This is the Galaxy S9+.
What Samsung calls the camera re-imagined, what most consumers call - the new Galaxy…
what we call the successor to the best all-rounder of 2017.
That device that's not necessarily the best at just one thing, but instead great at everything.
Yes, it's hard to tell the difference between last year's model and this one, but that's
until you use one.
As this year the Plus actually means something.
I'm Jaime Rivera with Pocketnow and this is our full review of the Samsung Galaxy S9+.
In the past week of testing, the most common thing I've heard from friends is their personal
debate over upgrading.
They call this the Galaxy S8S Plus, and my answer has always been that it's not necessarily
true.
Yes, the design is very similar.
The use of glass on glass and sexy curves stays around for another year, with the aluminum
trim now going matte instead of glossy.
I'd definitely recommend you pick coral blue, titanium gray or lilac purple as this midnight
black is unapologetic about its love for fingerprints.
I also notice that weight distribution has changed, with this new phone feeling slightly
heavier as a result.
Other than that, the real highlight of this phone is that you can grab the list of hardware
complaints you had with the S8+ and just throw it in the trash.
Just do it…
Remember that con of this being just a bloated S8..
Gone.
Differences in the spec sheet to the regular S9 include 6 gigs of RAM instead of 4, and
a dual camera module we'll discuss later, and a 16% larger battery.
In everything else the power list is the same.
A new Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 or Exynos 9810 depending on your region.
Options that start at 64 Gigs of expandable storage.
IP68 water and dust resistance.
Fast and wireless charging.
And I'm even gonna call the inclusion of a headphone jack a feature.
And then that design complaint of the annoying placement of the fingerprint scanner.
That's fixed too.
It's now placed bellow the camera, at the same height of competitors, and with a minor
hump to know it's there.
Samsung's 6.2-inch Infinity display makes a return with QuadHD+ resolution capabilities.
It once again comes set for FullHD+ out of the box, and I haven't really felt the need
to change it.
This screen is seriously gorgeous, and with great viewing angles.
I love that the minor bezels are still black, regardless of your color variant, making the
experience more immersive.
And to assist with that, the other Galaxy con of the lack of stereo speakers is also
gone.
The ear piece and the speaker are now tuned by AKG, now support Dolby Atmos sound, and
are plenty loud….
Samsung Experience 9 powers the show on top of Android 8.0 Oreo.
Yeah I know, a full versions behind.
It's the price you pay for this Galaxy to feel like one.
I can't even tell much of a difference between using this and last year's variant, which
is not necessarily bad.
The user interface is exactly the same, and theming capabilities are still here.
The launcher now supports the 5 x 6 icon density that I praised from the Galaxy Note 8.
I like this new approach to multi-tasking, where you can drag a notification down and
respond to a message as a separate Window over what you're doing, though it doesn't
work with all apps, and only the moment you get a notification.
This is still not Bixby 2.0, but it has now become smarter by adopting some new AR features.
Bixby Vision can now translate things instantly for you, which is quite convenient when you
travel.
It can even tell you how a set of new make up will look on your face, though I'm definitely
not the target audience.
Bixby is even said to be capable of detecting the calorie information of the food you eat,
though even that's hard to be determined in real life.
AR will tell the camera what this is, but the result won't be based on the actual item
you're about to eat.
Honestly the more I use Bixby, the less I complain about having a button for it.
We have a separate video detailing what
AR Emoji is a new trick where your face becomes your new form of digital expression, though
I'd call it more like digital Bitmoji.
It's definitely better than using an animal on competitors, at least in theory.
Sadly the implementation is not so good.
This is definitely not my face, and it doesn't really sync with your face as well as competitors
do.
The stickers are cool to have, but I doubt you'll use this much after the first day.
Samsung is also making a big deal about consolidating its ecosystem and letting you connect this
phone to Samsung's SmartThings to share data, but that'll be something we'll test in the
future.
I've been testing the Samsung Galaxy S9+ for 8 days between Barcelona and New York.
This phone has proven to connect really well to networks, and provide great data speeds.
I also praise the loudness of phone calls.
A serious improvement to last year's model.
And believe it or not, that complaint of this being a phablet with terrible battery.
That's gone too.
Endurance has definitely improved.
This is definitely no KEYone, but I end the day with at least 30% to spare after moderate
to heavy use.
Like all Samsung Phones, the UI performs great out of the box, and after loading 140 apps,
I haven't noticed any slow downs.
Games also play great, and we praise that Game Launcher makes a return to optimize for
their use.
We just hope it ages the same way, and we'll share more information in our After The Buzz
later this year.
Samsung's Intelligent Scan plans to blend facial recognition with Iris Scanning for
some true biometric security.
This is probably one of the features I praised most when announced, but in the real world
I feel it needs improvements.
It doesn't really work well in low light, or when I'm wearing sunglasses… but I won't
really complain as the fingerprint scanner is still here to save the day when needed.
And then the most important feature - The Camera, Reimagined.
Samsung has a fair amount of experience in dual aperture cameras, and has ported the
technology to the Galaxy S9.
In theory the idea is for the primary 12 megapixel camera to go for narrower aperture in low
light at f2.4 and go to the brightest aperture in a smartphone camera today at f1.5.
The secondary telephoto camera remains normal at f2.4, but both sport OIS and EIS capabilities.
Photos are gorgeous during the day.
Definitely no less than what we expected from a Galaxy.
Close ups provide an insane amounts detail, saturation and contrast, even when you pull
the photos off the phone.
Also, it's definitely no Pixel for portrait photos, but I love the versatility of giving
you options to apply focus after the fact, or to stick with the wide shot if things went
bad.
Low light is where things get interesting.
The phone does an amazing job at pulling in color and detail in very dark scenarios.
But the catch is that once you try to photograph moving subjects, it sometimes struggles.
Not always, but I'd say 3 out of 10 Times.
Usually what I've told friends with previous Galaxy phones is to just trust the phone,
even if the view finder seems grainy… but not here.
It could be that the variable aperture needs a software update for a faster shutter in
moving scenarios.
Video recording is great.
Love the detail.
Love stabilization using the primary camera when walking.
Love that you can now record 4K at 60fps, something that not even the cameras we have
in the studio can do..
Using the zoom lens is convenient, but the transition is a bit harsh, and it tends to
play around with the focus on closer subjects.
And then selfie video recording is…
Ok... it's definitely more stable than competitors, but you'll need a selfie stick as the field
of view is atrocious.
Now another hallmark feature of this phone is the ultra slow mo.
There's even a DRAM chip built in to enable what Samsung calls the Super Speed Dual Image
Sensor.
The results are cool for the most part.
It definitely adds a cool effect to the clip.
Just a few pointers.
The auto mode is not good.
It asks you to keep steady, but doesn't always detect moving subjects.
My advice is go manual and just tell the camera when you want it to go slow.
It looks a bit jagged, but that's because it's 720p.
Also, don't count on it for low light, but that's standard across all phones that do
good slow mo.
To conclude, I think it's important to point out why this phone exists.
Samsung really wants to offer the full package.
The best all rounder.
A phone that excels in everything, and that's also delightful to use.
In that respect, I think the company has succeeded.
I really like it when a company can be humble about feedback, and return with a product
that pushes the bar of innovation, all while also addressing complaints.
There's no such thing as a perfect product, and my feedback would be mostly focused on
launching a phone that's already lagging behind in the latest version of Android,..
That the AR Emoji definitely needs work, and that Intelligent Scan should improve in all
conditions.
The cool part is that two of these complaints are optional, and all three can be fixed with
a software update.
In everything else, the Samsung Galaxy S9+ is a great phone.
Once again, what I'd call the best all rounder that delivers on all the most important features
a consumer wants from a flagship.
Definitely the phone I'd recommend you give a try in 2018.
Let us know in the comments what you think about the Galaxy S9+, and what comparison
you'd like to see next.
While you're at it make sure you follow us on social media and subscribe to our channel
for more videos like this phone.
You can follow me on Twitter at Jaime_Rivera or on Instagram at JaimeRivera.
Please give this video a thumbs up if you like what you saw.
I'm Jaime Rivera, thanks for watching.