The best and worst features of Samsung Galaxy S9, S9+
Samsung unveiled the much-awaited Galaxy S9 and S9+ last month that will be available in India from 16 March. They're undoubtedly the current hottest Android devices, but they do look a lot like last year's S8 and S8+. While the latest devices come with improvements over S8 phones, there are some issues, too. So, what are the best and worst things about S9 duo?
Galaxy S9 phones come with best-in-class displays
Samsung produces the world's best OLED panels; in fact, many device makers buy display panels from it. The company never fails to use the best screens for its own smartphones. The displays on Samsung's 5.8-inch S9 and 6.2-inch S9+ are among the biggest, tallest, and brightest ones currently available. They sport 1440p OLED panels with 18.5:9 aspect ratio that are curved on the edges.
The camera reimagined, indeed!
Yet another highlight of the Galaxy S9 devices is the camera. The 12MP primary camera on these phones has a dual aperture that can switch between f/2.4 or f/1.5 mode depending on the amount of light. The S9+ has a dual 12MP+12MP camera on the back; both the devices have an 8MP front camera. They also come with the "Super Slow-Mo" feature (960 fps).
Performance and other good things about the S9 phones
The latest Galaxy S9 phones are way faster than their predecessors, S8 and S8+, thanks to the powerful processors. The devices are powered by the flagship Snapdragon 845 SoC (Samsung Exynos 9810 in India) that helps in faster app switching and better performance. Also, the phones come with the beloved 3.5mm headphone jack, which has been missing on most of the recent flagships.
Biometrics: Slower and lesser accurate sensors than other phones
While Samsung did move the fingerprint sensor on the back to a much comfortable place (below the camera), many say the sensor itself isn't good; it's slower and less accurate compared to that on competitors like Pixel 2, OnePlus 5T, LG V30. Also, the Intelligent Scan (combines the power of iris and face scanning) is way slower than other devices' facial recognition feature.
Samsung introduced AR Emoji; but are they really good?
Samsung included the AR Emoji on the Galaxy S9 duo to take on the iPhone X's Animoji feature. The Augmented Reality-powered feature uses the front camera to scan the user's face and animate a personalized character that looks like the user. However, many experts and reviewers found that Samsung's AR Emoji are terrible and creepy as they just don't match the person's face.
The phones are gorgeous but they can get really dirty
Galaxy S9 phones are undoubtedly among the most beautiful smartphones ever available in some unique colors - there's glass on the front and back. However, the glass back is reportedly fingerprint-prone, which spoils the whole look of the devices, making the phones look ugly. As there's glass "everywhere", they are slippery, too. It also makes them easily breakable, which mean higher repair costs.
Finally, are the Galaxy S9 phones worth buying?
The price of Samsung's 5.8-inch Galaxy S9 and 6.2-inch S9+ starts at Rs. 57,900 and Rs. 64,900, respectively, just like their predecessors (now available at lesser prices). While the S9 duo is better than S8, those who don't want to spend a lot can go for the latter. The S9 handsets are excellent options that are as good as the latest iPhone and Pixel devices.
