Galaxy S9 and S9+ don’t represent a sea change. Rather, they’re an affirmation of success. Everything that made the Galaxy S8 and S8+ great phones is still to be found here. Wireless charging, Samsung Pay, headphone jacks, brilliant displays, extremely refined industrial design, and IP68 waterproofing make these phones extremely feature-rich.
Samsung impressed the world by putting variable aperture on a phone. However, it also has the first mover's disadvantage here. It seems to me that the company's algorithms aren't perfectly tuned to changing aperture yet, causing the washed out images.
At least let us remap the Bixby key, Samsung. Also die, Bixby, die. the S9+, the second camera module plays a role here, too, but even the smaller S9 is half a millimeter thicker and 8 grams heavier than the Galaxy S8.
- Display :-
Galaxy S9 Plus 6.2-inch Super AMOLED display that impresses no matter what you use it for. It feels premium, colours pop and refresh rate is high. There's really nothing to complain about. It can take on any of the top-end flagships today, and barring the iPhone X, there's nothing out there that could compete against the S9 Plus.
Samsung used Gorilla Glass 5 for the body this time and the S9 Plus is heavier than both the S8 Plus and Note 8. The extra weight is possibly a result of a heavier aluminium chassis on this device. It's just enough to be reassuring, but not enough for the phone to feel unwieldy. Samsung is following the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" philosophy here, and it's hard to argue against.
Exynos chipsets is essentially the same as that between Qualcomm's offerings during this time. The Exynos 9810 that runs on the Galaxy S9 Plus is as capable as any flagship-class chipset should be. Galaxy S9 Plus is smooth and lag-free. It is sure to slow down over time, just like any Android phone will, including the Pixel 2 XL.
- Camera :-
The Galaxy S9 Plus can shoot 960fps slow motion video.I almost never used. In fact, the only reason I even tried it because I had to write this review. That said, super slow motion video might find use in certain niche use-cases. What you must know is that the Galaxy S9 Plus has to be quite stable for this to work, so a tripod is recommended. A moving car, low light, while walking etc. are not the perfect situations for shooting super slow motion videos.
S9 camera F/1.5 is the widest aperture we've seen on a smartphone yet. The Galaxy S9 compliments that by allowing a toggle for smaller F/2.4 aperture. On the auto mode, the camera will switch between 1.5 and 2.4 on its own volition. If you want to actually see the aperture change, you can switch to the Pro mode and hit the aperture toggle. You will see the blades close in on the primary lens when shifting to the narrower aperture. What the Galaxy S9 Plus can't do is manage transitions across these apertures. You either have f/1.5 or f/2.4, which theoretically speaking, is still a big deal.
Samsung admits that this new feature is all about having "fun" with the Galaxy S9 Plus. Switching to AR Emoji mode on the camera app allows you to take a selfie and convert it into a cartoon character. The character the phone creates will almost never look like you, which is where the fun element comes in. What AR Emoji seems to do is create a more exaggerated version of the expression on your face.
- Battery:-
The Galaxy S9+ offers the same 3500mAh of battery capacity as the outgoing S8+. While the new Snapdragon 845 chipset is supposed. S9 Plus without games or other heavy use cases, it lasts for 14-16 hours quite easily. However, with the screen turned to auto and heavy gaming during the day, the battery life fell to between 12-14 hours. That's up to flagship standards and makes the Galaxy S9 Plus dependable enough.
- Sensors :-
Apple may be trying to kill fingerprint sensors, but Samsung's not buying it. The fingerprint placement here has changed too, thankfully. It's easier to get used to, though it's still tough to discern sometimes.
Samsung also improved the iris scanner this year, using both the IR sensors and an RGB photo of your face to unlock. The Iris scanner is more usable now, but it's far from being perfect. It still stutters in low light and is slow and unintuitive.
