It featured in our most exciting smartphones of 2018 list, and comes highly anticipated. Finally, after months of rumours and speculation, Samsung have unveiled the new Galaxy S9 mobile phone. Opinions of the device so far have been a bit of a mixed bag. Some people think that it will outsell the flagship iPhone X from Apple. Others think that it’s an anti-climax after such a long wait. And that it isn’t much of a step forward from the Samsung Galaxy S8.
So what’s the new Samsung Galaxy S9 like. Is it worth spending all that money on? Or are you better off waiting a while for the next big release from Samsung (or anyone else)?
Samsung Galaxy S9 Specifications
The key to any smartphone is the performance. The performance of the new Galaxy S9 is impressive, but it’s not all that much better than the previously released Galaxy S8. For the S9, Samsung use their own Exynos 9810 processor, which has eight cores which make 2.96GHz which is a massive improvement on the 2.3GHz from the S8. The S9 also has a 1.2Gbits per second modem, which will allow for extremely quick downloads.
The Galaxy S9 also has great memory. With 4GB of RAM it has 33% more than the flagship iPhone X which has 3GB. The Galaxy S9+ has a huge 6GB RAM which is way more than anyone would really need from a smartphone. Both the Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy S9+ are fast, smooth and responsive due to their brilliant processors and large amounts of RAM.
When it comes to internal storage, the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ have a bit less than competitors, with 64GB and 128GB respectively. However this isn’t much of an issue as both devices will happily take a 400GB micro SD card to maximise space on the phone.
Samsung Galaxy S9 Camera
The main selling point of the new Samsung Galaxy S9 is definitely the camera. The tech giant have been using the phrase “the camera: reimagined” in the press. Although nothing particularly groundbreaking, the new camera is pretty impressive.
Both new S9 models have a 12MP rear camera and an 8MP selfie camera on the front. The S9+ uses two lenses, one for wide angles and the other telephoto. The best feature of the camera is its performance in low light conditions. The camera is able to take 12 photos at a time with different exposures, and then the phone compares each photo and combines them to produce the best possible photo outcome. The S9 is also able to capture video in 960 frames per second slow motion. The S9 has a 5.8 inch AMOLED screen, and the S9+ a 6.2 inch. The infinity display is nothing new for Samsung consumers, but it’s still one of the best screens available on a smartphone.
Flagship Features
When it comes to groundbreaking, flagship features the Samsung Galaxy doesn’t really have any. There are a couple of new elements worth mentioning, such as the AR emoji feature. This takes the user’s face and creates an AR avatar for them, which can be filmed and sent to friends as GIFs. Apart from this, the S9 doesn’t really serve as anything other than an upgrade to the Samsung Galaxy S8, which is already a brilliant phone. The S9 is excellent as well of course, but if you’re looking for exciting features and you already own an S8, then you’re probably better off saving your money and waiting for a flagship model. Hopefully we’ll see one by this time next year!