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Release Date of the Galaxy S9
The Samsung Galaxy S9 was officially unveiled on stage at MWC 2018, but the device has not yet been officially released for sale.
If you want to own the Galaxy S9 early and live in the United Kingdom, you can pre-order starting from 7 p.m. GMT on February 25, immediately after the MWC 2018 event. Users in the United States will have to wait until March 1 to pre-order.
The Galaxy S9 will be officially released on March 16.
Price of Samsung Galaxy S9
Samsung has officially confirmed the price of the Galaxy S9 in the UK at 739 Euros and in the US at 719.99 USD (approximately 1,301 Australian dollars).
In the UK, there is currently only contract pricing information from EE. Deals start at 53 Euros per month, with an upfront fee of 150 Euros. Users get 4GB of data per month along with unlimited minutes and texts.
Display of Samsung Galaxy S9
One of the most criticized designs on the Galaxy S8 was the placement of the fingerprint scanner on the back of the device, right next to the camera. On the Galaxy S9, Samsung has relocated this fingerprint sensor below the camera, so users will no longer be confused when using their finger to take photos.
Unlike some devices from competitors, the Galaxy S9 still has a 3.5mm headphone jack located at the bottom left side of the device. Alongside that is the USB-C port for charging and data transfer, and a speakerphone.
The other speakers are located at the top corner of the phone; Samsung says these new speakers will improve the sound on the S9 by 1.5 times compared to the Galaxy S8. Additionally, the Galaxy S9 is also equipped with dual speakers in Dolby Atmos standard.
Users no longer have to worry about issues like water getting into the phone because Samsung uses IP68 certification, the highest waterproof standard for smartphones today.
Galaxy S9 comes in colors like black, blue, and purple. However, users living in the US or UK do not have the silver gray version available, but it is available in some other countries.
Samsung Galaxy S9 Camera
The Galaxy S9 is equipped with a single rear camera on the phone, but Samsung has packed in a lot of new improvements on this camera.
The device uses a 12MP main camera on the back, integrated with optical image stabilization (OIS) and many other features that users expect on high-end Samsung devices.
One of the major advancements is the Dual Aperture technology (f/1.5 - f/2.4), where the camera automatically adjusts the aperture depending on the scene the user is capturing.
So if capturing something brighter than 100 lux (usually daytime lighting), the camera will automatically adjust to f/2.4 aperture, and if darker, the camera will automatically select f/1.5 aperture.
F/1.5 is the widest aperture on a smartphone, Samsung claims this aperture allows users to capture photos with better color and sharp detail, less noise in low light conditions.
The slow-motion video features with a frame rate of 960 frames per second, 4 times faster than the Galaxy S8 and meets the standards set on Sony phones.
This mode also automatically detects motion, it will automatically start recording when the camera detects motion, so users can easily capture moments in slow motion.
The front camera is 8MP with an f/1.7 aperture, also used for user face recognition.
Samsung Galaxy S9 Battery
Similar to the Galaxy S8, the Galaxy S9 is equipped with a 3,000mAh battery. Additionally, the Galaxy S9 also integrates support for both wireless charging technology and fast charging to minimize device charging time.
Other Specifications and Features on Samsung Galaxy S9
The US version of the S9 uses the Snapdragon 845 chipset, making it one of the first phones to use this technology from Qualcomm.
In the UK and other countries, the S9 version will use the Exynos 9810 chipset, developed by Samsung itself.
Additionally, the S9 is equipped with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage, but you can expand it with a microSD card up to 256GB, and the S9 Plus is equipped with 6GB of RAM.
Additional features added on the Galaxy S9 include the addition of AR Emoji similar to Apple's Animoji to allow users to create 3D models based on their facial expressions and movements, then create a dynamic image that users can share with their friends.
And finally, there's the enhancement of the Bixby Vision virtual assistant. While in the camera app, you can press the Bixby option to access many other new features, including tracking your location (providing the name and details of where you are), ....
Additionally, another feature called Live Translation allows you to point the camera at text or a menu and translate it automatically. However, it requires an internet connection and you have to wait a few minutes to complete the process.
Bixby Vision also provides an advanced beauty mode, so you can enhance the appearance of your selfies.
Through this hands-on article about the Samsung Galaxy S9, you can grasp the information about specifications, design, as well as pricing and release dates of Samsung's latest flagship duo. Additionally, both the Galaxy S9 and S9+ will come pre-installed with the latest Android 8.0 Oreo. If you're not familiar with this operating system and its features, you can refer to the article What's New in Android 8.0 Oreo to learn about its most notable features.
