Buzz
The Samsung Galaxy S9 is truly a 'flawless' choice in the Android world at the current moment. To find out why, let's delve into this detailed review of the product.
1. In-Depth Review of the Galaxy S9: When Samsung Pampers Users Even More!
The Galaxy S9 may not be a product that undergoes a 'complete overhaul' in design compared to its predecessor, the Galaxy S8. However, Samsung has listened to users and incorporated worthwhile upgrades, making the Galaxy S9 more user-friendly and approachable.
Regarding design, Samsung has not made any major changes to its 2018 flagship model. Perhaps the company wants to focus its attention on the 'special' version named the Galaxy X (2019), which has been heavily leaked recently. And because the design of the Galaxy S8/S9 is already sufficient to meet current trends. In fact, this is still a modern design trend that many mobile manufacturers worldwide are pursuing and learning from.
At first glance, it's difficult to distinguish between the S8 and S9. The Galaxy S9 still features the sexy and impressive 'infinity' curved display, the luxurious glass material, and the well-balanced arrangement of cameras and fingerprint sensors on the back. But if you look closely, the Galaxy S9 still has some minor changes to enhance the user experience compared to the S8.
According to measurements, the Galaxy S9 has thinner top and bottom screen bezels compared to the S8 (top bezel is 0.48mm thinner and bottom bezel is 0.76mm thinner). Additionally, the curved edges of the device are slightly thicker to help users minimize accidental touches during operation.
Furthermore, the frame of the Galaxy S9 is no longer glossy and seamlessly grippy like the S8. Instead, the aluminum material on the S9 is made rougher, and the aluminum frame is designed to protrude from the body, providing a more 'grippy' feel compared to the smoothness of the S8. It's easy to understand, Samsung aims to deliver a more secure grip experience, partially mitigating the predecessor S8's slipping issue. This demonstrates the company's keen attention to user feedback.
The luxurious glass surface is both an advantage and a disadvantage of the Galaxy S9. Apart from its strengths in glittering, shiny, and luxurious appearance, its everlasting weakness is the susceptibility to fingerprints and scratches. Advice for users after purchasing the Galaxy S9 is to find a protective case or consider applying a rear skin to help preserve the beauty of the device over time.
Top edge with SIM and microSD card tray
Left edge with volume buttons and Bixby virtual assistant activation button
Right edge houses the power button
At the bottom, Samsung still retains the 3.5mm headphone jack, USB-C port, and external speaker system
Display
Experts at DisplayMate have evaluated the Super AMOLED display with the highest score currently available. With the ability to display the full DCI-P3 color gamut, the display performance of the Galaxy S9 is rated better than leading TVs, laptops, or tablets. So how does it perform in real-world usage?
The display quality of the Galaxy S9 is exceptional, with highly accurate colors, a brightness of 1130 nits, and you can confidently use the device in various harsh lighting environments.
However, due to the nature of AMOLED screens with vibrant colors, the Galaxy S9 still struggles with color accuracy. When compared to the iPhone X, which Apple has fine-tuned for near-realistic color reproduction, the colors on the Galaxy S9's screen, although more vibrant, are not overly exaggerated like its predecessors, ensuring the needs of users who enjoy editing photos on their phones. The images produced also do not differ significantly from reality. This is something Samsung continues to improve upon in its new product lines.
Good viewing angles are always a plus on Samsung's premium product lines. You can comfortably view any displayed information on the Galaxy S9 from any angle.
Furthermore, Samsung also focuses on equipping the Galaxy S9 with 2 light sensors on the front and back of the device. With these sensors, the ability to recognize ambient light will be enhanced. This provides users with an excellent display experience whether you're using the phone in low light or outdoors.
Performance
Speed and extreme speed are the first two things to mention when discussing Samsung's 2018 flagship. If the Galaxy S8 didn't satisfy users in terms of performance, the Galaxy S9 has completely addressed that issue. With the Exynos 9810 processor 'home-grown' by Samsung equipped on the S9, users no longer have to worry about stuttering or lagging. Even when the device heats up due to heavy tasks, every frame on the S9 remains smooth.
According to the manufacturer, the processing power of the S9 is 30~50% faster than its predecessor. In reality, you can still clearly feel the responsiveness of the S9 with heavy-duty games and high-resolution videos. This is not only Samsung's effort on each semiconductor of the processor but also the continuous efforts of the software team to optimize as best as possible on the Android 8.0 Oreo platform. Compared to the heavyweight competitor, the iPhone X, the Galaxy S9 even outperforms it in some major apps or games.
Samsung does not add additional RAM to the Galaxy S9; users of the Galaxy S9+ are the ones who get these 'favors' with 6GB of RAM. However, multitasking on the S9 can be described as excellent. You can comfortably run many apps at the same time without worrying about memory full. With good optimization thanks to the self-kill solution for background apps, prioritizing RAM for frequently used apps, the Galaxy S9 truly meets the demands of users with a top-of-the-line mobile device.
Of course, the Close All function still needs to be used when you open too many apps, but that's only an occasional issue. From personal experience, I can use the device for a whole day without worrying about how many apps are running in the background, whether it affects the device's resources and battery life.
Moreover, the overheating issue on the Galaxy S9 has significantly improved compared to the Galaxy S8. Trying out the game Arena of Valor for about an hour, the device only warmed up slightly. Continuous usage of 3G and GPS apps under hot weather conditions also demonstrates the superiority of the Galaxy S9 over its predecessor, the Galaxy S8, as there are no overheating issues causing apps to run slower or abnormal battery drain.
Camera
The Samsung Galaxy S9 is one of the rare flagship models from the Korean giant that heavily invests in the camera system. This is not surprising as the S9 doesn't carry much weight in terms of design; therefore, Samsung had to 'revamp' the camera to attract both users and the media.
The first 'revolutionary' feature is the ability to change the aperture of the Galaxy S9. According to Samsung's claims, the Galaxy S9 camera can switch between apertures of f/2.4 and f/1.5. In low-light conditions, the Galaxy S9 camera will use the f/1.5 aperture to gather more light, ensuring the best image quality, reducing noise, and providing better detail. This is also the largest aperture in the smartphone world to date. In well-lit conditions, the S9 camera automatically switches to f/2.4 aperture, ensuring sharpness, color fidelity, and detail without overexposure due to excessively high aperture.
In reality, the photos taken by the Galaxy S9 can easily meet the demands of today's users. The ultra-fast shooting speed will give you confidence in capturing moments. Moreover, Samsung's image quality has always been satisfying to its fans.
Under sufficient lighting conditions, the S9 excels in providing viewers with the sharpest and most vibrant images.
Vivid colors with high detail in the images
With its lightning-fast shooting speed, the Galaxy S9 easily captures fun moments like this
The main color tones displayed by the Galaxy S9 are very striking
Photos taken with the Food mode are more eye-catching than regular shots
Trying out the Selective Focus bokeh mode processed by software on the Galaxy S9
In various lighting conditions, Samsung automatically adjusts aperture settings (f/2.4 or f/1.5) to provide users with the best quality images. Although in reality, the difference between the two apertures in sufficient light conditions still does not clearly demonstrate the advantages of F/2.4. Additionally, the F/1.5 aperture helps achieve smoother bokeh shots compared to F/2.4.
In low-light conditions, the Galaxy S9 impresses with its f/1.5 aperture. With a large aperture, the ISO of the Galaxy S9 is not pushed too high, allowing the shutter to operate more comfortably without sacrificing speed. As a result, the captured images are likely to satisfy with decent detail, minimal noise, and some color correction.
Photos taken in low-light conditions are quite remarkable in terms of color and detail thanks to the large f/1.5 aperture
However, in low light, capturing moving objects can be challenging. Nevertheless, the image detail is quite good and the colors are accurate
Technically, it seems Samsung prioritizes lowering the ISO rather than adjusting the shutter speed to ensure the best possible image detail, but this results in reduced shutter speed. Achieving guaranteed quality in low-light conditions requires subjects to remain relatively still.
For photography enthusiasts, applying the Pro mode settings allows for image processing in various lighting conditions. And now, with the ability to switch between f/1.5 and f/2.4 apertures, photography enthusiasts have an important additional choice to ensure desired image quality.
It would be remiss not to mention the Galaxy S9's ability to record super slow-motion videos at 960fps. To achieve this, Samsung had to equip the S9 with hardware powerful enough to enhance the video recording experience. Compared to the first smartphone in the world to support 960fps super slow-motion recording, Samsung has simplified this feature, allowing users to easily switch to Super Slow-motion mode and record videos effortlessly. Furthermore, users can adjust and add music, as well as reverse or loop effects to their videos.
A fun third feature on the Galaxy S9's camera is the ability to capture playful moments with AR Emoji pets. This entertaining feature transforms your facial expressions into various animals with ease, thanks to its ability to recognize 100 points on the face.
Compared to iPhone X's Animoji feature, the AR Emoji on the Galaxy S9 hasn't quite mastered smooth and accurate facial mapping yet. However, Samsung's commercialization of AR Emoji on the Galaxy S9, rather than confining it to the iMessage app, earns my appreciation. Users can effortlessly capture AR Emoji images via the camera and share them on various social networks.
Samsung doesn't compete to equip the Galaxy S9 with a high-resolution front camera. Instead, the company provides an 8MP sensor for the Galaxy S9's selfie camera. Nevertheless, Samsung hasn't overlooked common beauty features trending in today's mobile market. Selfie camera modes like Natural, Sweet, and Dreamy are available to enhance users' photos. In terms of quality, the Galaxy S9's front camera ensures sharpness and naturalness without excessive embellishment, unlike some current selfie-centric devices. It strikes a balance between refinement and authenticity, boosting users' confidence in front of the Galaxy S9 lens.
Security
Security is a top priority for Samsung in the Galaxy S9. The company has adeptly leveraged strengths to address weaknesses, and vice versa. First off, there's the Intelligent Scan security feature, which combines iris and facial recognition. It ensures safety while delivering faster recognition speeds compared to iris scanning alone.
However, there's a minor drawback to this feature: a small bright light located near the sensor area illuminates during the iris and facial scanning process. It might cause slight discomfort, but it's not a significant issue.
The second notable feature is the Face Unlock facial recognition on the Galaxy S9. It now performs better than on the Galaxy S8, operating quite reliably in various lighting conditions. However, it becomes ineffective in low-light conditions, requiring users to resort to the rear fingerprint sensor. Note that to activate Face Unlock, your face must be directly facing the device; the Galaxy S9 struggles to unlock from different angles, achieving success rates of around 60-70%.
On the Galaxy S9, Samsung has relocated the fingerprint sensor below the camera. This significant improvement allows users to unlock the device with a single touch without having to illuminate the screen. Similar to recent mid-range and flagship products from the company, the unlocking speed on the Galaxy S9's fingerprint sensor is extremely responsive, with a success rate of 95%. That is unless your fingers are significantly wet.
Battery Life
As this is a test version, TechZ hasn't been able to accurately assess the Galaxy S9's battery life. However, there shouldn't be a significant difference. In everyday usage scenarios, from early morning to around 3 PM, with activities like checking emails, browsing Facebook, and playing games like Arena of Valor for about 45 minutes (the device only uses Wi-Fi and minimizes 3G data usage), the Galaxy S9's battery drops to around 15% and requires recharging to continue usage. It's hoped that in the official release and subsequent updates, the Galaxy S9's battery life will improve.
Compared to last year's rating scale, the Galaxy S9's battery life is slightly inferior to the Galaxy S8. This is understandable as Samsung didn't increase the battery capacity but significantly upgraded the CPU on the S9. If you desire better battery life to meet work demands, you might need to consider the Galaxy S9+ with its 3,500mAh battery capacity.
Conclusion
It can be affirmed that the Galaxy S9 is a 'perfect' product in the Android world. The device not only boasts a stylish and elegant design but also harbors tremendous power compared to other products in the same price range. Moreover, with its camera prowess and beautiful display, the Galaxy S9 is truly worth the investment as an Android device you won't regret upgrading to.
Compared to Apple's highest-priced smartphone, the iPhone X, the Galaxy S9 is truly an optimal choice for Vietnamese users' budgets. If you're currently using the Galaxy S8 and feeling satisfied with what this product offers, the Galaxy S9 might not seem like a worthwhile upgrade because the overall design of the S8 has hardly changed significantly.
