2017 was Samsung Mobile’s year having bounced back with the success of the Galaxy S8 and S8+ and redemption in their Note series with the release of the Galaxy Note 8. Samsung is going to continue their winning streak by launching their latest flagship models, the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+.
The design of the Galaxy S9 and S9+ look similar to their predecessors, but the back of the phones reveal new placements for the sensor and fingerprint scanner. The rest of the updates are found inside the phones, first with the inclusion of Qualcomm’s most powerful mobile processor yet, the Snapdragon 845 though it will only be released in North America. European, Middle East and Asian countries including the Philippines on the other hand will get S9s powered by Exynos 9810, said to be slightly better than the Snapdragon 845 according to this site.
The camera is still one of the Samsung Galaxy S9’s strengths and they’ve added more features to make your photos and videos more fun and exciting to use. The Super Slow motion feature can capture 960 fps (frames per second) and can also do an “auto-take” which takes pictures by detecting a subject in motion. Its camera’s aperture has a bigger f/1.5 aperture that is very capable in taking photos under low light conditions with reduced noise. While the S9 comes with a single rear camera, its bigger brother the S9+ now has a dual camera just like the Note 8. With these cameras, the Dual Aperture feature can be useful where the cameras’ photos of a subject are combined into a single photo.
The fun part is the AR Emoji feature. Unlike the iPhone X’s Animoji, the Galaxy S9 can let you create your own Emoji that looks like you (or at least close to it.) You may also use these AR Emojis for third party applications like Messenger chats.
One of the Galaxy S user’s wishlist is for the phone to have stereo speakers. While recent phone models produce good volume, Samsung granted this wish by adding this feature to the S9. These speakers were made by AKG, the same company that provided Samsung their earphones for the S8 and Note 8 phones. It’s 1.4 times louder than ordinary speakers and Dolby Atmos that brings multimedia files to life.
The Galaxy S9 beefed up its security by combining its Iris Scanner and Face Recognition into Intelligent Scan, and in case you drop the phone to a swimming pool, you’ll be glad to know that Samsung retained its IP68 rating meaning it is water and dust resistant.
SAMSUNG GALAXY S9 SPECS:
| OS: | Android 8.0 Oreo |
|---|---|
| Processor: | 2.47 GHz Qualcomm MSM8998 Snapdragon 845 Octa-Core processor | Adreno 630 / 2.8Ghz Samsung Exynos 9810 Octa-Core processor | MALI-G72 MP18 |
| Display: | 1440 x 2960 5.8" Quad HD Super AMOLED Display with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 |
| Wireless Connections: | LTE, Bluetooth 5.0, WiFi a/b/g/n/ac, NFC, A-GPS, GLONASS |
| Memory: | 64 GB Internal Storage expandable with a Micro SD card up to 400GB, 4GB RAM |
| Connectors: | USB Type-C, OTG Support |
| Cameras: | 12 Megapixels with OIS f/1.5 f/2.4 (Main Camera), 8 Megapixels f/1.7 (Front) |
| SIM Card Slots: | 2x Nano SIM Cards required (Hybrid) |
| Battery: | 3,000 mAh (non-removable |
| SRP: | P45,990 |
SAMSUNG GALAXY S9+ SPECS:
| OS: | Android 8.0 Oreo |
|---|---|
| Processor: | 2.47 GHz Qualcomm MSM8998 Snapdragon 845 Octa-Core processor | Adreno 630 / 2.8Ghz Samsung Exynos 9810 Octa-Core processor | MALI-G72 MP18 |
| Display: | 1440 x 2960 6.2" Quad HD Super AMOLED Display with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 |
| Wireless Connections: | LTE, Bluetooth 5.0, WiFi a/b/g/n/ac, NFC, A-GPS, GLONASS |
| Memory: | 64GB/128GB Internal Storage expandable with a Micro SD card up to 400GB, 6GB RAM |
| Connectors: | USB Type-C, OTG Support |
| Cameras: | 12 Megapixels OIS f/1.5 f/2.4 wide-angle + 12 Megapixels f/2.4 Telephoto (Main Camera), 8 Megapixels f/1.7 (Front) |
| SIM Card Slots: | 2x Nano SIM Cards required (Hybrid) |
| Battery: | 3,500 mAh (non-removable |
| SRP: | P52,990 (64GB), P55,990 (128GB) |
The Samsung Galaxy S9 will be priced at P45,990 while the Samsung Galaxy S9+ will have a price tag of P52,990. Those who want to have a bigger internal storage can opt for a Samsung Galaxy S9+ with 128GB for P55,990. The Galaxy S9 and S9+ will be available in Lilac Purple and Midnight Black while the S9+ 128GB will have an additional Coral Blue variant.
Those who want to pre-order may visit the Smart Online Store, Lazada or Abenson from February 27 to March 6. They will receive exclusive gifts of their choice like an AK6 S30 Bluetooth Speaker or a Wireless Charger Convertible plus additional giveaways from Zalora and Honestbee.
