All agog over the S9

SAMSUNG officially introduced to the world its latest top-of-the-line smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S9 series, at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, on Feb 27.
For those who have been keeping a close eye on Samsung, very little of the reveal was a surprise. Details and videos of the Galaxy S9 and S9+ had leaked long before the announcement, making the phones one of the worst-kept secrets at MWC this year.
A few days later, Samsung Malaysia Electronics brought the Galaxy S9 and S9+ to our shores, to give members of the media here a first-hand look and try-out of its latest flagship.
At first blush, the Galaxy S9 and S9+ look like a culmination and improvement of everything Samsung learned from the Galaxy S8 and S8+, including some features comparable to other brands’ flagship hardware.
The screen on the S9 is an improved 5.8in QHD+ Infinity Display. Likewise, the S9+ sports a 6.2in curved Super Amoled screen with the same 18.5:9 aspect ratio, similar to the display we have seen on the S8 and S8+.
To make logging in easier, Samsung has implemented an improved iris and facial recognition system called Intelligent Scan, that switches between the two depending on the situation.
It also moved the fingerprint sensor to below the camera.
For the first time, the Galaxy S9 and S9+ use two speakers tuned by AKG to create an immersive and loud sound system that takes advantage of Dolby Atmos-encoded media. It is quite impressive.
For the camera of the S9, we got a dual-aperture sensor, while the S9+ gets a dual-camera setup.
The primary camera on both models is rated at 12MP, with the ability to switch physically between f1.5 and f2.4 aperture.
The secondary camera on the S9+ is also a 12MP shooter, with a fixed f2.4 aperture.
The f1.5 aperture improves the camera’s low-light performance, while its ability to instantaneously and mechanically switch between two apertures lets the camera adapt faster between light and dark, and take better-attuned pictures in both situations.
A new feature of the S9 and S9+ camera is its ability to record in ‘Super Slow-Mo’, or in technical terms, 960 frames per second.
However, the camera is only able to record 0.2 seconds of action at a time, which it then expands to a six-second clip.
On the front side, both the S9 and the S9+ get an 8MP f1.7 camera with autofocus.
This camera can be used to create and puppeteer virtual avatars of the users. The feature, dubbed AR Emoji, is said to work with third-party messenger apps as well.
Overall, both the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ look to be an impressive package.
Earlier, Samsung had offered a special pre-order package for the Galaxy S9 and S9+. With a deposit of RM300 for each preorder, the purchasers received a free Harman Kardon Onyx Mini Bluetooth Speaker worth RM699.
The Galaxy S9 will only be available with 64GB of storage for RM3,299, while the Galaxy S9+ will be available in 64GB of storage for RM3,799, 128GB for RM3,999, and 256GB for RM4,399.
For the Malaysian market, the Galaxy S9 and S9+ come in lilac purple, midnight black, and coral blue.
However, the Galaxy S9+ with 256GB storage will only be available in midnight black.
Meanwhile, for those looking to upgrade to a Galaxy S9 series phone, there is a trade-up-and-save plan which ends on April 30.
For more, visit the Samsung Malaysia official website.