After all the speculation, rumors and leaks that had been surrounding the two upcoming handsets for months, they are finally here. Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S9 and S9+ at the MWC 2018 yesterday and here's everything that you need to know about the two handsets.

The Big Change

Perhaps one of the biggest changes which the S-series saw this year with the S9 and the S9+ was the stark separation between the regular and the "Plus" model. Following Apple's footsteps, the S9 will now come with a comparatively inferior single camera setup, while only the S9+ will be sporting the dual camera setup. Additionally, the S9 will just be having 4GB of RAM, while the S9+ will enjoy better multitasking with 6GB of RAM.

Variable Aperture

The lenses on smartphone cameras are usually so small that variable aperture has never really been a feasible option, until now. Apparently, both the S9 and the S9+ will be featuring a camera with variable aperture. Which means that when there's ample natural light to work with the user will be able to use f/2.4 for sharper images, but when the amount of light available is too low, the lens will switch to an ultra-high aperture size of f/1.5 to allow a great deal of light to enter though the lens.

Super Slow Motion

Just like the Sony Xperia XZ Premium, the S9 and S9+ are capable of capturing super slow-motion videos at 960fps, but at 720p only. It lasts just for a few seconds, but kicks in at the right time by automatically detecting motion.

Stereo Speakers

Not only are the speakers louder this year, the earpiece will also act as a second speaker, making it a stereo combination. The actual sound quality is not much different from what we saw on the Galaxy S8 last year though.

Repositioned Fingerprint Scanner

The fingerprint scanner has been repositioned under the camera this year around, which is an expected and welcome change.

AR Emoji

Yup, it's quite similar to Apple's Animojis, with a few added features. Now you will be able to create animated versions of yourself with the AR Emoji feature on an Android smartphone as well, if that sort of thing appeals to you of course.

More Stuff

The S9 and the S9+ look quite similar to the S8 and S8+ with their identical QHD+, 18.5:9, Super AMOLED displays at 5.8 and 6.2-inches respectively, but both of them are packing much more powerful hardware underneath, thanks to either the Exynos 9810 SoC or the SD 845 SoC. All other specs from the S8 and S8+ are almost the same and Samsung has still retained the 3.5mm audio jack thankfully! Color options for the devices include Midnight Black, Coral Blue, and Lilac Purple in the US.

Availability

Although the pricing details have not yet been revealed, the phones will become available in stores from March 16. As always, pre-orders will open much sooner.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

We are hardly more than a day away from the launch of the Galaxy S9 and S9+ at the Mobile World Congress 2018 on February 25, so it's about time we got a leak that informed us how much it would cost to pocket one of these! As per the leak, the Galaxy S9 will cost roughly 841 euros (1034 USD approx.) and the S9+ will expectedly be much more expensive at 997 euros (1225 USD approx.). If these leaks are to be believed then the S9 and S9+ will be quite a bit more expensive than the S8 (799 euros) and S8+ (899 euros), but that's to be expected.

It is almost strange that we live in a time when smartphones have become more expensive than full-fledged computers and while modern smartphones are amazing, it almost leads one to question, how much is too much? Nevertheless, the increasing costs doesn't seem to be affecting sales in any way for Samsung or Apple, so there's that!

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

 

It has finally happened; mere days away from the official launch date, a new leak has revealed live images of the Galaxy S9. It may not have been a big deal last year, but it is a big deal this year because unlike the situation with the Galaxy S8 in 2017, there has hardly been any reliable live photos for fans to have a look at pre-release. Although, that has not kept the internet from finding out and leaking all the details about the Galaxy S9/S9+ and if these live images are anything to go by, the leaksters were pretty much spot on with their reports!

The photos you are seeing comes from Vietnam and was leaked on Twitter by SamsungMobile.News (@Samsung_News_). The single camera module on the back confirms that this is indeed the Galaxy S9 and not the S9+. So, do you like what you see? Or do you think it looks way too much like the S8? Is the 3D emoji feature, a more powerful SoC and the f/1.5 camera enough to make you switch from your S8? Do let us know all this in the comments.

Via: SamMobile

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

While it would not be Samsung's first try to get into the social networking market, none of the company's previous efforts have been anything remarkable to remember them for. However, all that might change with what is supposed to the Korean giant's latest foray into social networking; aka, Uhssup.

All we know about Uhssup is that Samsung trademarked the name with the EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office) last month and the description in the patent mentioned that the app would allow for social communication and real-time location sharing with friends. However, today's news does carry an update with it and it comes straight from Korea via Heraldcorp. Apparently, Samsung is going to launch Uhssup with the Galaxy S9 and S9+, both of which will come preloaded with the social networking app.

Given that last year's Bixby AI assistant was not a success for Samsung and also the fact that there are a ton of popular social networking apps like Whatsapp and FB Messenger out there already that  allow users to do the same things that Uhssup will probably allow them to do, things are not really loking very good for the future of this app at this point. Let's just hope that Samsung has something more up its sleeve for Uhssup than only what the rumors are suggesting.

Via: SamMobile

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

The Galaxy S9 is going to be launched in exactly a week's time at the Mobile World Congress 2018 in Barcelona, but most rumors and leaks suggest that there won't be too many differences in-between the Galaxy S8/S8+ and the Galaxy S9/S9+ this year. So, is that true? Well, as far as design language and display goes, they are almost going to be identical from the outset, but there will definitely be a lot of upgrades, so we will discuss the most significant ones next.

A Shift towards Apple

Previously, the difference between a Galaxy S Plus and the regular Galaxy S was only of size, but starting from 2018, the S9+ will sport an exclusive dual camera setup while the S9 will have to stay content with a single rear camera. If this reminds you of Apple's marketing tactics, you are not the only one to think so! The good news is that both the S9 and the S9+ will sport at least one camera with f/1.5 aperture, which means that both phones will offer superb lowlight photography options to its users.

More Power but Same Memory

There will likely be a 6GB RAM/128GB storage option for the S9+ later on in certain parts of the globe, but Samsung is sticking with its 4GB RAM/64GB storage model initially.

Stereo Speakers

If rumors are to be believed then the Galaxy S-series will likely sport two speakers for the first time this year.

3D Emojis

Apple's Animojis have gained a lot of popularity recently, in spite of seeming ridiculous at first and Samsung will probably launch an enhanced version of the 3D emojis with the S9.

Relocated Fingerprint Scanner

Surprisingly enough, neither Samsung nor Apple could get the under-the-display fingerprint scanner to work with their phones, but Vivo did! In any case, the good new is that the S9 and S9+ will have full sized, rear-mounted fingerprint scanners just below the camera/cameras at the back, instead of the misplaced, tiny fingerprint scanners that only helped to smudge the camera on the S8, S8+ and the Note 8 last year.

The Exynos Version Might be Significantly More Powerful

If the latest Geekbench tests are to be believed, then the Exynos 9810 which will be powering the Galaxy S9 and S9+ in the international variants will be quite a bit more powerful than the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845. The difference may not feel like anything too significant during less-demanding activities, but it will likely still be felt during gaming.

If you have a Galaxy S8 or S8+, do you think these upgrades are enough to make you upgrade again this year, or are you going to skip a generation?

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)