The Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus phones have been unveiled in Barcelona. You can watch a replay of Samsung's press conference on YouTube, but we already have all of the new details on the new phones, including specs, pricing and initial hands-on impressions.
Samsung Galaxy S9: The baseline version of Samsung's new superphone has a 5.8-inch screen, runs the latest Android Oreo operating system and puts the focus squarely on its new variable aperture camera, which is designed to maximize low-light photos. The S9 also moves the rear fingerprint sensor to a more sensible position -- below the camera, rather than next to it. The S9 hits March 16 staring at $720, but it will cost more on some carriers. Preorders begin March 2.
Now Playing: Watch this: Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus: Our first look
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus: This year, bigger really is better. In addition to a larger 6.2-inch screen and a bigger battery, the S9 Plus adds a dual rear camera not found on the smaller S9. Of course, it will cost more: Pricing starts at $840.
Hands-on and full details: Galaxy S9 Plus hands-on: 3 ways it tops the Galaxy S9
Samsung DeX Pad: Following up on last year's DeX Dock, the DeX Pad is a dock that turns a Galaxy S9 or S9 Plus into a desktop PC (once you connect a keyboard and monitor). The phone's screen doubles as a touchpad if you don't have a mouse handy. It's intended for corporate customers. Pricing hasn't yet been set.
Specs comparisons and buying advice:
Hands-on video and analysis:
Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus: Hands-on with Samsung's iPhone X fighters.
MWC 2018: All of CNET's coverage from the biggest phone show of the year.
SAMSUNG Galaxy S9 akan diluncurkan Senin 26 Februari 2018 ini, dan pada dasarnya, setiap aspek dari telefon tersebut telah bocor.
Samsung Galaxy S9 adalah kelanjutan dari kesuksesan panjang Galaxy S8 tahun lalu. Dengan seri ponsel Galaxy S miliknya, Samsung biasanya memanfaatkan konferensi Mobile World Congress (MWC) tahunan di Barcelona sebagai ajang perkenalan.
Perusahaan tersebut biasanya meluncurkan telefon satu atau dua hari sebelumnya. Namun tahun ini berbeda , bos Mobile Samsung telah mengkonfirmasi bahwa debutnya akan terjadi di MWC 2018.
Tahun ini, MWC 2018 akan dimulai 26 Februari sampai 1 Maret dan konferensi pers Samsung Galaxy S9 dilaksanakan satu hari sebelum nya, pada tanggal 25 Februari.
Samsung Galaxy S9 mungkin tidak langsung tersedia di toko setelah peluncuran. Seperti Galaxy S8 tahun lalu yang belum mulai dijual sampai tiga minggu setelah diluncurkan.
The Sun menyebut, menurut sumber terpercaya dan jurnalis teknologi Evan Blass, Samsung baru akan membuka pemesanan pada 1 Maret dan tanggal rilis yang pasti adalah tanggal 16 Maret.
Samsung Galaxy S9 akan menjadi ponsel kelas atas yang berarti akan memiliki desain apik dan fitur terkini.
Untuk desain, banyak yang berharap bisa melihat gaya yang serupa dengan Galaxy S8. Hal itu berarti layar depan dengan bezel yang lebih tipis yang Samsung sebut “Infinity Display”.
Rumor dari sumber di industrinya menunjukkan bahwa layar Super AMOLED 5,8 inci yang sama akan dipertahankan juga dengan rasio aspek 18,5: 9 yang unik untuk boot.
Hasil akhirnya bisa menjadi ponsel space-age ramping dengan rasio layar 90% yang luar biasa, naik dari 84% di Galaxy S8.
Beberapa ahli percaya Samsung bisa menggunakan teknologi baru dari Qualcomm atau Synaptics untuk menempatkan pemindai sidik jari di bawah layar.
Hal itu bisa memuaskan penggemar yang menginginkan Samsung memindahkan sensor ke bagian belakang ponsel.
Penempatan sensor yang kurang tepat membuat pengguna sering mendapati dirinya mengecap kamera dengan jari mereka.
Kamera Samsung Galaxy S9 diperkirakan akan mengalami perubahan besar-besaran seperti diumumkan dalam ajang resmi MWC 2018 di Singapura. Perusahaan tersebut mengatakan akan "mencermati ulang" fotografi smartphone.
ET News Korea melaporkan, Samsung sedang mengerjakan pengambilan video gerakan lambat yang luar biasa.
Ternyata, raksasa teknologi Korea Selatan itu sedang mengembangkan kamera yang bisa merekam video dengan kecepatan 1.000 frame per detik dan akan mengalahkan pesaingnya. Sebagai perbandingan, iPhone baru milik Apple X hanya memotret video slow-mo 240 frame per detik.
Kinerjanya mungkin akan menjadi besar juga. Ponsel ini kemungkinan menggunakan prosesor Exynos 9810 milik Samsung sendiri atau Snapdragon 845 yang juga kuat dari Qualcomm.
Snapdragon 845 adalah chip inti okta yang beroperasi di 2.8GHz dan dikatakan menawarkan dorongan kinerja 30% dari pendahulunya.
Dominic Sunnebo, Global Director di Kantar Worldpanel ComTech memperkirakan pemenang dalam pertempuran para raksasa: Galaxy S9 melawan iPhone X.
Menurut Dominic Sunnebo, iPhone X "bermain mempertipis ketertinggalan" dengan Galaxy S8 tahun lalu, tetapi Samsung harus tetap berada di depan untuk bersaing dengan merek Apple yang kuat.
"Hampir pasti bahwa Galaxy S9 akan menampilkan kamera dual-lens dan prosesor Exynos in-house terbaru untuk menggabungkan kemampuan Qualcomm 845 yang baru, yang memungkinkan pengisian baterai 50% hanya dalam 15 menit," Katanya.
Untuk sementara kami tidak akan tahu harga resminya, tapi cukup adil untuk mengatakan bahwa harga Samsung Galaxy S9 mungkin akan sangat mahal.
Galaxy S8 tahun lalu dijual dengan harga yang sangat tinggi yaitu 689 Poundsterling, naik drastis dari Galaxy S7. Harga Samsung Galaxy S8 lebih sesuai dengan rivalnya, iPhone 8 seharga 699 Poundsterling.
Rumor terbaru menunjukkan bahwa kita bisa membeli Galaxy S9 seharga Rp 19 juta atau mahal dari model tahun lalu. Dominic Sunnebo memperkirakan bahwa harga produk terbaru ini adalah 789 poundsterling.
Dominic Sunnebo memperkirakan harga Samsung Galaxy S9 akan jauh lebih mahal.
"Galaxy S8 menjadi penawaran premium Samsung sampai saat ini dan tersedia di Inggris dengan harga 869 Poundsterling ," kata Dominic Sunnebo.
"Rilis seri Galaxy S biasanya harganya di bawah Samsung Galaxy Note. Jadi, kita memperkirakan harga peluncurannya sekitar 829 Poundsterling ," ujarnya. (Umi Soliha)***
Last year, Samsung walked out of the ashes of the Note 7 debacle and launched the Galaxy S8, which was one of the best phones of 2017 and one of the best products Samsung ever made. So it’s not much of a surprise that this year’s Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus, which will be available for preorder on March 2nd and arrive in stores on March 16th, aren’t hugely different from the S8 phones.
In fact, the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus are so similar to their predecessors that on passing glance, they look and feel exactly the same. The S9 pair maintain the S8’s attractive and efficient design, with extra tall 18.5:9 screens, curved sides, and glass front and backs. The 5.8-inch (S9) and 6.2-inch (S9 Plus) screens are the same Super AMOLED panels with 2960 x 1440 pixel resolutions, though Samsung says they are slightly brighter this year. Also interesting, though the phones look and feel the same as last year’s models, they have slightly different dimensions and weigh a little more, so don’t expect to be able to use an S8 case on an S9.
The other reason you won’t be able to reuse cases is the one major exterior change: Samsung moved the fingerprint scanner from the right of the camera to below it, which should make it much easier to use, especially on the larger S9 Plus. Though it’s not an in-screen fingerprint scanner, as some might have hoped for, it will likely be a noticeable improvement over the old design. Otherwise, the button layout (including the dreaded Bixby button) and other hardware features, such as the 3.5mm headphone jack, remain the same as before. You won’t see the difference with the S9’s new speakers, which now produce stereo sound and are 40 percent louder, according to Samsung, but you’ll sure be able to hear them.
If you’ve been following the numerous leaks of the S9 ahead of today’s official announcement, none of the following will be a surprise, but I’ll confirm the specs for you here: the S9 runs Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 processor (in North America, other markets can expect to see Samsung’s latest Exynos processor); has either 4GB (S9) or 6GB (S9 Plus) of RAM; comes with 64GB of storage and support for microSD cards; has a 3,000mAh (S9) or 3,500mAh (S9 Plus) battery; is IP68 dust and water resistant; and supports both fast wired and fast wireless charging. Like the S8, the S9 is a gigabit phone, but this year it can support speeds up to 1.2Gbps and supports 600MHz frequencies for T-Mobile.
The S9’s camera has a mechanically adjustable aperture
The big, highlight new feature is the S9’s new camera system, which comes as a single lens on the S9 and a dual camera on the S9 Plus. The new camera is Samsung’s first with a mechanically adjustable aperture (not counting the China-only flip phone launched late last year), which can switch between a very bright f/1.5 to a smaller f/2.4 depending on exposure conditions. The bright aperture lets in 28 percent more light than the S8’s f/1.7 lens, and the f/2.4 aperture is said to help prevent overexposure in bright scenes, such as a sunny outdoor day. The camera app is able to switch between the apertures as necessary, or you can manually control them using the pro mode in the app. Of note: the aperture can switch between f/1.5 and f/2.4, but cannot be set to values in between. Still, two aperture options are basically twice as many as you get with any other phone.
In addition to the new adjustable aperture, the S9’s 12-megapixel camera sensor includes second-generation dual-pixel autofocus tech for faster and more reliable focusing, improved multi-frame noise reduction for a claimed 30 percent better low-light performance, and the ability to record slow-motion video at up to 960 frames per second (at 720p resolution). The camera app has also been redesigned with quicker access to its various modes by swiping between them, much like how the iPhone’s camera app works. Copycat or not, it’s an improvement over the old app.
The S9 Plus’ second rear camera does not have the variable aperture feature but works similarly to the Note 8’s dual camera system. It has an f/2.4 lens that gets you two times closer to your subject than the wide-angle camera and allows for portrait-mode blurring effects (which Samsung calls “Live Focus”). Both phones have the same 8-megapixel f/1.7 autofocus front camera as last year’s models.
Integrated into the new camera app is Samsung’s take on the iPhone X’s Animoji, which it calls AR Emoji. It lets you capture an image of your face, and using over 100 points, it builds a custom 3D character with your features. The app then creates 18 animated GIF “stickers” that are accessible in the keyboard for use in messaging apps. You can customize the look of your character with different hairstyles, glasses, and outfits, as well. AR Emoji aren’t quite the same as Animoji — the tracking isn’t nearly as precise and it’s not animals — but it’s more similar to a 3D Bitmoji character.
For software, the S9 will launch with Android 8.0 Oreo, but much like the hardware, the design isn’t hugely different from the software on the S8. Samsung has redesigned parts of the Bixby app, most notably the camera features, which can now be used to estimate calories in food and provide faster real-time translation. The company has signed up new partnerships with retailers such as Sam’s Club and Nordstrom to let you purchase items directly through Bixby, as well as makeup from Sephora and Cover Girl.
The Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus work with the same Gear VR that launched alongside the Note 8, as well as Google’s Daydream View headset. They also work with last year’s DeX Station, which lets you use the phone as a full computer with a monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Samsung is also releasing a new DeX device called the DeX Pad. The Pad does not prop the phone up like the station, but instead allows it to lie flat, where it can be used as a trackpad or keyboard. The S9 can support external displays up to 2K resolution, and Samsung says it has signed up between 30 and 40 partners to make DeX optimized applications. One of those is the Final Fantasy XV, which will come preloaded on the device.
Though Samsung didn’t make a lot of changes to its formula for the S9, the ones it did make should be appreciated, and it will likely be a popular phone this year. It’s interesting how there are more things different between the smaller S9 and larger S9 Plus this year, which might make it harder for those looking for a compact phone with all of the bells and whistles.
The S9 will be available on all major carriers in the US as well as unlocked direct from Samsung. Pricing for the unlocked models is $719.99 and $839.99 , while carrier pricing ranges from $720 and $840 to $800 and $930. US customers will be able to choose between black, purple, or blue color options at launch, while a grey model will also be available internationally. It’s likely that other color options will be made available later in the year.
We’ll have plenty more to say about the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.
