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Samsung Galaxy S9

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Not to be confused with Samsung Galaxy Tab S9.
  • Samsung Galaxy S9
  • Samsung Galaxy S9+
Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+
Samsung Galaxy S9 and Samsung Galaxy S9+
BrandSamsung
ManufacturerSamsung Electronics
Type
SloganThe Camera. Reimagined.
SeriesGalaxy S
First released16 March 2018; 6 years ago (2018-03-16)
Availability by region
11 March 2018
16 March 2018
25 March 2018
10 million units sold
6 April 2018
Discontinued8 March 2019; 5 years ago (2019-03-08)
PredecessorSamsung Galaxy S8/S8+
SuccessorSamsung Galaxy S10/S10+
Related
Compatible networks2G, 3G, 4G, 4G LTE
Form factorSlate
ColorsMidnight Black, Coral Blue, Titanium Gray, Lilac Purple, Burgundy Red, Sunrise Gold, Ice Blue, Polaris Blue
DimensionsS9:
147.7 mm × 68.7 mm × 8.5 mm (5.81 in × 2.70 in × 0.33 in)
S9+:
158.1 mm × 73.8 mm × 8.5 mm (6.22 in × 2.91 in × 0.33 in)
Weight
  • S9: 163 g (5.7 oz)
  • S9+: 189 g (6.7 oz)
Operating systemOriginal: Samsung Experience 9.0 on top of Android 8.0 "Oreo"
Final: One UI 2.5 on top of Android 10
System-on-chip
CPU
  • Exynos: Octa-core (4×2.7 GHz & 4×1.7 GHz)
  • Snapdragon: Octa-core (4×2.8 GHz & 4×1.7 GHz) Kryo 385
GPU
MemoryS9: 4 GB LPDDR4X RAM
S9+: 6 GB LPDDR4X RAM
Storage64, 128 or 256 GB UFS 2.1 (UFS 2.0 in some devices)
Removable storagemicroSD, expandable up to 400 GB
BatteryRemovable
Rear cameraS9: Sony IMX345;[3] Samsung Isocell S5K2L3 [4]12 MP (1.4 μm, f/1.5/2.4), OIS, 4K at 30 fps (limited to 10 min) or 60 fps (limited to 5 min),[5] QHD at 30 fps, 1080p at 60 fps (limited 10 min) or 30 fps, 720p at 30 and super slow motion at 960 fps (for 0.2 seconds).
S9+: Sony IMX345; Samsung Isocell S5K2L3 Dual 12 MP (1.4 μm, f/1.5/2.4) + 12 MP ((1.0 μm), f/2.4), Dual OIS, 4K at 30 or 60 fps (limited to 5 min),[5] QHD at 30 fps, 1080p at 30 or 60 fps, 720p at 30 fps and super slow motion at 960 fps (for 0.2 seconds).
Front cameraSony IMX320; Samsung Isocell S5K31[4] 8 MP (1.22 μm, f/1.7), autofocus
Display
  • 2960×1440 1440p Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen Infinity Display
  • Gorilla Glass 5
  • S9: 5.8 in (150 mm), 570 ppi
  • S9+: 6.2 in (160 mm), 529 ppi
(both Diamond PenTile)
SoundStereo speakers tuned by AKG, Dolby Atmos surround sound
ConnectivityWi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5 GHz), VHT80, MU-MIMO, 1024-QAM

Bluetooth 5.0 (LE up to 2 Mbit/s), ANT+, USB-C, 3.5mm headphone jack, NFC, location (GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, BeiDou)

2G, 3G, LTE, LTE-A
Data inputs
Water resistanceIP68, up to 1.5 m (4.9 ft) for 30 minutes
Model
  • International models:
  • SM-G960x (S9)
  • SM-G965x (S9+)
  • (last letter varies by carrier and international models)
  • Japanese models:
  • SCV38 (au, S9)
  • SC-02K (NTT Docomo, S9)
  • SCV39 (au, S9+)
  • SC-03K (NTT Docomo, S9+)
CodenameStar
Websitewww.samsung.com/global/galaxy/galaxy-s9/

The Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ are Android-based smartphones unveiled, manufactured, released and marketed 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+ have nearly identical features to the S8 models, with the same display sizes and aspect ratio as their predecessors. 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 equipped with several camera improvements over the S8.

The phone received generally favorable reviews, with critics mostly noting the enhanced camera and better positioned fingerprint scanner. Critics, however, still criticize the phone being too similar to its predecessor. It is available in seven colours (Lilac Purple, Midnight Black, Titanium Gray, Coral Blue, Sunrise Gold, Burgundy Red, and Polaris Blue). It was succeeded by the Samsung Galaxy S10 in March 2019.

Launch

[edit]

Many Galaxy S9 features and design changes were leaked weeks before the official launch,[6] and the official launch video was leaked a few hours prior to the unveiling.[7]

The Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ were revealed at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on 25 February 2018, as the successors to the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+.[8]

Specifications

[edit]

Hardware

[edit]

Display

[edit]

On the front, the Galaxy S9 and S9+ look identical to the S8 and S8+. They both feature 1440p Super AMOLED displays, with an 18.5:9 aspect ratio. The S9 has a 5.8-inch panel, while the S9+ uses a larger 6.2-inch panel.[9] The displays have curved sides that slope over the horizontal edges of the device. Both models support HDR and have a peak brightness of 864 nits.[10]

Cameras

[edit]

The cameras on both phones received improvements. The S9+ has a dual-lens camera setup on the back, like on the Galaxy Note 8, while the S9 only has a single camera on the back. The Exynos variants of the phones received Samsung's in-house ISOCELL S5K2L3 camera sensor whereas the Snapdragon variant made use of Sony's Exmor IMX345 counterpart. Both phones have a Dual Aperture rear camera which can switch between f/1.5 and f/2.4, depending on lighting conditions, making it the first mobile phone since the Nokia N86 (2009) with a variable aperture camera.[11][12]

The phones can record video with 4K (2160p) at 60 frames per second (limited to 5 minutes[5][13]), 1080p at 240 frames per second and 960 frames per second "Super Slo-Motion " video at 720p for 0.2 seconds, all three of which have been featured on any Samsung flagship phone for the first time.[14][9] The first two frame rates are the first increase in the series since the 2014 Samsung Galaxy S5.

AR Emoji, similar to Apple's Animoji feature on the iPhone X, is a new feature that lets the user make emojis based on themselves with the help of augmented reality face recognition.[15] Third-party app support is provided for this feature.

A software update retrofitted the Galaxy Note 9 feature of warning the user about flaws in photos such as blinking eyes and blur.[16]

Chipsets and storage

[edit]

In most countries, the S9 and S9+ both come with a Samsung Exynos 9810 SoC. Versions sold in the United States, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Latin America come with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC instead.[9]

The S9 comes with 4 GB of RAM, while the S9+ comes with 6 GB.[17][18] Both devices came initially only with 64 GB of internal storage; variants with 128 and 256 GB were released in May 2018, after the internal storage of 64 GB was criticized by many as being too low, but they can only be ordered via Samsung's website.[19] Both phones feature the ability to use a microSD card to expand the storage to a maximum of 400 GB.[17]

Batteries

[edit]

The battery capacities are the same as their predecessors, namely 3000 mAh for the S9, and 3500 mAh for the S9+.[18] The batteries are user-replaceable. Just like its predecessor, the S9 supports AirFuel Inductive (formerly PMA) and Wireless Power Consortium's Qi wireless charging standards.[20]

Wired charging allows for rates up to 15 watts via Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0,[2] while wireless charging is possible with rates up to 10 watts.[21]

Audio

[edit]

The S9 and S9+ have stereo speakers tuned by AKG, as well as Dolby Atmos surround sound support; furthermore, the S9 and S9+ are two of the few smartphones that still retain the 3.5mm headphone jack.[9]

Exterior

[edit]

Where the S9 and S9+ have the most noticeable change from the S8 line is on the back of the phone. The fingerprint sensor has been moved from the right of the camera to a more centralized location just below the camera like on the Galaxy A8 and A8+ for convenience. A more secure unlocking method has been added, where face recognition and iris scanning have been merged into one and called Intelligent Scan.[22]

There are also several construction improvements compared to S8 and S8+ models, mostly to increase physical durability, such as thicker glass, thicker metal rim and different (less prone to deformation) metal alloy used for the frame.[23]

Software

[edit]

The S9 and S9+ ship with Android 8.0 "Oreo", with Google Mobile Services and the Samsung Experience user interface and software suite. It is mainly unchanged over the versions found on the S8 and Note 8, but adds additional features such as new customization options, live language translation in the camera app, and landscape (horizontal) orientation support for the Samsung home screen,[24][22][25] a lack of which the Galaxy S3 has been criticized for, including by Evan Blass, in 2012.[26][27]

The S9 and S9+ also support Project Treble, making it easier to update than previous generations of Galaxy Devices.[28]

In December 2018, Samsung began to release Android 9.0 "Pie" for the S9. This update introduces a major revamp of Samsung's Android user experience known as One UI.[29] A main design element of One UI is intentional repositioning of key user interface elements in stock apps to improve usability on large screens: many apps include large headers that push the beginning of content towards the center of the display, while navigation controls and other prompts are often displayed near the bottom of the display instead.[30][31] As of May 2021, the S9 also supports updating to Android 10.

Advertising

[edit]

In mid-2018, Samsung published a series of mockery commercials named "Ingenius" against iPhones' lack of the Galaxy S9's functionality, including an audio connector, memory card expandable storage, as well as allegedly inferior network transfer rates and camera performance.

In one of those commercials, an unhappy customer failed to locate a memory card slot on her iPhone, to which the Apple Store employee told her that the device lacks such, and suggested her in one word to rely on cloud storage as storage expansion instead, even though it depends on Internet access to function and has slow transfer rates and high latency compared to memory cards. The customer stated that she did not "want her stuff up there", but locally, to which the Apple store employee suggested purchasing a model with more internal storage.[32]

Reception

[edit]

John McCann from TechRadar complimented the improved camera and the new location of the fingerprint sensor, but criticized that it was too similar to its predecessor (Galaxy S8) and had limited AR Emoji functionality.[33]

Brian Heater of TechCrunch reviewed the S9+ on 8 March 2018, and said that the phone is built on the "success [of the S8] in a number of ways".[34]

Computerworld gave the phone a positive review and said it was "measurably better than its predecessor", but did note there wasn't a new feature that was particularly "exciting".[35] PC Magazine also gave the Galaxy S9 and S9+ positive reviews.[36]

CNBC's Todd Haselton said on 8 March that the S9+ was superior to the S9, for reasons such as the larger screen and second camera, as well as more RAM and battery power.[37]

Samuel Gibbs from The Guardian gave the S9+ 5/5 stars, with the headline it was "the best big-screen smartphone by miles". Screen and camera were praised, but the review noted battery life could be better. He also appreciated the inclusion of a headphone jack, despite many other phones not having one.[38]

The larger S9+'s camera received a score of 99 from DxOMark, which, at the time, was the highest score awarded by them to a mobile device camera.[39] It was soon surpassed by the Huawei P20 and P20 Pro, which scored 102 and 109, respectively.[40]

Dan Seifert of The Verge gave the S9 a score of 8.5, stating that its performance, camera and design were satisfactory. However, he was not amused by the average battery life and the addition of Bixby, also saying that Samsung has a poor history of updating their smartphones.[41]

Ryan Whitwam from Forbes noted that, in 2018, the 6 GB RAM of the S9+, compared to the 4 GB of the S9, is "unlikely [to] [...] make any difference in daily usage" because "Android doesn't benefit from 6 GB of RAM right now. Maybe in the future, but not now."[18]

Sales

[edit]

Samsung has described the sales of the Galaxy S9 as "slow" in their Q2 2018 earning report. Analysts predicted that the phone would be the worst-selling Galaxy S flagship since the Samsung Galaxy S5.[42] During its first two sales quarters, a record low 19.2 million units were sold.[43]

Issues

[edit]

Touchscreen issues

[edit]

About a week after the release of the devices, users started experiencing an issue in the touchscreen, where it would fail to register input in any particular area of the screen, even after a factory reset.[44] This was termed as "dead zones" by the users.[45] Samsung has responded by issuing a statement that they were "looking into a limited number of reports of Galaxy S9/S9+ touchscreen responsiveness issues".[46]

Black Crush issues

[edit]

Some users of the Galaxy S9 have reported the so-called "Black Crush" issues, where the display has issues displaying different shades of dark colors. Samsung has responded with a statement that they are aware of "a limited number of reports of Galaxy S9/S9+ displaying dark colors differently than intended in certain instances" but has not provided an official fix for it yet.[47][48]

Battery life issues

[edit]

Many users with the Exynos variant of the phone experienced subpar battery life. Analysts discovered that the four Samsung-designed cores had been poorly tuned, resulting in decreased battery life.[49] This issue, however, has been addressed in part with the release of the August 2018 update.[50]

Exynos 9810 performance

[edit]

In previous Galaxy S phones, the Exynos processor performed similar to the Snapdragon version. The S9 powered by the Exynos 9810 performed relatively slow for a flagship and compared to the Snapdragon-powered S9. This was not very evident in synthetic benchmarks, but more so in benchmarks that simulated real world performance, such as PCMark.[51][52]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Kumar, Ajay (15 August 2019). "Samsung Galaxy Note 9 vs S9+: Which Phablet reigns supreme". Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Galaxy S9: Diese Technologie übernimmt Samsung unverändert vom S8". GIGA (in German). 23 January 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  3. ^ https://www.techthagaval.com/samsung-galaxy-s9-21-mp-sony-sensor-leaked/ [dead link‍]
  4. ^ a b Singh, Deepak (11 April 2018). "How To Check Camera Sensor Present In Samsung Galaxy S9 or S9 Plus".
  5. ^ a b c "The S9 records 4K 60fps in high-efficiency codec, but no more than 5 min". Phone Arena. 2 March 2018.
  6. ^ "Everything we think we know about the Samsung Galaxy S9". The Verge. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  7. ^ "Samsung's Galaxy S9 launch video leaks out". The Verge. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  8. ^ "Samsung announces the Galaxy S9 launch, teases "reimagined" camera". Ars Technica. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  9. ^ a b c d "Review: Samsung's new Galaxy S9 phones make excellence routine". computerworld. 12 March 2018. Archived from the original on 25 July 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  10. ^ "Samsung Galaxy S9+ Review". TechSpot. 17 April 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  11. ^ "The Galaxy S9's dual-aperture camera is great marketing". theverge. 27 February 2018.
  12. ^ "This is the best look at the Galaxy S9's variable aperture you'll ever get". theverge. 13 March 2018.
  13. ^ Wong, Raymond (2 March 2018). "Samsung Galaxy S9 can't record 4K video at 60 fps as long as iPhone X". Mashable. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  14. ^ "Samsung Galaxy S9 – Full phone specifications". www.gsmarena.com.
  15. ^ "Galaxy S9: What you need to know about AR Emoji". CNET. 13 March 2018.
  16. ^ "Samsung Galaxy S9 Will Receive AI Camera Features – TizenHelp". Archived from the original on 17 September 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
  17. ^ a b "Samsung Galaxy S9 review: A fantastic phone for the masses, but not an exciting one". Android Central. 8 March 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  18. ^ a b c "Galaxy S9 Vs. S9 Plus: Which One Should You Buy?". forbes. 13 March 2018.
  19. ^ "Samsung Now Offers 128 GB and 256 GB Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus". Digital Trends. 30 April 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  20. ^ "Samsung Galaxy S9 Specifications". Samsung. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  21. ^ "The fastest way to charge the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+". Ventev. 1 August 2018. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  22. ^ a b "Samsung Galaxy S9 review". gsmarena. 9 March 2018.
  23. ^ "Samsung's Galaxy S9 Has A Great Secret Feature". Forbes. 1 March 2018.
  24. ^ "Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+: Everything you need to know, all in one place". PC World. 2 April 2018.
  25. ^ Duino, Justin (1 March 2018). "How to enable landscape home screen on Samsung Galaxy S9 & S9+". 9to5Google.
  26. ^ "I'll take my home screen in portrait, please!". phonedog.com. 8 June 2012.
  27. ^ "It's 2012, Why Won't My Home Screen Rotate?". Pocketnow. 8 June 2012. Archived from the original on 9 November 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  28. ^ Rahman, Mishaal (16 March 2018). "This is the Samsung Galaxy S9 running on AOSP Android Oreo thanks to Project Treble". XDA Developers. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  29. ^ Bohn, Dieter (29 January 2019). "Samsung begins US rollout of Android 9 Pie and One UI, but slowly". The Verge. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  30. ^ Bohn, Dieter (19 February 2019). "Samsung's One UI is the best software it's ever put on a smartphone". The Verge. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  31. ^ Tibken, Shara. "Samsung redesigns its smartphone user interface with One UI". CNET. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  32. ^ "Samsung: Ingenius – Not a stroke of genius – TechPP". techpp.com. 31 July 2018.
  33. ^ McCann, John. "Hands on: Samsung Galaxy S9 review". techradar. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  34. ^ "Samsung Galaxy S9+", TechCrunch, Brian Heater, 8 March 2018
  35. ^ "Review: Samsung's new Galaxy S9 phones make excellence routine" Archived 25 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Dan Rosenbaum, Computerworld, 12 March 2018
  36. ^ "With the Galaxy S9, Samsung's Redemption Is Complete", Tim Bajarin, PC Magazine, 12 March 2018
  37. ^ "If you're looking to buy the new Samsung phone, get the Galaxy S9+ instead of the Galaxy S9", CNBC, Todd Haselton, 8 March 2018
  38. ^ "Samsung Galaxy S9+ review: the best big-screen smartphone by miles", The Guardian, Samuel Gibbs, 8 March 2018
  39. ^ "Samsung's Galaxy S9 Plus earns best-ever DxOMark camera ratings". CNET. 1 March 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  40. ^ Salman, Ali (27 March 2018). "Huawei P20 Pro Features DxOMark Score Greater Than Any Other Smartphone To Date". Wccftech. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  41. ^ "Samsung Galaxy S9 review: predictably great, predictably flawed". The Verge. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  42. ^ "Samsung says the Galaxy S9 isn't selling very well". The Verge. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  43. ^ "Just when you thought Galaxy S9 sales couldn't get any worse, they did". Boy Genius Report. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  44. ^ "Galaxy S9 screen not responding? Here's how to let Samsung know". CNET. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  45. ^ "Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus touchscreen issue causing havoc on some handsets". Android Authority. 22 March 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  46. ^ "Samsung is 'looking into' Galaxy S9 touchscreen issues". Engadget. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  47. ^ Elder, Duncan (12 April 2018). "Some Galaxy S9 Plus users are reporting "black crush" screen issues". Android Authority. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  48. ^ Michaels, Philip (13 April 2018). "Galaxy S9 Screen Complaints Grow (Update: Samsung Responds)". Tom's Guide. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  49. ^ Bader, Daniel (3 April 2018). "Samsung Galaxy S9 battery problems, explained: Exynos vs. Snapdragon". Androidcentral. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  50. ^ "Battery Life Of Exynos Galaxy S9 Models Improved With New Patch | Android News". AndroidHeadlines.com |. 15 August 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  51. ^ "Galaxy s9+ smartphone review". notebookcheck. 29 March 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  52. ^ "Improving the Exynos 9810". Anandtech. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
[edit]
Preceded by Samsung Galaxy S9
2018 		Succeeded by
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