That being said, the Galaxy S8's camera was terrible. On the contrary - in 2016, when the S7 edge was released, it was of record quality right up to the appearance of a cooler cameraphone (which otherwise turned out to be a rubbish rubbish), the Google Pixel. And the quality margin was enough so that in 2017 the Galaxy S8 did not fail in shooting quality “below the waterline”, but stayed above almost all Chinese and eminent colleagues who, with camera settings, “shoot” themselves in the foot every year (Sony and LG).

But at the end of the year, saving on the camera led to the fact that Samsung was plugged in the belt in terms of shooting quality by everyone and sundry -

not only Google Pixels and iPhones, but also the flagship Huawei. And Xiaomi, which always had "hands growing from the wrong place" in photography, almost caught up with the formidable, cool and dear Galaxy S8 with Mi Note 3. For us, this is just a joke and a ground for reasoning on the topic "Samsung rolled down", but those who bought an S8 for 55-60 thousand rubles in spring-summer 2017 expected something more from a smartphone than cameras of the level of cheap Xiaomi.

Partly for this reason, Samsung has emphasized that the camera is new in the Galaxy S9. Completely new. The coolest. I also provided evidence of steepness, and they sound convincing.

The first smartphone that can “squint” and “open your eyes” - better than all competitors

The first and coolest thing in Samsung Galaxy S9 is a variable aperture camera. Aperture is an indicator that measures, roughly speaking, with how wide the "eyes" of the smartphone are. The wider the aperture (the smaller the number in the aperture characteristic after the shot), the better smartphone sees in the dark. It would seem - "raise his (smartphone) eyelids", as Viyu and no problem! But there are problems, because, firstly, a wide aperture is difficult to implement in a thin smartphone body (in the same “DSLRs” the shutter that adjusts the aperture is not very compact). And secondly, a too wide aperture when shooting objects in the middle ground and near too "lathers" the background or "brightens" the images where it is undesirable.

Eight years have passed since the first smartphone was presented to a wide audience. Samsung line Galaxy S. Then it made an unprecedented sensation, because it combined performance unprecedented for its time with reliability, well-thought-out ergonomics and a user-friendly interface. Until now, S-series gadgets remain the flagship in the model range of Samsung corporation and continue to surprise fans of the brand with hardware capabilities, technological innovations and original design. The trend of 2018 was the Galaxy S9, which, along with its "big brother" S9 +, tops all the recent Tops and ratings. We invite you to learn more about the characteristics of the model, its advantages and disadvantages, to get acquainted with the design features and nuances of using a smartphone.

The appearance of Samsung Galaxy S9 in Russia

The novelty from Samsung was first shown to the public on February 25, 2018. Sales in Russia, like in most other countries, started on March 16. On the official website of the company, the price of the Galaxy S9 was 59,990 rubles, the Galaxy S9 + 66,990 rubles.

At first, the "nine" received extremely controversial reviews from critics - some considered it interesting and promising, while others pointed to a too obvious similarity with the S8 at a much higher price. We invite you to compare the main parameters of these models.

Comparison of S9 and S9 +: table

Characteristics	Samsung Galaxy S8	Samsung Galaxy S9
Display diagonal	5,8
Screen Matrix Type	Super AMOLED
Screen matrix resolution	2960 × 1440
Processor model	Samsung Exynos 8895	Samsung Exynos 9810
The number and frequency of processor cores	4 × 2.3 GHz + 4 × 1.7 GHz	4 × 2.8 GHz + 4 × 1.7 GHz
Volume random access memory	4 GB
The amount of permanent memory	64 GB
Maximum memory card size	256 GB	400 GB
Number of SIM cards and type of slot	2 NanoSIM combo with memory card slot
Sensor resolution and size front camera	8 megapixels; 1 / 3.6 inches
Front camera aperture	f 1.7
Main camera resolution	12 megapixels; 1 / 2.55 inches
Aperture of the main camera	f 1.7	Adjustable (f 1.5 - f 2.4)
Battery capacity	3000 mAh

The main differences between the Galaxy S9 smartphone and its predecessor are in a new, more powerful processor and an improved main camera. True, the matrix of the latter remained old, but an automatic aperture control was added, which expanded the possibilities of photo and video shooting in low light conditions.

Minor changes were made to the design and location of the body elements. So, the fingerprint scanner is now located not on the side of the camera module, but under it. The thickness of the phone has increased from 8 to 8.5 mm, the weight - from 155 to 163 g. But the height of the novelty has slightly decreased. Some other interesting developments are embodied in the S9, which we will discuss in detail below.

Sizes, colors and equipment: an overview of the appearance

The color bar is presented in three colors

The front size of the S9 case in the length-to-width ratio was 148 × 69 mm, the S9 + case is slightly larger - 158 × 74 mm. The thickness of both gadgets is the same - 8.5 mm. In general, smartphones can be described as quite compact, given the large diagonal of their screens and top-end hardware. The almost frameless design of the front panel and the non-removable battery, which has become a classic over the past two years, helped to save precious millimeters.

The novelty is presented in three main colors, which marketers Samsung gave the names "black diamond", "titanium" and "ultraviolet". In a more familiar language, these are black, gray and dark pink (lilac) colors. Less common are turquoise and blue models. It should be noted that the phone looks stylish and elegant in all colors. The black case has a matte finish, the gray and pink ones have a metallic finish.

Stylish body and screen colors will impress Galaxy fans

The only hardware configuration is available - 4/64 GB, in contrast to the vast majority of Chinese smartphones, which come with 2-3 options for storage capacity. As for SIM and microSD, in the official international version with the G960 index, it is possible to install only one SIM card and one memory card. At the same time, smartphones with universal trays G960F are supplied to the domestic markets of many countries, including Russia, in which you can install either two SIM cards, or one SIM and one microSD.

In the factory box, in addition to the smartphone, you should find a mains charger with a MicroUSB cable, a headset (headphones) with a set of replaceable ear pads, a key to eject the SIM / microSD tray, a USB Type-C adapter, user documentation and a warranty card. Buying a "nine" from an authorized Samsung dealer, you will receive a 12-month warranty.

Detailed specifications

We have already mentioned in passing the main parameters of the Samsung Galaxy S9 smartphone, so this section is intended primarily for those who want to study in detail all the technical nuances of the gadget. For your convenience, they are collected in several groups.

Samsung.com official website data

This is not to say that everything in the S9 is perfect - there will always be a smartphone with a higher screen resolution, better camera matrix, more RAM or permanent memory. Nevertheless, in S9 everything is maintained at the same high level, every detail is distinguished by reliability, durability, stable and trouble-free operation. Let's dwell on some of the key components of the gadget.

Features of the screen and audio system

Samsung Galaxy S9 screen is not satisfactory, but also enthusiastic

Already in the first models of the S-series, LED displays of the Super AMOLED standard were used, the same technology is used today. It has been around for almost a decade and has remained unrivaled to this day. Among the main advantages of the technology:

• saturation and contrast of colors;
• viewing angle width;
• readability in direct sunlight;
• relatively low power consumption;
• resistance to fading, durability.

If you've ever used a smartphone or tablet with a cheap TN panel, you can tell the difference when you look at the Galaxy S9's screen. And its resolution, conditionally equal to the 2K standard, provides the highest degree of picture detail. "Native" glass is quite resistant to cracks and scratches, so it hardly makes sense to cover it with other protective materials.

Compared to S8, S9 sound seems fuller and more balanced

The gadget is equipped with high-quality stereo speakers, the responsibility for the quality of which lies with the famous Austrian company AKG. They are ideal for watching movies and listening to light music, but the "bottom" is lacking. However, not a single phone will be able to produce sufficiently high-quality low frequencies due to its design features.

CPU

The heart of the hardware new Galaxy became a proprietary Samsung Exynos 9810 processor. It has a 64-bit architecture and includes eight cores, four of which are energy efficient (operate at a frequency of up to 1.7 GHz), and four more are efficient (up to 2.8 GHz). The integrated ARM Mali-G72 GPU is responsible for processing the graphics stream, which has become 25% more economical and 20% more powerful than its predecessor. On the this moment it is the most advanced mobile video chip.

Samsung Exynos 9810 is often compared to Snapdragon 845 and the victory is clearly on the side of the former

The Galaxy S9 delivers superb performance even in heavy applications and heavy multimedia workloads such as 4K video playback. When you run a large number of resource-intensive programs at the same time, you may feel a lack of RAM (this problem is solved in the S9 +), but the processor has never raised any complaints.

Autonomy of work

Removing the battery from the S9 is not easy, and we don't recommend it. A categorical "no"!

The battery remains the Achilles heel of Samsung's S-series. S III buyers also complained about the low time autonomous work, overheating of the battery and not always a correct estimate of the residual charge. The S7 and S8 partly decided this problem, however, the line still lags behind products of other brands in terms of battery capacity and efficiency of using its charge. Most users of the "nine" noted that it is enough for 10-12 hours of active use.

The smartphone can be charged wirelessly charger, however, you will need to purchase it separately. Factory kit includes standard network adapter 220V-5V.

Memory

Developments to increase the memory capacity of the device continue to be carried out to this day.

The hardware configuration with data drives is quite unusual - with 64 GB of permanent memory (which can be expanded by another 400 GB), the smartphone received only 4 GB of "RAM". The reason for this remains unknown. Perhaps the manufacturers hoped for the space characteristics of the processor and decided that it will work with data faster than it will accumulate in RAM; and perhaps in this way they want to increase the sales of the S9 + model, which has 6 GB of RAM.

Ample persistent storage for Android 8.0 Oreo, preinstalled apps, custom programs and average media content. If you want to turn your smartphone into a FullHD cinema, without microSD cards not enough. On the official website of Samsung, there are periodically raffles of branded 256 GB memory cards for Galaxy S9 buyers.

Photo and video capabilities

The camera is the main feature of the Samsung Galaxy S9

If you have seen an advertisement for a Samsung Galaxy S9 smartphone at least once, then you probably noticed that almost all the airtime is occupied by the description of the gadget's cameras. Indeed, there is something to tell about here. Let's start with the front camera. It is technically the same as on the S8, but with an updated software interface that allows you to shoot beauty selfies with bokeh effect. The 8-megapixel 1 / 3.6-inch sensor provides a large pixel size (about 1.22 microns), therefore, a clear and high-quality image. The aperture of the lens was 1.7, which guarantees low digital noise even in low light.

But all this pales before the capabilities of the main camera. And do not be confused by its 12 megapixel, believe me, it is capable of giving odds to many 24 megapixel "Chinese". The point is, firstly, in a large matrix of the same format as in compact cameras and superzoom, and secondly, in a very large pixel (about 1.4 microns). The lens aperture is now software controlled and is capable of working out values ​​in the range of 1.5–2.4, which is comparable to the aperture ratio of lenses of the best DSLRs. In the video shooting mode, a stream recording is available with a resolution of HD, Full HD, 4K. At the same time, high-speed shooting at a frequency of up to 960 frames per second is possible in HD. Galaxy S9 is a real camera phone, in no way inferior to the legendary Nokia with Carl Zeiss lenses.

Other features and tricks of the S9

The S9 and S9 plus versions have something to surprise in addition to the camera.

For those who are not yet impressed with the capabilities of the "nine", the flagship has a few more surprises in store. First of all, we are talking about innovative security systems. In addition to the now common fingerprint scanner and archaic pin codes, the S9 can offer identification of the owner by the shape of the face or even the iris of the eye. Depending on the level of illumination, the scanning time will be 0.5–2 seconds, while the owner will only need to look at the smartphone screen.

In addition, despite the elegance and apparent fragility of the novelty, it meets the IP68 standard of dust and moisture protection, therefore, it can withstand immersion in water to a depth of more than a meter for half an hour. Still, you shouldn't go swimming with your favorite smartphone. But you can dial SMS in rainy weather.

With the DeX set-top box and HDMI cable, Galaxy S9 can be connected to a monitor from a PC or TV. In this mode, the gadget can serve as a multimedia station or workstation. The official slogans even included the phrase “your portable office”. In addition, an augmented reality assistant is available, but for now, correct work can only be achieved from the English version of the program.

Test data

According to Antutu, the nine made iPhones in terms of parameters

Amatorial tests, the purpose of which was to assess the CPU and battery overheating under system loads, to determine the battery life, to check the quality of the exposure assessment during photography, and even to crash tests, the model passed with dignity.

Issues reported by users

S9 selfies may not be to everyone's liking, but a solution is quickly found!

The most significant disadvantage that almost caused a scandal at the beginning of Galaxy S9 sales was the incorrect or untimely touchscreen response. Dozens of buyers from different countries... It soon became clear that the cause of the failures were system errors in software... The problem has now been completely resolved.

Another common complaint is pinkish or yellow skin tones in selfies taken from the front camera. It's even easier here - it's just a matter of lighting, the color of which can be compensated for through the White Balance item in the camera settings. The soiling of the case and display, low battery life, which we already wrote about above, were noted. But the main criticism, as you might guess, was caused by the almost indecent price of the gadget.

An overview of all the subtleties in the video

Start of sales

Price

The price of Samsung Galaxy S9 at the start of sales in Russia is 59,990 rubles.

Samsung Galaxy S9 + costs 66,990 rubles for the version with 64 GB of memory. Modification with 256 GB has a price of 74,990 rubles.

Camera

It is the camera of the Samsung Galaxy S9 that is the main feature. Of course, the performance of the hardware is higher, there are software innovations, but all the juice is in the chamber.

What is it about her?

Aperture f / 1.5

The aperture of the main (rear) camera is f / 1.5, which is very cool. Let me remind you that in the figure eight the aperture is f / 1.7. However, as in the seven. In the sixth generation, the aperture was f / 1.9. You might have thought that the manufacturer ran into a technical ceiling, since two generations of flagships in a row had the same aperture ratio. After all, f / 1.7 is also great. But here it is already f / 1.5!

No stabilization compensates for the aperture ratio. By and large, stabilization is an attempt to compensate for the lack of light (dark optics).

By the way, there is also optical image stabilization (OIS). For the S9 Plus model, this is dual OIS.

What is good about light optics. It's not just about taking decent pictures in low light conditions. It is also a decrease in depth of field. Or in other words - the ability to do bokeh. Or quite simply - the ability to get a blurred background. By the way, now for blurring the background on some expensive smartphones they use dual cameras, but initially (on professional cameras) this was achieved due to the large matrix and light optics.

But light optics are not the only feature of this model's camera. The camera has a variable aperture. There are two fixed values ​​f / 1.5 and f / 2.4.

At the presentation of the new flagship in Barcelona, ​​a Samsung representative said that while making the new camera, they focused on the human eye, which responds by expanding and constricting the pupil to different lighting conditions. Also does and new smartphone- changing the aperture. Probably, Koreans have forgotten that variable aperture in cameras was not just before the advent of smartphones, but also before the advent of cell phones... Anyway.

The diaphragm has become variable, and here a reasonable question arises, in Japanese sounding like: "Nahua?"

Where would f / 2.4 be preferable to f / 1.5? Why not leave f / 1.5 and fuss with changing the hole.

In real cameras with large sensors, this is really necessary. At least in order to increase the depth of field, i.e. to increase the field of focus. The fact is that the depth of field is influenced not only by the lens aperture, but also by the size of the matrix. And with a large matrix and a large-aperture lens, the depth of field may become too small. It can be very cool from an artistic point of view, but not always appropriate and necessary. But when it comes to non-matrixes installed in phones, even very bright optics are not able to make the depth of field so small. However, f / 2.4 can perform better, for example, when shooting macro documents, when the light is sufficient (for example, when using a flash). At f / 1.5, the document can be sharp only in some part.

Of course, the S9 will not be able to give such a small depth of field as in the photo above, but this photo is perfect for explaining the phenomenon itself.

Where else can f / 2.4 win? There is such a thing as chromatic aberration. There are also spherical aberrations. Aberrations are errors. On the lens, edge errors will be more pronounced. When the diaphragm is closed, then part of the light flux passing through the edges of the objective lens is cut off. And only the higher-quality central part of the lens participates in the formation of the image. Accordingly, the amount of aberration is reduced.

Chromatic aberration is especially noticeable in contrasting areas. For example, dark branches against a background of white clouds.

The purple outlines of the branches are the chromatic aberrations. If the diaphragm is closed, then these aberrations will become smaller.

Therefore, photographs with contrasting elements in sufficient lighting, if there is no artistic task to make a small depth of field, it is better to shoot with a covered aperture.

At the same time, f / 2.4 with a closed aperture and f / 2.4 with an open aperture (darker lens) are not the same thing. In the first case, the edges of the lenses do not participate in the creation of the image, and in the second they do.

Is the question of the feasibility of a variable aperture cleared up? Then you will have a like and an enthusiastic comment.

What else is interesting about the camera?

960 fps 720p

The Samsung Galaxy S9 camera is capable of shooting 960 frames per second (Super Slow Motion or Super Slo-Mo) video with HD resolution (1280 × 720 pixels).

It is noteworthy that the Sony Xperia XZ2 and XZ2 Compact smartphones, presented at the same MWC 2018 in Barcelona as the flagships from the Korean company, can shoot video at the same 960 fps, but with Full HD resolution (1920 × 1080).

How so? Samsung, what are you?

Imagine that you are filming a video in Full HD and decided to capture a moment in slow motion. And you will have this slow-motion shooting with a resolution already in regular HD. And if it is glued into one video, then it turns out not great.

Shooting at such a speed that Sony and Samsung cannot go all the time. Only 0.2 seconds... It is easy to calculate that 192 frames will be taken in 1/5 of a second. Therefore, the declared 960 frames per second sound a little sly, since the device cannot shoot for a whole second.

Okay. In any case, the appearance of such a function is good. The function is very interesting. You can shoot something and then watch it in slow motion - just like in movies. Slow movements, but smooth. With a cinematic video viewing speed of 24 frames per second, video shot at 960 fps can be slowed down 40 times.

YouTube and Instagram will soon explode with slow motion video footage. A new trend is emerging. Now shkolota can shoot slow motion video. If mom, of course, buys such a phone.

In the meantime, this shkolota has not fucked up all the Internet with her masterpieces, here's a look at a really good vidosik. Men will appreciate it for sure. It's a true Slo-Mo at 1440p. Of course, this wasn't filmed on the phone. This is a Phantom camera. And it was clearly not a schoolboy filming. And so you can appreciate the beauty of high-speed video filming.

If the video is up, then remember about.

4K 60fps video

In addition to high-speed shooting, the Samsung Galaxy S9 supports video recording in 4K resolution (3840 × 2160 pixels) at 60 fps.

Such shooting can take place without time limits. More precisely, it is limited by the size of the memory.

Megapixels

This indicator is frankly boring. Probably everyone already understands that a lot of pixels does not mean high-quality shooting.

The main one, i.e. rear camera, has resolution 12 megapixels... And frontal, i.e. front - 8 megapixels.

S9 Plus

The plus model has a dual rear camera.

And due to this, the "plus" model can shoot with a pronounced bokeh effect. One lens captures a sharp subject, while the other captures a blurred background. Moreover, you can blur the background or leave it sharp after the photo has been taken.

Sound

The phone is equipped with AKG stereo speakers.

The sound power has become 1.4 times more powerful than that of previous versions Galaxy smartphones. Dolby Atmos technology, according to the manufacturer, surrounds the user with three-dimensional sound.

Design

The design is similar to the previous generation. Unless the fingerprint scanner has moved under the camera.

By the way, the movement of the scanner under the camera first happened in the Galaxy A8 model.

What is the benefit of moving the scanner?

Now it will be equally convenient (or inconvenient) to scan your prints with both hands, because the scanner is located in the center.

The larger model (Plus) will make it easier to reach the scanner.

Smartphones are available in the following colors:

• Black (Midnight Black).
• Gray (Titanium Gray).
• Blue (Coral Blue).
• Lilac (Lilac Purple).

• S9 dimensions (in mm): 147.7 x 68.7 x 8.5.
• S9 + dimensions (in mm): 158.1 x 73.8 x 8.5.

For comparison, here are the dimensions of last year's flagship:

• S8 dimensions (in mm): 148.9 x 68.1 x 8.
• S8 + dimensions (in mm): 159.5 x 73.4 x 8.1.

It can be seen that the height of the novelty has become smaller, but the width and thickness, on the contrary, are larger.

Screen

Diagonal Samsung screen Galaxy S9 - 5,8” and Galaxy S9 Plus - 6,2” ... The resolution in both cases is QHD +, i.e. 2960 × 1440 pixels with aspect ratio 18,5:9 ... Everything remained here, as it was in the eighth generation.

Frameless designs are trending. Now the big sides of the screen already look outdated.

The side edges of the screen are bent. This is such a Samsung chip. There is little functional sense, but it looks beautiful, technologically advanced and expensive.

Display technology traditional for flagships Super AMOLED, but without the Diamond Pentile, i.e. not 2, but 3 subpixels per pixel. But the change in the structure of the pixel has already occurred in the last generation.

There is a function that has already become familiar to AMOLED displays Always On Display, which allows you to constantly display certain information on the displays without a significant discharge of the battery, for example: time, date, missed calls, etc.

Iron

In the ninth generation of flagships, the Exynos 9810 processor is installed, made according to the second generation 10-nm FinFET process technology with a built-in LTE modem and the ability to transfer data at speeds up to 1.2 Gbit / s.

The Exynos 9 Series 9810 is 8 cores from Samsung, clocked at up to 2.9 GHz.

In the markets of a number of countries, the flagships will be sold with the Snapdragon 845 processor.

The chip has support for machine learning technologies. For example, he will be able to recognize people in images. This increases the speed of finding the desired images and their classification.

The graphics chip, depending on the processor, is either Mali-G72 or Adreno 630.

RAM will be 4 GB for S9 and 6 GB for S9 +.

The built-in memory (permanent) will be 64 GB for the S9 and 64 or 256 GB for the S9 +.

If you need even more memory, the device has a slot for microSD memory cards up to 400 GB.

Selfimogi

Like Apple, Samsung has created animated images that mimic the movements of the face captured on the camera. Apple had various animals and a bunch of shit. In addition to animals, the Koreans made a picture similar to the owner of the phone. This means that you can scan your face, and the smartphone itself will draw a picture that looks like you.

True, the novelty from the Koreans repeats the grimaces worse than the iPhone. But the fact that this is not some kind of drawn animal, but your animated portrait, adds interest to the new function.

If at some point you do not look very good, then you can make a video call in the form of your picture.

You can send animated drawings of yourself to a loved one in correspondence in applications that support animated GIFs.

Identification

It is possible to unlock the phone using "smart technology" (Inteligent Scan), which chooses the unlocking method - an iris scanner or face recognition. The choice depends on the situation and the ambient lighting.

It should be noted that Korean face unlocking is significantly inferior in reliability to iPhone X face unlocking. It is inferior many times.

In addition to the face and eyes, you can unlock using your fingerprint, password, pin code or pattern.

3.5mm headphone jack

The fashion, started in the iPhone, has gone to remove the 3.5 mm headphone jack in expensive smartphones. It turns out that if you have cool headphones with a 3.5 mm plug, then you need to either have an adapter, which means an additional dangling stray, or even have new headphones made according to the new standard and cost the devil knows how much.

It's nice that Samsung has not yet succumbed to this fashion. This means it has a 3.5mm headphone output and can be used with your old headphones.

Samsung DeX

Dex is a device that allows you to connect a monitor, keyboard and mouse to your S8 / S8 +, Note8 and S9 / S9 + to use your phone as a desktop computer.

There are two device options.

In the case of the DeX Pad, you can do without a mouse, since the smartphone screen acts as a touchpad. Moreover, you can even do without a keyboard, because this role can be played by a smartphone lying on the DeX Pad.

The user just needs to take the docking station with them to be able to connect to an external display and use it as a PC.

In DeX Station, the device is installed almost vertically, so both a keyboard and a mouse are needed.

DeX Pad has ports: HDMI, USB 2.0, USB Type C.

DeX Station, in addition to the above ports, also has an Ethernet port.

Both options have built-in fans for cooling the smartphone and the function of recharging it.

A DeX system away from home can be even more convenient than a laptop. And it's not just about size and weight. DeX allows you to work on a large screen, and the screen itself can be at a comfortable distance and at a comfortable angle. The laptop cannot boast of this.

Video

Battery

The smartphone has a function wireless charging.

Fast charging is also available.

Battery capacity - 3000 mAh for the regular model and 3500 mAh for a plus.

In the dry residue

The most interesting thing is the camera and the screen.

Camera with very bright optics and variable aperture.

Plus model with dual rear cameras can do bokeh.

You can record videos at 960 fps in 720p, but these videos are only 0.2 seconds long.

You can record videos in 4K resolution at 60 fps.

The screen is the same as on the previous generation of flagships, but still due to the curvature, as if telling everyone around that this is an expensive device.

The trend of frameless screens is already firmly entrenched.

Those who are not yet mature enough may like selfimojis.

Of course fast, beautiful, dear. In this case, the high cost is rather a plus, since it shows the status of the owner. Or allows you to mislead about the status))).

Review of Samsung Galaxy S9 - the most refined and high-quality smartphone from the Korean company that I have ever used. We can say that we are just looking at the prettier Galaxy S8, but in reality everything is a little more complicated.

The review is written based on using Samsung Galaxy S9 4GB / 64GB Magenta

Galaxy S9 specifications

• Screen: Galaxy S9: 5.8 ", 2960 x 1440 pixels, Super AMOLED, 570 ppi, Always On, Gorilla Glass 5
• Camera: 12 MP, Dual Pixel, autofocus, flash, optical image stabilization, f / 1.5 / 2.4, video recording 4K 60 fps
• Front camera: 8 MP, f / 1.7
• Chipset: 8 cores (4 cores at 2.8 GHz and 4 cores at 1.7 GHz), 10 nm, 64 bit, Exynos 9810 | 8 cores (4 cores 2.7 GHz and 4 cores 1.7 GHz), 10 nm, 64 bit, Snapdragon 845 (in some regions)
• Graphics chip: Mali-G72 | Adreno 630
• RAM: 4GB LPDDR4X
• Internal memory: 64 GB (UFS 2.1)
• Memory card: microSD up to 400 GB
• GPS and GLONASS
• Wi-Fi (802.11a / b / g / n / ac), MIMO, Bluetooth 5.0 LE, NFC
• USB Type-C 3.1
• Two Nano-SIM slots
• Accelerometer, Geomagnetic Sensor, Gyroscope, RGB Ambient Light Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Barometer, Hall Sensor, Fingerprint Scanner, Iris Scanner, Heart Rate Sensor
• AKG stereo speakers
• 3.5mm jack
• Waterproof and dustproof IP68
• Platform: Android 8.0 Oreo, shell samsung Experience
• Battery: non-removable, 3000 mAh
• Dimensions: 147.7 x 68.7 x 8.5mm
• Weight: 163 grams

Galaxy S9 review. Design and ergonomics

Without going into details, we can say that the Samsung Galaxy S9 is almost a complete copy of its predecessor, the Galaxy S8. Why almost? Well, because even a tightly punched hater Samsung will immediately notice that the new product's fingerprint scanner has moved to the "right place." Well, further, as in a chain, other changes will be trampled, which also cannot be ignored.

Therefore, I will not be like any ignorant from the techno community who say that there are no differences between S9 and S8.

Changes in appearance The Galaxy S9 really suffices. It also has a brushed aluminum frame, which looks much more solid than the glossy lewdness in the S8. This is also completely black glass on the front side - when the screen goes out, its surface merges with the black frames, and the sensors on the top are almost invisible. This is the attention to detail when designing a unit with a main camera and a fingerprint sensor.

From such insignificant things at first glance, an opinion is formed about the design of the Galaxy S9. The smartphone looks like the most refined, even perfect, Galaxy version S8. Here everything is in its place, everything is "as it should". This is captivating.

The Galaxy S9 is the first Samsung smartphone to hook me. I hooked up not as a gadget reviewer, but as an ordinary user. A very pleasant product from a design point of view.

If you do not take into account general impressions and minor improvements that affect perception, but do not change the essence, everything is standard. Curved Gorilla Glass 5 on both sides, a sturdy aluminum frame and familiar controls.

By the way, Samsung engineers, apparently, continue to troll crazy perfectionists - the connectors and holes on the bottom end are still not on the same line. 🙂

Ergonomics.

The ease of use of Samsung's flagships attracted me back to the Galaxy S8, when I did it with its participation. In the new Galaxy S9, this is also a complete order or even better, because the new location of the fingerprint scanner makes life a lot easier.

The smartphone has become a little shorter than the previous generation, but heavier. Overall, the ergonomics of the Galaxy S9 are top notch - the most comfortable of the 2018 flagships. Big screen and the most compact dimensions - where else can you find this in the days of shovel-like devices?

Moisture protection has not been done anywhere. The IP68 standard in the Galaxy S9 is fully complied with, the phone can be drowned, thrown into the snow, washed under the tap, and other indecencies with water.

The main thing is not to forget that sea water can be destructive for the device; after swimming in the sea, it is necessary to rinse all the nodes of the smartphone with fresh water.

Galaxy S9 review. Screen

The Galaxy S8 is equipped with a 5.8-inch AMOLED screen with a resolution of 2960x1440 (570 ppi) and an aspect ratio of 18.5: 9, which is covered by curved Gorilla Glass 5. But these are all dry specifications, but what is in reality?

Subjectively, the Galaxy S9's screen is the highest quality and brightest I've ever seen on a smartphone. Only one screen in mobile device I had a similar delight - iPad Pro 10.5, but this is a tablet, so a direct comparison between them is unlikely to work.

The Galaxy S9 screen has a whole bunch of small improvements that even Samsung PR people don't talk about. For example, power saving and adaptive backlighting have been significantly improved. The smartphone also has two RGB light sensors (front and rear).

If the user does not like the vigorous contrast and color of the Galaxy S9 screen, this can be corrected in the settings. The color profile of the screen is extremely flexible. Although this does not completely remove the problem of embellishing reality with AMOLED screens, in general it makes it possible to make the picture as close to reality as possible. For those who like to process photos on a smartphone, this is important.

I am very pleased with the AlwaysOn Display mode, which allows you to display the clock and all sorts of application notifications on the screen off. There are no changes here compared to the previous Samsung flagships, the function works great.

It is curious that competitors have not yet been able to do anything similar in terms of capabilities. Google Pixel 2 and Moto Z2 Force have scanty counterparts, but the level of technology is incomparable.

Galaxy S9 review. Camera, test shots

The Galaxy S9's camera is reimagined. These are not my words, but the reports of Samsung marketers, who considered the variable aperture in the wide-angle camera module a revolutionary innovation.

Personally, I don’t think so. on such a small sensor, the increase in sharpness when changing the aperture from f / 1.5 to f / 2.4 is negligible. And any photographer will tell you the same.

F / 1.5
F / 2.4

However, if we put all that marketing bullshit aside and take a sober look at the Galaxy S9's camera, we can see that this is one of the highest quality mobile cameras On the market. It can easily be put on a par with the Google Pixel 2, and only iPhone camera The X looks like a pity against the background of the S9. Apple lagged far behind the mobile photography giants in 2018, and the new Galaxy S9 only made matters worse.

Only two smartphones are capable of destroying the Galaxy S9 in terms of the camera - new ones. But we'll talk about them when they come to our test. If you do not take them into account, then Samsung is now one of the best cameras on the market.

The record-breaking f / 1.5 aperture, optical stabilization and large 1.4μm pixels do the trick. The Galaxy S9's camera really does better than the previous generation, even though the difference can only be seen when shooting at night.

By moving the HDR setting from Auto to Always On, you can be sure of great results in all conditions. I almost always took pictures in auto mode, using only the exposure compensation slider to adjust the frame. The manual Pro mode of the Samsung camera is also good, but it was frankly too lazy to work with it on an ongoing basis - the small switches and sliders on the ultra-sensitive screen are difficult to use, there are a lot of false clicks. It's easier to score and shoot everything in Auto.

because of high speed switching on the camera from a locked state and excellent ergonomics of the case, it is a real pleasure to use the Galaxy S9 as a photographic tool. For a long time I hated just walking around the city and snapping frames one by one.

Let's look at a series of test shots of the Galaxy S9 (scroll to the right):

Now about additional features Galaxy S9 cameras. This is primarily AR Emoji, a sort of attempt to answer Apple's Animoji. I would say that the attempt is extremely awkward, if not more crudely expressed. Animated men vaguely resemble the owner, but the almost complete absence of facial animation makes AR Emoji an extremely primitive thing. You can indulge in it once, but use it seriously - definitely not. It's even amazing how Samsung marketers came up with such nonsense.

Even AR Masks with snot and tears, in my opinion, look much more interesting and trashy than AR Emoji. A selfie with a mask, at least occasionally, can be sent to someone.

The next big innovation relates to video shooting. Samsung taught the Galaxy S9 camera to shoot 960 fps HD super slow motion video for 0.2 seconds (6 seconds at normal speed). This feature was implemented back in early 2017 in the Xperia XZ Premium and later Xperia smartphones.

Implemented slow motion video recording in Galaxy S9 is damp and awkward. Especially if we are talking about a mode where the camera itself determines when to slow down the shooting - almost always this is nonsense. It is possible to switch the 960 fps recording to manual mode, then the user himself will press the slow-mo activation button while recording a regular video.

The Galaxy S9's camera interface has also been redesigned from the Galaxy S8, but the differences are minimal. The main elements and the design of the main elements turned out to be adoptive, if you do not know what Samsung's designers have changed, then you will not understand.

Galaxy S9 review. Software and software capabilities

Samsung Galaxy S9 runs Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box, with Samsung Experience on top latest version... Believe it or not, I really liked the software component of the new Samsung. For the first time in my life, probably. 🙂

By the way, the Galaxy S9 supports Project Treble, which means you won't have to wait for the next major version of Android for months. Updates will arrive much faster.

The shell has been finalized, the interface is fast (I don’t know why everyone criticizes the slowness of the Galaxy S9 animations), the animations are beautiful. Apart from the useless Bixby, nothing pisses off. On the contrary, most branded services inspire respect for their functionality and sophistication. The same Samsung Health is almost the best application a similar plan on Android.

Useless Bixby is still useless in Russia and the CIS.

I am very pleased with the abundance of settings and deep customization (take at least the on-screen buttons). The weather widget and app after the solution seems to be perfect.

In general, the Galaxy S9 software is not at all as hopeless and lurid as it was on models with Android 7.0 Nougat. Perhaps this is the best shell on Android smartphones and a good example that any software product can be brought to mind. Even a seemingly hopeless one like TouchWiz. 😉

A little about the new face unlock. Galaxy S9 pioneered dual unlock technology - iris scanner + face scanner. When the sensor tries to unlock the smartphone in the face, the pinkish LED to the left of the earpiece comes on.

It looks futuristic, but in fact, I did not notice much of a difference compared to the previous generation. All the same, such unlocking is much slower than using a fingerprint scanner, and a bunch of conventions during its operation have not gone away (hold the smartphone near your face at the right angle, avoid backlight and all that).

It is still too early to refuse a fingerprint, because it is corny more convenient and much faster. Therefore, games with unlocking in the face are, of course, good, but not practical.

Galaxy S9 review. Performance and runtime

In Russia and European countries, you can buy the Galaxy S9 only in a version with Exynos 9810 and a 4/64 GB memory option. Samsung claims the Exynos 9810 is the equivalent of the Snapdragon 845, but numerous benchmarks suggest that the Exynos version is slightly weaker than the Snapdragon 845 version.

In real use of the Galaxy S9 on the Exynos 9810, I don't see any performance issues. The device feels like a flagship in all use cases.

Working hours.

Autonomy is probably the only weakness of the Samsung Galaxy S9. The 3000 mAh battery is clearly not enough for long-term work. In my scenario using Galaxy The S9 showed no more than 4.5 hours of screen on.

Despite the very economical AMOLED screen, the phone does not show the miracles of energy efficiency. Very average battery life compared to competitors.

Galaxy S9 review. Connectivity and sound quality

The quality of speech and communication is generally satisfactory, everything is fine. Although I do not remember that the premium Samsung phones Galaxy had a problem with that.

The Galaxy S9 and S9 + were the first Korean company's devices to feature stereo speakers. The layout is well known from other smartphones with stereo speakers - the main speaker is located at the bottom end, and the spoken one acts as an auxiliary one. The sound was tuned by the guys from AKG.

The sound quality and volume of the Galaxy S9's stereo speakers are excellent, even overwhelming given their compact size. Definitely not worse than in my HTC U11. They play very well.

With the sound in the headphones, the Galaxy S9 is simpler, because the dedicated DAC is on motherboard he doesn't. But they left the 3.5 mm jack, and did not follow the lead of the market and Apple. Didn't forget to put some nice plugs in the package. Most users will miss them.

Conclusion

Well, it's time to sum up Galaxy review S9. I confess, during and after the announcement, I was skeptical (if not hostile) to new Samsung flagships... I considered them "advertising flagships", clones of the Galaxy S8 and all that.

It turned out that he had thought in vain. Galaxy S9 is not only the first Samsung that you want to buy for personal use, but also just a cool smartphone regardless of my opinion. A product devoid of most of the shortcomings. I can hardly name just a couple - the unnecessary Bixby (which may get better over time) and the high price of 60,000 rubles. Otherwise, only positive aspects. Even the software shell with the arrival of Android 8.0 Oreo no longer enrages. I don't even know what to scold the Galaxy S9 for.

I will highlight the things that captivate the most - the screen, camera and ergonomics. The Galaxy S9 simply does not want to let go of the hands, it is so entertaining. Moreover, this does not mean that I became a fan of Samsung and now I will praise them, we are talking only about the small Galaxy S9.

If for some reason it doesn't suit you and you are looking for something similar to Android (in terms of the number of functions, branded accessories and features like wireless charging and Samsung Pay), feel free to look towards the Samsung Galaxy S9. The uncompromising smartphone.

Samsung Galaxy S9 became the protagonist of MWC 2018. AfterSamsung showed an improved version of last year's flagship, the revolution did not happen. Long before the announcement, we saw so many leaks that the whole intrigue was gone. We learned about the design, characteristics and price.

But the phone doesn't get any worse from this. We will thoroughly test the smartphone later and write a review, but for now, here are some reflections on the new Galaxy S9.

The design is old, but it is more convenient to use

Tru-geeks on the Internet will immediately name the 10 main differences between the Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy S8. The average customer does things differently. He walks into the store, takes new phone in his hand, trying to understand how it differs from the old one. Screen? Same. Housing? In general, it has not changed, although the phone has become a little larger, more grippy, more comfortable. Now that's good.

Samsung has improved the ergonomics, only the lazy did not scold it for the location of the fingerprint scanner. But in the case! I constantly got my finger in the wrong place, blindly confusing the sensor pad with the lens. Now, it seems like it will get better, but again, you need to walk around and try how this is in practice.

So, okay, what other changes? There is still protection from water, the 3.5 mm jack is retained, all this was before. But AKG stereo speakers appeared here for the first time, very good!

Fancy camera

In the photo, the Samsung S8 was good, but its ancestor, the Galaxy S7, was cool too. Basically, the camera moved from the S7 to the S8, but the S9 finally has a new technology, the variable aperture camera. What for? To take beautiful photos in low light, so as not to worry about the frame ruined at night.

True, only S9 + buyers will be able to enjoy the bells and whistles, but in the younger version of the S9 there is no such feature, which is a pity. Well, not everyone wants a phone with a very large screen! But if you buy an S9 +, then you have both portrait mode and super-smooth video shooting. Well, spend more money marketing!

More power

The battery capacity has not changed, the same 3,000 mAh. I think that the results of the running time will remain the same.

Of course, the filling has become even more powerful, the top-end Exynos and the new Qualcomm work wonders in benchmarks. Another thing is that in practice, putting S8 and S9 next to it, it is difficult to feel the difference in the speed of work, smartphones are nimble. Although the S9 has 4GB of RAM, just like the inexpensive Chinese phones for $ 200. They were greedy, but in vain, it would be better to shove 6 at once, as in the older S9 +.

Soft bells and whistles

Voice assistant Bixby last year, some publications even called the failure of the year, hinting at its backwardness compared to counterparts from Google and Apple. Honestly, I didn't use Bixby when I walked with the Note 8, I just turned everything off, so I won't criticize or praise. An improved Bixby has appeared in the new generation of Samsung smartphones, let's try, on occasion, to figure out what it is so good at and what it can do.

Other bells and whistles are animoji, more precisely, selfimoji. Samsung has copied Apple's animated face idea and offers it in its own way.

Judging by those familiar with the iPhone X, people use this fun function, but not very actively. In the case of Samsung, this fun looks a little strange, judging by the examples, the camera copies faces in a very abstract way. So there are strong suspicions that after the purchase and the first two hours of acquaintance with the smartphone, they will forget about it.

Carry your money

The new Galaxy S9 will be an expensive toy, for example Apple iPhone X turned out to be contagious. If Apple is raising the price, then why is Samsung worse? Apparently, this is what Samsung marketers thought when they were discussing which price tag to hang. For the sake of fairness, it should be said that in official retail the Galaxy S9 costs significantly less than the iPhone X. But in terms of characteristics it is also easier, it is more correct to compare the iPhone X with the Galaxy S9 +, and the difference between them is not so high. For objectivity I will take prices from "white" retail.

Apple iPhone X 64 GB costs 79,990 rubles.

Samsung Galaxy S9 - 59,990 rubles, S9 + 64 GB costs 66,990, and the version with 256 GB of memory 74,990 rubles.

For comparison, now the Galaxy S8 can be bought for 46,990 rubles in the same official retail, the S8 + costs 49,990 rubles.

Why pay more

As usual, the smartphone has become even more powerful, the camera has been improved, stereo speakers have been added, and ergonomics have been rethought. Samsung fans grumble, how is it, outwardly almost everything is the same, but now also at a higher price, why spend more money ?! And I can answer it only after a close acquaintance with the device, when you walk around with it for a month or two, feel the smartphone and understand its essence.

It's not for me to explain to you that the race for bells and whistles has come to a standstill. Flagships 2-3 years old are still relevant, not losing much in performance to new devices. Moving from a Galaxy S8 or even an S7 to an S9 will be boring.

But how many people are still walking around with a Galaxy S4 or S6! Now there will be a reason to look towards new products. Another thing is that when comparing features and prices, the Galaxy S8 + looks like a much better buy at the beginning of 2018 than the S9. But if you wait a few months, then prices, as is usually the case, will go down.

In addition, in Russia, smartphones on Android for 50-60 thousand rubles are bought much less often than different-colored iPhones at the same price. So we are waiting for new price wars between chains.

P.S. Great prices for Samsung smartphones from our friends in the friendliest gadget store Biggeek.ru! According to the promo code Apple iPhone X 64 GB costs 79,990 rubles. a special offer for you!