Samsung Galaxy S9 plus

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+.^[6]

The Galaxy S9 and S9+ have nearly identical features to the S8 batch, with the same display size and aspect ratio, just like their predecessor. One highly regarded change to distinguish between the models is the location of the fingerprint sensor. While the S8's are found beside the camera, the S9's are 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 lack of improvement to other features compared to its predecessor. It is available in seven colors (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.

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.

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. 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.^[10][11]

The phones can record video with 4K (2160p) at 60 frames per second (limited to 5 minutes^[4][12]), 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.^[13][9]

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 artificial reality face recognition.^[14] Third-party app support is provided for this feature.

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; the S9+ comes with 6 GB of RAM.^[15] Both devices come with storage options of 64, 128, and 256 GB, and feature the ability to use a microSD card to expand the storage to a maximum of 400 GB.^[16]

Batteries[edit]

The battery capacities are the same as their predecessors: 3000 mAh for the S9, and 3500 mAh for the S9+.^[16] The batteries are not user-replaceable. Just like its predecessor, the S9 supports AirFuel Inductive (formerly PMA) and Wireless Power Consortium's Qi wireless charging standards.^[17]

Wired charging allows for up to 15 Watts via Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0^[1] while wireless charging is possible with up to 10 Watts.^[18]

Audio[edit]

The S9 and S9+ now have stereo speakers tuned by AKG and the phones also have 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.^[19]

There are also several construction improvements compared to S8 and S8+ models, mostly to increase physical durabilities, such as thicker glass, thicker metal rim, and different (less prone to deformation) metal alloy used for the frame.^[20]

Software[edit]

The S9 and S9+ ship with Android 8.0 "Oreo" with 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 orientation support for the Samsung home screen.^[21][19] The S9 and S9+ also support Project Treble, making it easier to update than previous generations of Galaxy Devices.^[22]

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.^[23] The main design element of One UI is an intentional repositioning of key user interface elements in stock apps to improve the 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.^[24][25]