Is The Samsung Galaxy S9 Worth Buying?

The Samsung Galaxy S9 is an Android smartphone produced by Samsung Electronics as part of the Samsung Galaxy S series. The device was revealed at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on 25 February 2018. Well, some say that the new phone is completely trash and has no such improvements but they are wrong and the new phone has some big advancements. Some things you might want to consider before actually buying are given below.


Specifications


Dimensions: 147.7 x 68.7 x 8.5 mm
Weight: 163 g
Build: Front/Back Gorilla Glass 5, aluminum frame
SIM: Single SIM or Hybrid Dual SIM
NFC: Samsung Pay
Network: GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE
Display: 5.8 inches Super AMOLED Display
Resolution: 1440 x 2960 pixels
Multitouch: Yes
Protection: Gorilla Glass 5
Water Resistant: Yes
Wireless Charging: Yes
3D Touch: Yes ( Home button only )
OS: Android 8.0 ( Oreo )
Chipset: Qualcomm SDM845 Snapdragon 845 ( US and China ) and Exynos 9810 ( Rest )
Memory Card Slot: Yes, microSD (upto 400 GB )
Memory: 64 / 128 / 256 GB, 4 GB RAM
Camera: 12 MP Front Facing Camera , 8 MP Back Camera
Features: Geo-tagging, simultaneous 4K video and 9MP image recording, face detection, Auto HDR, panorama
Video: 2160p at 60fps, 1080p at 240fps, 720p at 960fps, HDR, dual-video rec
Headphone Jack: 3.5 mm jack
Audio: 32-bit/384kHz audio
WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot
Bluetooth: 5.0 
Sensors: Iris scanner, fingerprint, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, heart rate
Battery: Li-ion 3000 mAh battery
Price: approx $720




DESIGN


Well you might want to consider that the S9 is not a mid range phone but is rather an expensive piece of premium technology. Samsung has already made the S8 bezel less and has given the world a whole new perspective so it was obvious that the design would be continued in the S9. The metal and glass body retains its curved display, IP68 water-resistance rating and microSD card slot. The aluminium rim has been strengthened and the Gorilla Glass 5 coating the screen has been thickened. 

As the phone supports wireless charging, the back of the phone had to be made of glass which kind of sucks as the phone becomes prone to fingerprints and smudges which make the glass look dirty. The glass also makes the phone very slippery.




SCREEN


Samsung always takes a lead in creating the best displays and has yet done it again by giving the S9 a super AMOLED display. The splendid AMOLED display is a charming wonder which pops out every pixel like a reality. The display on this phone is marvelous and is beyond comprehension. One could keep watching the content on this screen for hours because of its mesmerizing display.

There’s full support for mobile HDR10 and the S9 can stream HDR content. A blue light filter mode makes this super-bright screen much better for viewing before you sleep by turning everything orange. Viewing angles are good, as is outdoor visibility, but you’ll notice a slight blue shift along the curved edges of the display. This is one of the downsides of the OLED display on the S9.




PERFORMANCE


With its powerful chipset the S9 can run smoothly even if several apps are open. In combination with the 4 GB RAM the phone can switch apps instantly even if multiple apps are working in the background. Things don’t run perfectly all of the time, however. There are certain areas where lag is common and highly irritating.




With the Exynos 9 you can do 4k capturing and play it back at 120fps. But you have to keep in mind that you cannot do this in all of the S9 models as the US and China models have Snapdragon 845 which cannot perform these functions.
The phone heats up while working with intense apps but it is negotiable.


AUDIO


Well, the S9 doesn't have a pair of “front facing” stereo speakers, but it has stereo speakers and they sound fantastic. It supports Dolby Atmos surround sound technology and turning that on makes the speakers sound like a full fledged multimedia speaker. With the volume set at maximum, the sound fills a whole hall. The sound can still distort at high volumes, plus it sounds better when playing videos than it does for music but it would not be that big of a problem. 




SOFTWARE


There has been a little change in the software too. It’s still slickly designed, offering attractive icons and fluid movement between your app drawer and notifications panel. On the other hand, duplicate apps are a big problem. A button has also been added to launch Bixby; Virtual Assistant of Samsung, however you can disable it but cannot remap it to perform any other function.




However, where Samsung’s software does impress is in the customization options available. You can adjust resolution and tweak the performance to extend the battery further. There a plenty of security options available as well. It still has its Health app and can measure the heart beat. The Galaxy S9 sticks to iris and facial-scanning alongside the fingerprint scanner. They work well, but they don’t feel as polished as Apple’s facial recognition system.




CAMERA


The most important part about this smartphone is its unique camera. Instead of having a fixed aperture lens, as is the case with pretty much every other phone camera, the S9 can shift between f/2.4 and f/1.5, providing ideal optics for both day and night photography. It also has a pro mode which gives you more control on the grains and balances the photo. You can also see the camera lens flickering whenever you take a photo. 




The camera features a 12 megapixel sensor, some added memory and OIS ( optical image stabilization ). With the different aperture sizes you can take photos in low light. The camera lets you take amazing shots and the photos have smooth edges. In addition, the Galaxy S9's new dual-pixel sensor has its own memory function, which can quickly and continuously take 12 photos and combine them into a single photo.




Photos are detailed and colorful, noticeably more exposed, with good contrast and dynamic range. Well it takes time to process the photo and as a result, colors can sometimes look a bit off. The picture is best viewed on the phone itself and losses its vibrancy when it is viewed on other phones. 

Another big new camera feature is super slow-motion recording. This lets you shoot a 0.2-second burst of 960fps footage and stretch it out to 6 seconds. When you find the perfect scene to shoot, the results are very nice. Sometimes the result can be blurry for example when you shoot the video of the fast moving cars, but is excellent when you record falling liquid. It is important to have good lighting and the camera only records at 720p.




The AR Emoji is just a novelty and sometimes does not produce appealing outcomes. It makes use of the 8 megapixel camera and is more like Bitmoji but with a human touch.

The main drawback is that the S9 does not have a secondary telephoto lens which is seen on the S9+. This is why the live focus capabilities and portrait modes are not found in the S9.




BATTERY


It has a 3000 mAh battery and the battery life is exactly the same as the S8's. It is a shame that Samsung has not yet improved the battery and has not made it more efficient. Obviously the battery life varies with the user's usage but if you’re a really light user, you’ll be unlikely to make it through the day without a degree of battery-anxiety. Watching HDR videos can also drain a lot of battery.




If you want to increase the battery life you will probably need to reduce the screen performance and lower the resolution. The device has a USB-C port which means that it supports fast charging. It also supports wireless charging but charging with the cable would be faster.


CONCLUSION


Considering all the things I have mentioned above, Samsung has done a very good job and played it safe. The phone has all the stuff you need from the attractive design to the stunning screen and good camera. If you are looking for a new phone with amazing performance and can pay some extra bucks then the Samsung Galaxy S9 is the perfect choice for you.





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