Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ Hands-on – Attractive phones with brilliant cameras

After a long wait the Samsung Galaxy S9, as well as the S9+, have been launched at the Unpacked event and we got an opportunity to use it at their booth at MWC 2018. The device looks stellar and has seen some modifications that make it a worthy upgrade over the predecessor and other competitors in the market.

Both the devices are very similar in terms of design but there are a few subtle changes that set the devices apart. The two most important differences in the device are the screen sizes and the camera. The Samsung Galaxy S9 comes with a 5.8-inch display while the Galaxy S9+ comes with a larger 6.2-inch display. One of the biggest cries about the Samsung Galaxy S8 and the Note 8 was with the placement of the fingerprint sensor. Now the fingerprint sensor has finally been moved to the new position under the camera compared to the previous position adjacent to the fingerprint sensor.

Both the devices come with the same resolution at QHD+ but have different screen sizes. The device runs on Android Oreo-based Samsung Experience UI 9.0. The software comes preloaded with several apps including the Smart Things app, Voice Recorder, Samsung Health and Samsung Gear which help enhance the user experience. There is also the Samsung Pay app that helps simplify the payments by eliminating the need to carry your cards everywhere.

The about section of the Settings app has all the required information about the smartphone including the Mobile number, model number, IMEI number and other software version details. In the advanced features section of the Settings app we find other Samsung exclusive features such as the Smart Stay that keeps the display on as long as you are looking at it. There is also the One-Handed mode, Fingerprint Gestures, Game Mode, Smart Alert, Swipe to call, Easy Mode and an option to change the touch sensitivity. The video enhancer option makes the videos look better by applying software adjustments to the display and then outputting the same content.

The lock screen settings allow us to modify the security on the device. You can choose to use the regular fingerprint sensor or opt to use the IRIS scanning that can now be combined with the Face recognition feature to offer more convenience and security. There is also the device maintenance section where the manufacturer lets you make the phone faster and clean the junk storage. The device we got to test was the 64GB Storage variant. While the S9 comes with 4GB of RAM, the S9+ gets the upgrade to 6GB of RAM.

The camera is one of the major highlights of the smartphone. The device camera supports selective focus and is the first camera in a smartphone to offer variable aperture option. The Samsung Galaxy S9 lets you switch between f/1.5 and f/2.4 with the click of a button in the camera app. You can easily notice the aperture changing in the device when you select the option and look at the rear camera. This feature is not limited to the S9 and is present even on the primary lens of the S9+. The secondary sensor on the S9+ is a 12MP camera with an aperture of f/2.4. The selfie camera on both the devices has remained the same and come with an 8MP sensor with a f/1.7 aperture offering video recording up to QHD. The rear camera supports video capturing in 4K up to 60FPS. The device also comes with the new AR Emoji which is similar to the Animoji in the iPhone X and you can select the AR Emoji and it will react to keep up with the expressions on your face. The super slow-motion feature in the device supports up to 960FS at a resolution of 720p. This video can be played up to 32x slower than what it was captured at, allowing for the most detail to be perceived.

The Samsung Galaxy S9+ comes with most of the same features as the S9 with the addition of a secondary lens on the rear camera to enable the live focus or the portrait mode. The bottom of both the devices have the USB Type-C port and the devices now come with a stereo speaker. The earpiece on the top has been converted in to a speaker when required and the Harmon speakers tuned by AKG can provide the right about of loudness without any distortion. The sound signature of the device is unique and has been perfected by the company.