Samsung Galaxy S9 Exclusive

Today, Samsung’s Unpacked event took place where they unveiled their latest flagship; the S9. If you missed it then fret not because myself and @hellen_b, from Fira Montjuic, Barcelona, worked in collaboration to bring you the ultimate low down. You’ll find everything you need to know in this blog.

#dowhatyoucant

A Samsung specialist demonstrated the all-new S9 to show off how it works, especially for giffgaff. Check out the video:

Samsung Galaxy S9

Samsung are known for making premium looking smartphones that tick all the boxes when it comes to aesthetics. This was no different as DJ Koh (Head of IT & Communications) unveiled the Galaxy S9, which immediately shows off its beautiful infinity display; so beautiful you could totally just immerse yourself in the experience when watching videos, playing games, anything really. Especially at its astonishing 5.8” size, not to forget the fact that it’s a WQHD+ (Wide Quad HD) Super AMOLED display.

If that’s not big enough then there’s also the S9+, which rocks a 6.2” WQHD+ Super AMOLED display. Pair that up with its super sleek body made up of metal and glass and you’ve got yourself a pretty perfect smartphone in your palms. And as Justin Denison said “there’s no notch”; it’s just a beautiful smartphone with a totally uninterrupted display.

It’ll be available in Midnight Black, Titanium Grey, Coral Blue and the all-new Lilac Purple. Justin Denison reckons it’ll be the new favourite.

#The camera reimagined

With the hype around these three words, Jonathan Wong (Director of product marketing) took the stage to show off the all-new camera and the first thing he mentioned about it was, of course, the fact that it has dual aperture.

#Dual Aperture

Samsung have always impressed with their smartphone cameras but they’ve taken the camera game up a level. They’ve introduced an all-new 12MP Dual Aperture lens that works just like the human eye. You can switch between F/1.5 – F/2.4 on the rear camera. So, you can expect quality shots whether you’re in low light conditions or in a well-lit area. I’m keen to try this one out for sure.

#Super Slow-Mo

“Everyone loves Slow-mo”. Mr Wong is not wrong. I mean, haven’t you ever wanted to slow down time? The Super Slow-mo feature that is built into the camera helps do just that and Samsung had the Slow-mo guys show it off nicely.

It has an auto mode function that activates Motion detection; this would be extremely handy if you want to record yourself. Alternatively, there’s the manual mode. But, whichever way it’s used, you’ll get some super cool Slow-mo footage. Not just Slow-mo but Super Slow-mo; that means shooting at 960FPS (frames per second). Wowzers.

If that isn’t cool enough, these Slow-mo videos can be saved as GIFs and you can play them forwards or backwards. Nice! Reverse Slow-mo looks way too cool.

#AR Emoji

After causing some jaw-dropping moments, Erin Willis came on stage to throw a fun feature into the mix; AR Emoji. This feature lets you choose from a number of 3D characters that mimic your facial movements using the S9’s facial recognition sensors. Just open up the camera, go to AR emoji, create my emoji, use the front-facing camera to take a selfie and it’ll generate an animated version of you that mimics your facial expressions. Very cool.

This video shows AR Emoji in action. @hellen_b took the video right from the event itself.

The way we message is about to change; messages are about to become more personalised and much more lively. With 18 reactions to choose from and share, things are about to become a lot more fun. Oh yeah.

#Stereo Speaker

Mark Notton took the spotlight next to confirm that the S9 and S9+ will both come with built-in stereo speakers, which are located at the top and bottom of the phone, with Dolby Atmos surround sound that is tuned by AKG (an Acoustics company owned by Samsung). This can only mean one thing; cinematic sound and amazing bass. OK, that was two but hey our ears need the treat.

There’s also a headphone socket at the bottom of the phone, so you can embrace the amazing sound whether you’re listening directly from the S9 itself or through your headphones. Sweet.

#Technical Specification

The above are features Samsung announced that are exclusive to the Samsung S9 and S9+. On the whole though, the specifications are not significantly different from the S8. Here’s a quick comparison between the S9+, S9 and the S8:

Quick FAQ

When is it launching? The S9 and S9+ will be officially launched on 16th March. Register your interest here.

Note: you can now buy the S9 and S9+ directly from giffgaff.

Can I pre-order it? You can pre-order it from Friday 2nd March.

How much will it cost?

Galaxy S9 - £649 Galaxy S9+ - £749

First Impressions

Whilst watching the Unpacked event, I was incredibly immersed when Samsung showed off the reimagined camera with dual aperture. The S8 camera has really impressed me but it seems that Samsung have really upped the mobile photography game so this is, no doubt, my favourite feature of the new S9. The Super Slow-mo feature is cool too and, whilst it’s not a feature I would solely upgrade for, it’s definitely an epic bonus.

The AR Emoji feature is cool. It’s a step-up from Apple’s Animoji for sure as it creates an animated emoji of yourself, as opposed to superimposing yourself as a character. It’s more a fun little feature as opposed to something we really need though.

The stereo speakers are most definitely a step in the right direction. It’s definitely about time smartphones came with stereo speakers with surround sound because listening to music straight out of a smartphone isn’t the best experience. Totally looking forward to listening to some beats on this device.

The question is, S9 or S9+?