17 ms·

Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+

183 points by iamd3vil 9y ago

throwahey 9y ago
Interesting, if there is one thing I hope Apple takes away from this, it is the adjustable aperture. But time will tell whether a moving part will last long on a smartphone. Though I fear that, like with Google's dual CMOS, they are too committed to the multiple cameras and removing one may come off as a downgrade to consumers whether or not a single one can satisfy all the same functions.
- bigdubs 9y ago
  One thing I'm not understanding here; don't most lenses (and by extension cameras) have adjustable apertures? What is so special about having a F1.4 vs. F2.4 apertures available to the camera? Is it because they can both fire at the same time and compose the two exposures?
  - smnscu 9y ago
    MKBHD has a good explanation (starts at 2:43): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J83sZrz9XTc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J83sZrz9XTc Basically this is the first(?) camera phone with adjustable aperture, albeit it only has 2 presets. PS: Might be useful(?) https://photographylife.com/what-is-aperture-in-photography https://photographylife.com/what-is-aperture-in-photography
    - bigdubs 9y ago
      I didn't realize small camera's didn't have an adjustable aperture typically, that makes more sense now.
    - hug 9y ago
      Not the first: https://www.engadget.com/2017/12/01/samsung-w2018-flip-phone-variable-aperture-china/ https://www.engadget.com/2017/12/01/samsung-w2018-flip-phone... Buuuut probably the first flagshippy camera with a variable aperture.
  - throwahey 9y ago
    Most if not all smartphones have a fixed aperture. A lower F-stop allows more light to enter through the lens. This is advantageous in low light but during the day it may cause pictures to wash out. Because ISO can only go so high before minor hand movement seriously blurs a photo, it is better to have a larger aperture, again for low-light conditions. So a single adjustable lens over a single sensor can allow for a variety of ideal combinations depending on the conditions.
  - oldcynic 9y ago
    Most camera lenses do, and generally give a wide range of stops, often down to f22. Phones have, until now, fixed aperture, fixed lenses. Given how tiny phone camera lenses are I'm surprised to see variable, given how little range you get from two fixed stops. Course it may be the first move towards having a proper range of f stops, which can only be a good thing.
    - gomox 9y ago
      At the expense of a moving part, having the option to close down the aperture will probably improve image quality in daylight. With a fixed aperture, increased low light sensitivity usually brings lower resolution (so called "fast" lenses generally have improved optical characteristics with their aperture stopped down). That is unless these dinky sensors are diffraction limited at f/1.5, which I doubt.
- oatmealsnap 9y ago
  I assumed they want to use two sensors as a means of reading depth for their special camera filters, and being able to make one a wide-angle and the other magnified is an added benefit. It's neat to see all the creative takes on cameras, though. Google seems to have proven that you can get good results mimicking depth using one sensor, but I'm sure there are still benefits to be found with two.
antirez 9y ago
I few weeks ago, after a long history of purchasing Samsung phones (S4, S6, s7 edge plus) because of the good hardware, I got an S8+ after my S7e+ abandoned me. This was the turning point where I decided I could no longer accept such awful software experience. Now there is even a physical button for their garbage assistant. The Android notifications are broken in favor of small things that do not allow you to read the message from Whatsapp or Telegram or whatever, and so forth. I returned the S8+ and switched to a Google Pixel 2 XL and it is the best phone I've ever had. Samsung needs to get its shit together and understand that even if in their fantasy world where the management live they want to compete on services, it is totally impossible and actually they are just destroying the Android experience. If it was not for the software approach Samsung takes, I bet we could have far less Apple iPhone users.
- joncrane 9y ago
  PREACH! Went from an S4 (amazing phone) to an S7 (mediocre at best) to a Pixel and it's going to be Google all the way for me until they find a way to muck it up, too.
- jondiggsit 9y ago
  Think the Pixel 2 XL is good... just wait until you upgrade to an iPhone!
  - Someone1234 9y ago
    The iPhone's hardware is great and it has good bones in the OS but Apple has placed too many artificial restrictions on the experience. To name one current example, both Android and iOS have the concept of a global password manager for third party apps (and the web-browser). Both Google and Apple offer a password manager that hooks into it. But on Android third party password managers can also utilize the system APIs, whereas on iOS they cannot. Meaning password managers on iOS are stuck with copy/switch/paste/switch/copy/switch/paste for username and password respectively. On Android you get a popup next to the input box, press it, and it is populated. This is just one current example but if you look at the history of iOS Apple has been doing this forever. NFC locked to Apple Pay was a previous good example.
ChuckMcM 9y ago
They don't mention if it is splash proof and whether it is toast if you ever drop it, but it looks nice. :-) EDIT: I see from the Verge video that they did retain the splash resistance.
- moh_maya 9y ago
  Reports [1] say it is splash proof and, more importantly from my perspective, has a headphone jack. [1] https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/25/17044990/samsung-galaxy-s9-plus-price-release-date-phone-camera-specs-mwc https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/25/17044990/samsung-galaxy-s...
dmitrygr 9y ago
Unfortunately comes with Samsung's crapware that cannot be removed, and even a non remappable button to trigger it. I will be patiently waiting for an exploit to be found in the bootloader so we can reflash this with a ROM without Samsung anything. At that point in time, it will probably be a good contender for second best Android phone. After the pixel
- dijit 9y ago
  You'll be waiting for a while; I bought an S8 with the intention of putting LineageOS on it. Sadly to this day there are things not working which are essential, like making calls or using LTE data... or wifi.. or the camera. I thought I could deal with the Samsung crapware anyway, coming from iPhone and having used a OnePlus One with Cyanogen and later lineage... Boy, I was wrong, beautiful hardware for sure but the OS is utter garbage. By garbage I mean: Bixby is unwanted and disabled, but it still pops up nearly constantly.. essential features of the phone require a samsung account, in an attempt not to sign up for it I get notified weekly that I must have one.. samsung programs will randomly notify me about random things that I have no interest in knowing about. Especially samsung pay- I DO NOT WANT AN OFFER ON COFFEE JUST LET ME USE YOU TO BUY THINGS. Upday has a pre-loaded list of the worst british newspapers, and insists on telling me about "breaking news" regarding a nice young american lady who is marrying one of our princes... I miss my phone being in my control, and that's what everyone who was selling me on android was telling me was compelling about the platform.. But I had much more control of my phone when I was with Apple. (And yes, I donated heavily to the LineageOS+S8 effort)
  - dmitrygr 9y ago
    Luckily since this phone ships with Android Oreo, it is required to comply with project treble, which makes this a whole lot easier. By definition, a phone with project treble has to boot and pass all tests in the Android compatibility test Suite with an unmodified AOSP image. You can already see some benefits of this on the XDA website, where some people are successfully replacing system images on no name phones with barely any audience and not even a kernel source published
black_puppydog 9y ago
This would be very nice. IFF they just allowed me to throw out their bloated software, put Lineage on the thing and still be able to use any of the non-standard hardware features. Frankly, the "biometrics" stuff in these phones is such an anti-feature IMHO...
emilfihlman 9y ago
So why do all the images on that site look like shit? :D Seems like they forgot to crank down the optimisation on image size.
- valine 9y ago
  They seem to be using real photos from their new low light camera which is commendable. Its unfortunate that their low light photos still look like crap.
  - firethief 9y ago
    They do look bad, but without knowing how low the light actually is I don't know how to judge them.
osrec 9y ago
"Add music. Make GIFs. Get likes" Captures the very purpose of a smartphone, doesn't it?!
- userbinator 9y ago
  Don't forget the emojis! Definitely shows their target demographic. Does it have a removable battery? MicroSD? How about the CPU, RAM, and other specs? That's what power users want to know, and it's conspicuously missing from that page (the word "battery" doesn't even appear, not even once!)
  - madeofpalk 9y ago
    > How about the CPU, RAM, and other specs? For things like smartphones that each run their own operating system variation, aren't these just vanity specs? What good is comparing the RAM on an Samsung Galaxy to an iPhone?
  - rocqua 9y ago
    The emoji thing is a response to the iphone x animoji. It's not big for end users, but a animoji gave a lot of good publicity by 'influencers'. The feature is there for marketing, and for samsung - iphone comparisons.
  - dingo_bat 9y ago
    They said in the presentation that micro SD cards are supported.
  - exodust 9y ago
    The web page is poorly designed, the usual chunky and spaced out "bigger is better" look. The navigation menu at the top is not anchor links for that page, but goes to other pages where you can find details like microSD card etc.
- BillinghamJ 9y ago
  I’m sure you’re being sarcastic, but for a lot of people - yeah that isn’t far off the purpose of a smartphone.
asciimo 9y ago
I was hoping to hear something about the imminent Gear watch (S4?). I guess Apple is the only company that bundles their various releases into a single event?
- megy 9y ago
  Apple have several releases throughout the year.
greenhouse_gas 9y ago
https://www.samsung.com/us/smartphones/galaxy-s9/ https://www.samsung.com/us/smartphones/galaxy-s9/ for US site. Small question: Do people still buy $800 phones, and why? If you care about security, these probably won't receive security upgrades for more than a few years (S3 went from ICS to Kitkat. S4 went from Jelly-Bean to Lollipop, S5 went from KitKat to Marshmallow, S6 went from Lollipop to Nougat, so I don't expect this to make it past Android Q[1] (which should come out in two and a half years)), and unlike older models, custom ROM support is quite bad for modern Samsung models (S6 Lineageos just came out. S8 isn't supported yet). Wouldn't it make more sense to get a slightly worse quality phone, but upgrade it every two years or so? [1]. Unless Treble will make it so much easier to port to S9.
- filoleg 9y ago
  Buying it for a full price isn't the best idea, but it seems like T-mobile US likes to do a "buy one get one free" deal on those about 6 months after the release (that's how I did it last year with S8+). No contract either, the phone will just be locked to t-mobile until you pay the whole price, which you can do over 24 months (no extra charges) with the option to pay the whole thing off at any moment.
- dbspin 9y ago
  Anecdotally, the kind of person who spends 800 - 1000 on a phone also upgrades it every year or two. It's a status symbol as much as anything. Plus there's always the fact that you will have the latest and greatest camera, and for many people that's important. Personally, I'm with you. Recently bought a Moto G5 plus for a couple of hundred euro and its fine. However, I do confess if I had a higher income I'd probably be another happy consumer of the super high end phones. Worth noting that in Europe at least they have a very high resale value, so you will make much of the cost back if selling in a year or so in good condition.
  - bitL 9y ago
    I'd say in Europe people try to resell them for high price (looking at eBay DE), but given so many of them are there stuck at the same price for months, I don't think their resale value is actually that high.
QUFB 9y ago
I can understand that Samsung's target market doesn't consist of users who may install Lineage or other ROMs, but what's their motivation for selling a phone with a locked bootloader? Samsung sells excellent hardware, and as an S8 owner I've found their version of Android is acceptable. But why not allow users to unlock the bootloader: what's the risk to Samsung by allowing this?
- leeoniya 9y ago
  from what i've read it's not Samsung but the carriers that require it to be locked. outside the states you can get an unlockable bootloader on both Snapdragon and Exynos variants. it pisses me off because my wife purchased a Sprint flavor S8 (full price, no contract) because its radios are better for Sprint's bands but i cannot unlock it to install Lineage or TWRP >:( EDIT: i might be wrong, all Snapdragon variants are locked. the best that's been achieved is root with a bunch of caveats: https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s8+/development/root-g955u-g955u1-snapdragon-sampwnd-t3658911 https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s8+/development/root...
  - ac29 9y ago
    Carriers don't seem to have an issue with any of Google's phones being unlocked, I don't see why they would only require it on other manufacturers. They might prefer locked bootloaders, but Samsung has enough sales volume that I imagine they could do whatever they wanted.
    - ThatPlayer 9y ago
      Carriers don't tend to sell Google's phone. Verizon seems to be the only carrier selling Google's Pixel, and they have a locked bootloader on that version.
  - Vanav 9y ago
    You are right, some regions can be unlocked. For example, N9500 (Snapdragon, Note8), can be unlocked (https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-note-8/how-to/guide-n9500-unlocking-bl-twrp-t3696103 https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-note-8/how-to/guide-...).
monk_e_boy 9y ago
Wow, the camera is f1.5 and the results look very nice. Blurring the background is neat and the results look good. Not perfect (check out the wisps of hair on the model disappear) but its so much better than the average photo i see shared on facebook. Bokeh filters are a bit of fun, but i can't imagine anyone i know will notice them or care about them. Draw password with your eyes? Weird.
lwhalen 9y ago
Having been with Samsung since the S3, my current S7 will be my last. It is THE most fragile phone I have ever owned - replaced 3x already, at $150/pop even with the insurance. I've never had to get a case for any other Samsung before, but this is unacceptable. My next phone will be a Purism.
- hyperdunc 9y ago
  I have an S2, S3 and S7. The S2 and S3 have both been banged, dropped, thrown, splashed and sat on and they're still going strong. The S7 slid off a low couch and fell about 30cm onto a wooden floor. It had a protective case on it, but the screen is wrecked. Unless Samsung start manufacturing their S-range phones out of synthetic diamond I won't be buying another.
  - mehrdadn 9y ago
    > Unless Samsung start manufacturing their S-range phones out of synthetic diamond I won't be buying another. I think diamond is brittle? :-)
  - mickronome 9y ago
    I have an S6 edge, which has been surprisingly sturdy, much probably because the metallic chassis juts out slightly above the glass in all corners, and it appears to provide a quite reasonable protection. A custom home screen app / loader fixes the most atrocious software issues, and the device is well balance and nicely sized. But yeah, they really should try stop fixing Android by adding crap software and crazy home screen junk. But, then they made the S7, which looks like if it had somehow accidentally swollen after the design was done. Quite literally as if someone simply increased the thickness of all the interior parts, and thought: -Should we bother to fix the outer bezel so it looks reasonable, and protects this amazing screen masquerading as a phone? Naaah, I'm already late for lunch. And then the S8. I guess ot went something like this. Hey, look, Apple made a phone without any tactile features whatsoever, it's super easy to drop, and the biggest versions even bends if you sit down with it in your pocket, we must do something similar!! We have this infinity screen trademark, so lets make a painted bezel that doesn't protect the sceen at all, with no tactile feedback, and oh, did I mention the bezel is painted? It's a premium feature, because of the lack of a clearly visible border, we can make it so the screen will look banged up even before the screen has actually become damage!! I had some hopes for the S9, that they might have realized that only Apple can make super slippery phones with dubious usability and have everyone rave about how amazing they were. Apparently, they either haven't figured ot out, or we actually now have two phone producers that can sell expensive everyday tools that appear to be made to break. I don't get it, at all.
lldata 9y ago
The s8 is slippery as hell and very fragile. My screen cracked after just a month. Replacement is crazy expensive. Unless s9 changes that, don't buy it!
- dep_b 9y ago
  Haven’t seen that much cracked glass on one phone since the iPhone 4
- swozey 9y ago
  Yeah the s8 is insanely slippery. I put a concrete dbrand on the back of mine just so I could pull it out of my pocket and not toss it half way across the room. I'll never understand the all glass trend.
  - _nedR 9y ago
    Cinderella phones, I call them.
  - hocuspocus 9y ago
    > I'll never understand the all glass trend. I think Samsung and other manufacturers can't win there. People complained about the perceived build quality when their flagships had a plastic body. Unless you use harder and thicker polycarbonate (like the Lumias or the iPhone 5c) it's hard to have something that truly lasts. You're left with aluminum, which brings tons of problems (it's easy to bend, scratch, the anodization will fade, it feels cold and it's also slippery, and you need to make way for antennas), or glass.
- Synaesthesia 9y ago
  Repacking the display is near impossible because there’s no frame around the display and everything is glued which means trying to open you nearly invariably break the screen.
sergiotapia 9y ago
Did features plateau? I don't see things in this marketing that are new or exciting.
- FridgeSeal 9y ago
  But but but isn't making an animated emoji the absolute top of your priorities? How else will you get likes on social media??? /s I do wish phones hadn't been reduced to this, but here we are.
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- asafira 9y ago
  We are in an age where having a headphone jack is a luxury.
- yoz-y 9y ago
  Not a samsung user but I would definitely like to have variable aperture and 960fps slow motion. The latter can enable uses that smartphones could not previously have.
  - TausAmmer 9y ago
    Same as Sony XZ premium, it is capable of shooting for 0.2s in that speed. Amazing speed and crippling duration. Camera memory size is limited to this and nothing could be done. More of marketing trick and really hardly useful thing.
dreamcompiler 9y ago
Oh FFS. I don't need a fancier camera. I don't need animated emojis. I need a battery that lasts all day without having to keep the phone in low-power mode all the time. And I want it removable so when it wears out I can replace it myself. Samsung is jumping the shark.
- yoodenvranx 9y ago
  > Samsung is jumping the shark. You meant to say: every phone manufacturer is jumping the shark. I am shopping for a new phone and none of the current models are interesting.
- hobofan 9y ago
  If you don't mind having a bit bulkier phone, I can highly recommend getting one from the Moto Z family + a battery moto mod. I have a Play Z 1st gen and together with the mod, the battery lasts 4-5 days. It's pretty affordable, and while it's pretty bulky that is easily outweighed by not having to worry about running out of power anymore.
  - telchar 9y ago
    FWIW I'm very happy with my new Moto Z series phone so far. I haven't sprung for any mods yet but the phone itself is good. Battery life isn't great without the battery moto mod, but seems typical. For $350 unlocked I'll take this any day over an $800 phone.
  - jiggunjer 9y ago
    I'll never be able to buy anything from Lenovo. I just can't forgive superfish.
  - yoodenvranx 9y ago
    One of the last updates for the Moto Z Play 1 did something horrible to my battery life and now it's no better than your average phone. If you check reddit and the Motorola support forum there are tons of people with the same problem.
- 9y ago
snvzz 9y ago
Useless website. Couldn't find specifications anywhere.
dharma1 9y ago
Does this record 10bit HDR video?
pducks32 9y ago
I just don’t see where Samsung is going with this. To me, iPhone and Pixel really beautifully fill the market for as phone of this price range.
- ShinTakuya 9y ago
  Sorry, but even though I don't like Samsung phones, I really despise this kind of comment. Imagine if someone said "we don't need more smart phones, iPhones ready beautifully fill the smartphone market". How shirt sighted do you have to be to turn your nose up at the very idea of competition in a market? Even if you stick with the original product in a particular market, competition almost always makes the original product better by keeping the creator on its toes. I'm not a huge fan of this new Samsung release. But it's not because there's already phones in the market. Adding another phone to a particular market is a positive, not a negative.
- rocqua 9y ago
  Build quality wise, iPhone is on top and samsung is the closest. What I mean is the form factor (thickness and bezels) and the material feel. These points really matter when using a phone. Phones are pretty much there performance wise, now what matters is 'the experience'. That is screen quality, and handling.
- dingo_bat 9y ago
  Pixel doesn't fill the market with anything. It's just a mediocre phone priced exorbitantly. If pixel were the only option in the high end android market, there wouldn't be a market for high end android phones anymore.
- T-N-T 9y ago
  The pixel isn't even sold in my country, France.
SuperHitler 9y ago
Take Samsung Galaxy S9 or similar phone, but Xiaomi for the fraction of the price.
acef 9y ago
those emojis look creepy to me
jimaek 9y ago
Can't find the specs anywhere. I am mostly interested in the battery size
sparrish 9y ago
No analog headphone jack - no thanks.
- sundvor 9y ago
  Which phone are you reading about? S9 retains the headphone jack, as did the S8.
- ghettoimp 9y ago
  I would have agreed last year. But I recently got some really nice Bluetooth headphones and am really digging not having a wire...
  - TomMarius 9y ago
    Good for you (not sarcastically, I'm really happy for you), but some people (including me) are not happy with the audio quality.
- asafira 9y ago
  The S9 does have a headphone jack...
apatheticonion 9y ago
Nice device, horrible software. If Samsung did another Google Play edition like they did with the S3, I'd buy one. I've been looking for an upgrade to my current Android phone for a little minute. I just want vanilla Android and an aesthetic device. I don't care about the camera, bigsby, or face/touch unlock. The Pixel 2 feels great, with it's super stock Android, but it's design is very lackluster. If I am spending a thousand dollars (Australia), then I don't want to make any compromises. As a consumer, I'm feeling let down by the selection of phones. Honestly, the iPhone has never looked better to me.
- jopsen 9y ago
  Now that Google is dropping the jack stick I was hoping Samsung might be a thing... But I keep hearing about bad software, which makes me think I'll postpone upgrading to whatever comes next...
- soulnothing 9y ago
  I was in this very boat recently. My LG backup phone got bricked by an OTA. So I was left with a flip phone while waiting. My requirements were less than 300, stock android realistically two years out of the device. 4.5" to 5", smaller preferable, and a headphone jack. There was almost nothing like this. I ended up on the google pixel. However, it was difficult as I kept getting Verizon bootloader locked revisions. Despite them being listed as international or gsm unlocked. I finally found one in my upper bracket at 450, 128GB version. Its official support ends in October of this year. I've also read about a ton of hardware issues so I'm hopeful it'll hold out. Android phones are to me a shit show, to put it mildly. They're good, but not long term. I'm also leary of buying higher ended phones. I've had far to many times where my phone was knocked out of my hand at a bus stop. Then broken screen. The closest I've seen right now is oneplus or get a last gen pixel.
  - apatheticonion 9y ago
    Between my last post and this one, I literally bought a Pixel 2. I'm salty and aware that this will last me 2 years.
- 9y ago
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dingo_bat 9y ago
Glad to see they haven't removed useful stuff like the others. Considering upgrading my 2 year old S7e. But the prices are too high!
gomox 9y ago
Of all the things you would want to make a "me too" product out of, the iPhone X sure isn't one I would pick. It's sad that AR emojis and face recognition made the key new features list. Those two sounded like a gimmick when they were announced, and after actually using the iPhone X I can't say my opinion has changed. The sooner Samsung either steps up their software game or quits it altogether, the better off their users will be.
- threeseed 9y ago
  FaceID is far more than a gimmick. It is admittedly very much like TouchID version 1 i.e. it will need several revisions to be perfect. But you can really see why Apple went with it. Because when your phone authenticates e.g. banking app without you even realising it you then appreciate that it is a better solution than a fingerprint reader.
  - tallanvor 9y ago
    But if I'm dealing with security, I DON'T want things being done without even realizing it. I WANT my phone to only unlock or perform an action when I want it to do so. FaceID is the opposite of what I want.
    - rimliu 9y ago
      Any apps apps I use that make use of FaceID have a setting for that. Also, it is quite obvious when FaceID is being used, there is a UI to show that.
    - mseebach 9y ago
      The last 20 years have taught us to be super vigilant, but that is because the bad guys were (are) always at our heels (if not occasionally pulling ahead), but surely the gold standard for security is that which is just there and works, but which you never have to see or think about. Of course, actions should only be taken when actually asked for, but a banking app that will show you (and only you) your balance without a separate authentication step seems like a great thing. It can also add security to other apps that might perhaps be slightly under-protected due to the current hurdle of clearing auth: perhaps your messaging apps will only show the content of messages when it's you looking?
mrmondo 9y ago
How did Samsung it was a good idea to round the glass edges of a screen to the point that it warps displays colour & creates glare from indirect light? It looks to be as big of a problem as on their 8 which I’ve observed people experience frustration with.
- parmesan 9y ago
  I have a S8+ and have never been annoyed by the round edges, never experienced any distorted colors or been annoyed by indirect light.
jamal001 9y ago
Whatsapp CHAT or Call : +19842085304 Latest New original New Samsung S9 cost 650USD. come with 1year warranty, New iPhone X cost 700USD New Samsung note 8 cost 600usd iPhone 7 and 7 plus cost 550USD, serious buyer should contact us. Skype: faisa.hassan102 Email: faisa.hassan01@hotmail.com Whatsapp CHAT or Call : +19842085304 or 0019842085304

183 points by iamd3vil 9y ago

Interesting, if there is one thing I hope Apple takes away from this, it is the adjustable aperture. But time will tell whether a moving part will last long on a smartphone. Though I fear that, like with Google's dual CMOS, they are too committed to the multiple cameras and removing one may come off as a downgrade to consumers whether or not a single one can satisfy all the same functions.

bigdubs 9y ago
One thing I'm not understanding here; don't most lenses (and by extension cameras) have adjustable apertures? What is so special about having a F1.4 vs. F2.4 apertures available to the camera? Is it because they can both fire at the same time and compose the two exposures?
- smnscu 9y ago
  MKBHD has a good explanation (starts at 2:43): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J83sZrz9XTc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J83sZrz9XTc Basically this is the first(?) camera phone with adjustable aperture, albeit it only has 2 presets. PS: Might be useful(?) https://photographylife.com/what-is-aperture-in-photography https://photographylife.com/what-is-aperture-in-photography
  - bigdubs 9y ago
    I didn't realize small camera's didn't have an adjustable aperture typically, that makes more sense now.
  - hug 9y ago
    Not the first: https://www.engadget.com/2017/12/01/samsung-w2018-flip-phone-variable-aperture-china/ https://www.engadget.com/2017/12/01/samsung-w2018-flip-phone... Buuuut probably the first flagshippy camera with a variable aperture.
- throwahey 9y ago
  Most if not all smartphones have a fixed aperture. A lower F-stop allows more light to enter through the lens. This is advantageous in low light but during the day it may cause pictures to wash out. Because ISO can only go so high before minor hand movement seriously blurs a photo, it is better to have a larger aperture, again for low-light conditions. So a single adjustable lens over a single sensor can allow for a variety of ideal combinations depending on the conditions.
- oldcynic 9y ago
  Most camera lenses do, and generally give a wide range of stops, often down to f22. Phones have, until now, fixed aperture, fixed lenses. Given how tiny phone camera lenses are I'm surprised to see variable, given how little range you get from two fixed stops. Course it may be the first move towards having a proper range of f stops, which can only be a good thing.
  - gomox 9y ago
    At the expense of a moving part, having the option to close down the aperture will probably improve image quality in daylight. With a fixed aperture, increased low light sensitivity usually brings lower resolution (so called "fast" lenses generally have improved optical characteristics with their aperture stopped down). That is unless these dinky sensors are diffraction limited at f/1.5, which I doubt.
oatmealsnap 9y ago
I assumed they want to use two sensors as a means of reading depth for their special camera filters, and being able to make one a wide-angle and the other magnified is an added benefit. It's neat to see all the creative takes on cameras, though. Google seems to have proven that you can get good results mimicking depth using one sensor, but I'm sure there are still benefits to be found with two.

antirez 9y ago

I few weeks ago, after a long history of purchasing Samsung phones (S4, S6, s7 edge plus) because of the good hardware, I got an S8+ after my S7e+ abandoned me. This was the turning point where I decided I could no longer accept such awful software experience. Now there is even a physical button for their garbage assistant. The Android notifications are broken in favor of small things that do not allow you to read the message from Whatsapp or Telegram or whatever, and so forth. I returned the S8+ and switched to a Google Pixel 2 XL and it is the best phone I've ever had. Samsung needs to get its shit together and understand that even if in their fantasy world where the management live they want to compete on services, it is totally impossible and actually they are just destroying the Android experience. If it was not for the software approach Samsung takes, I bet we could have far less Apple iPhone users.

joncrane 9y ago
PREACH! Went from an S4 (amazing phone) to an S7 (mediocre at best) to a Pixel and it's going to be Google all the way for me until they find a way to muck it up, too.
jondiggsit 9y ago
Think the Pixel 2 XL is good... just wait until you upgrade to an iPhone!
- Someone1234 9y ago
  The iPhone's hardware is great and it has good bones in the OS but Apple has placed too many artificial restrictions on the experience. To name one current example, both Android and iOS have the concept of a global password manager for third party apps (and the web-browser). Both Google and Apple offer a password manager that hooks into it. But on Android third party password managers can also utilize the system APIs, whereas on iOS they cannot. Meaning password managers on iOS are stuck with copy/switch/paste/switch/copy/switch/paste for username and password respectively. On Android you get a popup next to the input box, press it, and it is populated. This is just one current example but if you look at the history of iOS Apple has been doing this forever. NFC locked to Apple Pay was a previous good example.

ChuckMcM 9y ago

They don't mention if it is splash proof and whether it is toast if you ever drop it, but it looks nice. :-) EDIT: I see from the Verge video that they did retain the splash resistance.

moh_maya 9y ago
Reports [1] say it is splash proof and, more importantly from my perspective, has a headphone jack. [1] https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/25/17044990/samsung-galaxy-s9-plus-price-release-date-phone-camera-specs-mwc https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/25/17044990/samsung-galaxy-s...

dmitrygr 9y ago

Unfortunately comes with Samsung's crapware that cannot be removed, and even a non remappable button to trigger it. I will be patiently waiting for an exploit to be found in the bootloader so we can reflash this with a ROM without Samsung anything. At that point in time, it will probably be a good contender for second best Android phone. After the pixel

dijit 9y ago
You'll be waiting for a while; I bought an S8 with the intention of putting LineageOS on it. Sadly to this day there are things not working which are essential, like making calls or using LTE data... or wifi.. or the camera. I thought I could deal with the Samsung crapware anyway, coming from iPhone and having used a OnePlus One with Cyanogen and later lineage... Boy, I was wrong, beautiful hardware for sure but the OS is utter garbage. By garbage I mean: Bixby is unwanted and disabled, but it still pops up nearly constantly.. essential features of the phone require a samsung account, in an attempt not to sign up for it I get notified weekly that I must have one.. samsung programs will randomly notify me about random things that I have no interest in knowing about. Especially samsung pay- I DO NOT WANT AN OFFER ON COFFEE JUST LET ME USE YOU TO BUY THINGS. Upday has a pre-loaded list of the worst british newspapers, and insists on telling me about "breaking news" regarding a nice young american lady who is marrying one of our princes... I miss my phone being in my control, and that's what everyone who was selling me on android was telling me was compelling about the platform.. But I had much more control of my phone when I was with Apple. (And yes, I donated heavily to the LineageOS+S8 effort)
- dmitrygr 9y ago
  Luckily since this phone ships with Android Oreo, it is required to comply with project treble, which makes this a whole lot easier. By definition, a phone with project treble has to boot and pass all tests in the Android compatibility test Suite with an unmodified AOSP image. You can already see some benefits of this on the XDA website, where some people are successfully replacing system images on no name phones with barely any audience and not even a kernel source published

black_puppydog 9y ago

This would be very nice. IFF they just allowed me to throw out their bloated software, put Lineage on the thing and still be able to use any of the non-standard hardware features. Frankly, the "biometrics" stuff in these phones is such an anti-feature IMHO...

emilfihlman 9y ago

So why do all the images on that site look like shit? :D Seems like they forgot to crank down the optimisation on image size.

valine 9y ago
They seem to be using real photos from their new low light camera which is commendable. Its unfortunate that their low light photos still look like crap.
- firethief 9y ago
  They do look bad, but without knowing how low the light actually is I don't know how to judge them.

osrec 9y ago

"Add music. Make GIFs. Get likes" Captures the very purpose of a smartphone, doesn't it?!

userbinator 9y ago
Don't forget the emojis! Definitely shows their target demographic. Does it have a removable battery? MicroSD? How about the CPU, RAM, and other specs? That's what power users want to know, and it's conspicuously missing from that page (the word "battery" doesn't even appear, not even once!)
- madeofpalk 9y ago
  > How about the CPU, RAM, and other specs? For things like smartphones that each run their own operating system variation, aren't these just vanity specs? What good is comparing the RAM on an Samsung Galaxy to an iPhone?
- rocqua 9y ago
  The emoji thing is a response to the iphone x animoji. It's not big for end users, but a animoji gave a lot of good publicity by 'influencers'. The feature is there for marketing, and for samsung - iphone comparisons.
- dingo_bat 9y ago
  They said in the presentation that micro SD cards are supported.
- exodust 9y ago
  The web page is poorly designed, the usual chunky and spaced out "bigger is better" look. The navigation menu at the top is not anchor links for that page, but goes to other pages where you can find details like microSD card etc.
BillinghamJ 9y ago
I’m sure you’re being sarcastic, but for a lot of people - yeah that isn’t far off the purpose of a smartphone.

asciimo 9y ago

I was hoping to hear something about the imminent Gear watch (S4?). I guess Apple is the only company that bundles their various releases into a single event?

megy 9y ago
Apple have several releases throughout the year.

greenhouse_gas 9y ago

https://www.samsung.com/us/smartphones/galaxy-s9/ https://www.samsung.com/us/smartphones/galaxy-s9/ for US site. Small question: Do people still buy $800 phones, and why? If you care about security, these probably won't receive security upgrades for more than a few years (S3 went from ICS to Kitkat. S4 went from Jelly-Bean to Lollipop, S5 went from KitKat to Marshmallow, S6 went from Lollipop to Nougat, so I don't expect this to make it past Android Q[1] (which should come out in two and a half years)), and unlike older models, custom ROM support is quite bad for modern Samsung models (S6 Lineageos just came out. S8 isn't supported yet). Wouldn't it make more sense to get a slightly worse quality phone, but upgrade it every two years or so? [1]. Unless Treble will make it so much easier to port to S9.

filoleg 9y ago
Buying it for a full price isn't the best idea, but it seems like T-mobile US likes to do a "buy one get one free" deal on those about 6 months after the release (that's how I did it last year with S8+). No contract either, the phone will just be locked to t-mobile until you pay the whole price, which you can do over 24 months (no extra charges) with the option to pay the whole thing off at any moment.
dbspin 9y ago
Anecdotally, the kind of person who spends 800 - 1000 on a phone also upgrades it every year or two. It's a status symbol as much as anything. Plus there's always the fact that you will have the latest and greatest camera, and for many people that's important. Personally, I'm with you. Recently bought a Moto G5 plus for a couple of hundred euro and its fine. However, I do confess if I had a higher income I'd probably be another happy consumer of the super high end phones. Worth noting that in Europe at least they have a very high resale value, so you will make much of the cost back if selling in a year or so in good condition.
- bitL 9y ago
  I'd say in Europe people try to resell them for high price (looking at eBay DE), but given so many of them are there stuck at the same price for months, I don't think their resale value is actually that high.

QUFB 9y ago

I can understand that Samsung's target market doesn't consist of users who may install Lineage or other ROMs, but what's their motivation for selling a phone with a locked bootloader? Samsung sells excellent hardware, and as an S8 owner I've found their version of Android is acceptable. But why not allow users to unlock the bootloader: what's the risk to Samsung by allowing this?

leeoniya 9y ago
from what i've read it's not Samsung but the carriers that require it to be locked. outside the states you can get an unlockable bootloader on both Snapdragon and Exynos variants. it pisses me off because my wife purchased a Sprint flavor S8 (full price, no contract) because its radios are better for Sprint's bands but i cannot unlock it to install Lineage or TWRP >:( EDIT: i might be wrong, all Snapdragon variants are locked. the best that's been achieved is root with a bunch of caveats: https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s8+/development/root-g955u-g955u1-snapdragon-sampwnd-t3658911 https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s8+/development/root...
- ac29 9y ago
  Carriers don't seem to have an issue with any of Google's phones being unlocked, I don't see why they would only require it on other manufacturers. They might prefer locked bootloaders, but Samsung has enough sales volume that I imagine they could do whatever they wanted.
  - ThatPlayer 9y ago
    Carriers don't tend to sell Google's phone. Verizon seems to be the only carrier selling Google's Pixel, and they have a locked bootloader on that version.
- Vanav 9y ago
  You are right, some regions can be unlocked. For example, N9500 (Snapdragon, Note8), can be unlocked (https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-note-8/how-to/guide-n9500-unlocking-bl-twrp-t3696103 https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-note-8/how-to/guide-...).

monk_e_boy 9y ago

Wow, the camera is f1.5 and the results look very nice. Blurring the background is neat and the results look good. Not perfect (check out the wisps of hair on the model disappear) but its so much better than the average photo i see shared on facebook. Bokeh filters are a bit of fun, but i can't imagine anyone i know will notice them or care about them. Draw password with your eyes? Weird.

lwhalen 9y ago

Having been with Samsung since the S3, my current S7 will be my last. It is THE most fragile phone I have ever owned - replaced 3x already, at $150/pop even with the insurance. I've never had to get a case for any other Samsung before, but this is unacceptable. My next phone will be a Purism.

hyperdunc 9y ago
I have an S2, S3 and S7. The S2 and S3 have both been banged, dropped, thrown, splashed and sat on and they're still going strong. The S7 slid off a low couch and fell about 30cm onto a wooden floor. It had a protective case on it, but the screen is wrecked. Unless Samsung start manufacturing their S-range phones out of synthetic diamond I won't be buying another.
- mehrdadn 9y ago
  > Unless Samsung start manufacturing their S-range phones out of synthetic diamond I won't be buying another. I think diamond is brittle? :-)
- mickronome 9y ago
  I have an S6 edge, which has been surprisingly sturdy, much probably because the metallic chassis juts out slightly above the glass in all corners, and it appears to provide a quite reasonable protection. A custom home screen app / loader fixes the most atrocious software issues, and the device is well balance and nicely sized. But yeah, they really should try stop fixing Android by adding crap software and crazy home screen junk. But, then they made the S7, which looks like if it had somehow accidentally swollen after the design was done. Quite literally as if someone simply increased the thickness of all the interior parts, and thought: -Should we bother to fix the outer bezel so it looks reasonable, and protects this amazing screen masquerading as a phone? Naaah, I'm already late for lunch. And then the S8. I guess ot went something like this. Hey, look, Apple made a phone without any tactile features whatsoever, it's super easy to drop, and the biggest versions even bends if you sit down with it in your pocket, we must do something similar!! We have this infinity screen trademark, so lets make a painted bezel that doesn't protect the sceen at all, with no tactile feedback, and oh, did I mention the bezel is painted? It's a premium feature, because of the lack of a clearly visible border, we can make it so the screen will look banged up even before the screen has actually become damage!! I had some hopes for the S9, that they might have realized that only Apple can make super slippery phones with dubious usability and have everyone rave about how amazing they were. Apparently, they either haven't figured ot out, or we actually now have two phone producers that can sell expensive everyday tools that appear to be made to break. I don't get it, at all.

lldata 9y ago

The s8 is slippery as hell and very fragile. My screen cracked after just a month. Replacement is crazy expensive. Unless s9 changes that, don't buy it!

dep_b 9y ago
Haven’t seen that much cracked glass on one phone since the iPhone 4
swozey 9y ago
Yeah the s8 is insanely slippery. I put a concrete dbrand on the back of mine just so I could pull it out of my pocket and not toss it half way across the room. I'll never understand the all glass trend.
- _nedR 9y ago
  Cinderella phones, I call them.
- hocuspocus 9y ago
  > I'll never understand the all glass trend. I think Samsung and other manufacturers can't win there. People complained about the perceived build quality when their flagships had a plastic body. Unless you use harder and thicker polycarbonate (like the Lumias or the iPhone 5c) it's hard to have something that truly lasts. You're left with aluminum, which brings tons of problems (it's easy to bend, scratch, the anodization will fade, it feels cold and it's also slippery, and you need to make way for antennas), or glass.
Synaesthesia 9y ago
Repacking the display is near impossible because there’s no frame around the display and everything is glued which means trying to open you nearly invariably break the screen.

sergiotapia 9y ago

Did features plateau? I don't see things in this marketing that are new or exciting.

FridgeSeal 9y ago
But but but isn't making an animated emoji the absolute top of your priorities? How else will you get likes on social media??? /s I do wish phones hadn't been reduced to this, but here we are.
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asafira 9y ago
We are in an age where having a headphone jack is a luxury.
yoz-y 9y ago
Not a samsung user but I would definitely like to have variable aperture and 960fps slow motion. The latter can enable uses that smartphones could not previously have.
- TausAmmer 9y ago
  Same as Sony XZ premium, it is capable of shooting for 0.2s in that speed. Amazing speed and crippling duration. Camera memory size is limited to this and nothing could be done. More of marketing trick and really hardly useful thing.

dreamcompiler 9y ago

Oh FFS. I don't need a fancier camera. I don't need animated emojis. I need a battery that lasts all day without having to keep the phone in low-power mode all the time. And I want it removable so when it wears out I can replace it myself. Samsung is jumping the shark.

yoodenvranx 9y ago
> Samsung is jumping the shark. You meant to say: every phone manufacturer is jumping the shark. I am shopping for a new phone and none of the current models are interesting.
hobofan 9y ago
If you don't mind having a bit bulkier phone, I can highly recommend getting one from the Moto Z family + a battery moto mod. I have a Play Z 1st gen and together with the mod, the battery lasts 4-5 days. It's pretty affordable, and while it's pretty bulky that is easily outweighed by not having to worry about running out of power anymore.
- telchar 9y ago
  FWIW I'm very happy with my new Moto Z series phone so far. I haven't sprung for any mods yet but the phone itself is good. Battery life isn't great without the battery moto mod, but seems typical. For $350 unlocked I'll take this any day over an $800 phone.
- jiggunjer 9y ago
  I'll never be able to buy anything from Lenovo. I just can't forgive superfish.
- yoodenvranx 9y ago
  One of the last updates for the Moto Z Play 1 did something horrible to my battery life and now it's no better than your average phone. If you check reddit and the Motorola support forum there are tons of people with the same problem.
9y ago

snvzz 9y ago

Useless website. Couldn't find specifications anywhere.

dharma1 9y ago

Does this record 10bit HDR video?

pducks32 9y ago

I just don’t see where Samsung is going with this. To me, iPhone and Pixel really beautifully fill the market for as phone of this price range.

ShinTakuya 9y ago
Sorry, but even though I don't like Samsung phones, I really despise this kind of comment. Imagine if someone said "we don't need more smart phones, iPhones ready beautifully fill the smartphone market". How shirt sighted do you have to be to turn your nose up at the very idea of competition in a market? Even if you stick with the original product in a particular market, competition almost always makes the original product better by keeping the creator on its toes. I'm not a huge fan of this new Samsung release. But it's not because there's already phones in the market. Adding another phone to a particular market is a positive, not a negative.
rocqua 9y ago
Build quality wise, iPhone is on top and samsung is the closest. What I mean is the form factor (thickness and bezels) and the material feel. These points really matter when using a phone. Phones are pretty much there performance wise, now what matters is 'the experience'. That is screen quality, and handling.
dingo_bat 9y ago
Pixel doesn't fill the market with anything. It's just a mediocre phone priced exorbitantly. If pixel were the only option in the high end android market, there wouldn't be a market for high end android phones anymore.
T-N-T 9y ago
The pixel isn't even sold in my country, France.

SuperHitler 9y ago

Take Samsung Galaxy S9 or similar phone, but Xiaomi for the fraction of the price.

acef 9y ago

those emojis look creepy to me

jimaek 9y ago

Can't find the specs anywhere. I am mostly interested in the battery size

sparrish 9y ago

No analog headphone jack - no thanks.

sundvor 9y ago
Which phone are you reading about? S9 retains the headphone jack, as did the S8.
ghettoimp 9y ago
I would have agreed last year. But I recently got some really nice Bluetooth headphones and am really digging not having a wire...
- TomMarius 9y ago
  Good for you (not sarcastically, I'm really happy for you), but some people (including me) are not happy with the audio quality.
asafira 9y ago
The S9 does have a headphone jack...

apatheticonion 9y ago

Nice device, horrible software. If Samsung did another Google Play edition like they did with the S3, I'd buy one. I've been looking for an upgrade to my current Android phone for a little minute. I just want vanilla Android and an aesthetic device. I don't care about the camera, bigsby, or face/touch unlock. The Pixel 2 feels great, with it's super stock Android, but it's design is very lackluster. If I am spending a thousand dollars (Australia), then I don't want to make any compromises. As a consumer, I'm feeling let down by the selection of phones. Honestly, the iPhone has never looked better to me.

jopsen 9y ago
Now that Google is dropping the jack stick I was hoping Samsung might be a thing... But I keep hearing about bad software, which makes me think I'll postpone upgrading to whatever comes next...
soulnothing 9y ago
I was in this very boat recently. My LG backup phone got bricked by an OTA. So I was left with a flip phone while waiting. My requirements were less than 300, stock android realistically two years out of the device. 4.5" to 5", smaller preferable, and a headphone jack. There was almost nothing like this. I ended up on the google pixel. However, it was difficult as I kept getting Verizon bootloader locked revisions. Despite them being listed as international or gsm unlocked. I finally found one in my upper bracket at 450, 128GB version. Its official support ends in October of this year. I've also read about a ton of hardware issues so I'm hopeful it'll hold out. Android phones are to me a shit show, to put it mildly. They're good, but not long term. I'm also leary of buying higher ended phones. I've had far to many times where my phone was knocked out of my hand at a bus stop. Then broken screen. The closest I've seen right now is oneplus or get a last gen pixel.
- apatheticonion 9y ago
  Between my last post and this one, I literally bought a Pixel 2. I'm salty and aware that this will last me 2 years.
9y ago

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dingo_bat 9y ago

Glad to see they haven't removed useful stuff like the others. Considering upgrading my 2 year old S7e. But the prices are too high!

gomox 9y ago

Of all the things you would want to make a "me too" product out of, the iPhone X sure isn't one I would pick. It's sad that AR emojis and face recognition made the key new features list. Those two sounded like a gimmick when they were announced, and after actually using the iPhone X I can't say my opinion has changed. The sooner Samsung either steps up their software game or quits it altogether, the better off their users will be.

threeseed 9y ago
FaceID is far more than a gimmick. It is admittedly very much like TouchID version 1 i.e. it will need several revisions to be perfect. But you can really see why Apple went with it. Because when your phone authenticates e.g. banking app without you even realising it you then appreciate that it is a better solution than a fingerprint reader.
- tallanvor 9y ago
  But if I'm dealing with security, I DON'T want things being done without even realizing it. I WANT my phone to only unlock or perform an action when I want it to do so. FaceID is the opposite of what I want.
  - rimliu 9y ago
    Any apps apps I use that make use of FaceID have a setting for that. Also, it is quite obvious when FaceID is being used, there is a UI to show that.
  - mseebach 9y ago
    The last 20 years have taught us to be super vigilant, but that is because the bad guys were (are) always at our heels (if not occasionally pulling ahead), but surely the gold standard for security is that which is just there and works, but which you never have to see or think about. Of course, actions should only be taken when actually asked for, but a banking app that will show you (and only you) your balance without a separate authentication step seems like a great thing. It can also add security to other apps that might perhaps be slightly under-protected due to the current hurdle of clearing auth: perhaps your messaging apps will only show the content of messages when it's you looking?

mrmondo 9y ago

How did Samsung it was a good idea to round the glass edges of a screen to the point that it warps displays colour & creates glare from indirect light? It looks to be as big of a problem as on their 8 which I’ve observed people experience frustration with.

parmesan 9y ago
I have a S8+ and have never been annoyed by the round edges, never experienced any distorted colors or been annoyed by indirect light.

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