, Apple's Face ID absolutely destroys it for accuracy and ease of use), but it's so simple to just flick your finger to the scanner on the back that we never had an issue.
The Samsung S9|S9+, it’s a lust-worthy device, and one that its owners will cradle and appreciate over time. Some will choose it for its looks, and that is a decision I understand completely. The build quality and materials are both beyond reproach.
