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Samsung Announces the Galaxy S9 With a Dual Aperture Camera, AR Emojis (arstechnica.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the new-and-improved dept.

Samsung has taken the wraps off of its latest flagship, the Galaxy S9, at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. The S9 features a familiar body with an upgraded camera, relocated fingerprint scanner, and newer processor. As usual, there are two versions: the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+. Ars Technica reports: The S9 is one of the first phones announced with the new 2.8Ghz Snapdragon 845 SoC in the US, while the international version will most likely get an Exynos 9810. Qualcomm is promising a 25-percent faster CPU and 30-percent faster graphics compared to the Snapdragon 835. The rest of the base S9 specs look a lot like last year, with 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, a 3000mah battery, and a 5.8-inch 2960x1440 OLED display. The S9+ gets the usual bigger screen (6.2 inches @ 2960x1440) and bigger battery (3500mAh), but one improvement over last year is a RAM bump to 6GB. Neither RAM option is really outstanding for a phone this expensive, considering the much cheaper OnePlus 5T will give you 6GB and 8GB options for RAM at a much lower price. Both S9 models have headphone jacks, MicroSD slots, a new stereo speaker setup (one bottom firing, one doubles as the earpiece), IP68 dust and water resistance, wireless charging, and ship with Android 8.0 Oreo.

Both the Galaxy S9 versions are getting a main camera with two aperture settings. Just like a real camera, the Galaxy S9 has a set of (very tiny) aperture blades that can move to change the amount of incoming light. On the S9 they're limited to two different positions, resulting in f/1.5 and f/2.4 apertures. In low light the aperture can open up to f/1.5 to collect as much light as possible, while in normal or bright light it can switch to f/2.4 for a wider depth of field. Samsung is also answering Apple's Animojis with "AR Emoji." They work just like Apple's Animoji: using the front sensors to perform a primitive version of motion capture, the phone syncs up a character's facial expressions to your facial expressions. The Galaxy S9 clocks in at $719.99 and the S9+ is going for $839.99. In the U.S., preorders start March 2 at all four major carriers, and the phones ship out on March 16.

9 of 137 comments (clear)

  1. 5.8 inch screen by SeaFox · · Score: 2

    I'll have to get myself a man-purse to carry it in.

    1. Re:5.8 inch screen by Opportunist · · Score: 3, Funny

      The true status symbol is the lackey walking behind you, carrying your phone and helping you hold it to make a call.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  2. AR Emojis?! by nagora · · Score: 5, Funny

    Wow, that would be a real selling point if I were 6 years old.

    --
    "Encyclopedia" is to "Wikipedia" what "Library" is to "Some people at a bus stop"
    1. Re:AR Emojis?! by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I see it somewhat differently. If Animoji and AR emoji are really what passes for cutting edge new features that differentiate flagship phones now, it means there’s very little reason to upgrade your phone anymore - unless it breaks.

      Now, get off my lawn.

      --
      #DeleteChrome
  3. Anyone who... by ckatko · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Anyone who pays $1000 for a phone, I don't care if they get a deal or ripped off. You're still blowing a grand on something that will become less useful than a toaster in 5 years.

    I cannot fathom--for the life of me--how people can convince themselves to spend a grand on something that sends text messages and snaps selfies. You can buy a fucking 4K TV >65" for a grand. I should know, I bought a Samsung 55" for ~$800.

    A thousand bucks buys you an insanely good guitar, violin, or damn near anything else. You could buy a full VR setup. But somehow, for a phone that does what everyone else's does (but it loads Facebook 25% faster! omg!) and will become trash within 5 years... how... what... is EVERYONE RICHER THAN ME? Does no one have to make careful decisions about where to spend their money? I can live in my rental _house_ for two months (1/6th of the year!) for the price of one of those phones. I could build an amazing PC for a grand. I could buy a pretty damn good laptop for a grand and it would be USEFUL for at least ten years. My wife's old i5 laptop her grandparents bought her for school 6+ years ago is still fast enough to run 4K YouTube, games, and more.

    1. Re:Anyone who... by jareth-0205 · · Score: 2

      Two things I think are going on - the price is often pretty opaque once you take into account the carrier deals that you get, you still pay the $1000 but it feels different spread over 2 years, and combined with the service charge. The other is that all those other things you mentioned you spend less time infront of than your phone - and a phone is a multipurpose device that comes with you and is useful everywhere. I personally would never spend $1000 on a TV because my £300 from a few years ago is better still than I can imagine, and I spend at most an hour infront of it per day. My phone comes with me everywhere and screenon time by the end of each day is 4-5 hours.

      A phone is a one-time cost. $1000 over 2 years is $1.38 / day. Many people spend double that on coffee.

    2. Re:Anyone who... by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 2, Insightful

      LOL spotted the guy who bought an expensive phone and is super insecure about it.

      --
      Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
  4. Wow! What features! by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Insightful

    AR Emojis! And a relocated fingerprint scanner! And all for merely the price of a new laptop!

    In case you wondered why people stop buying phones like crazy...

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    1. Re:Wow! What features! by Opportunist · · Score: 2

      There is another inherent danger: Security issues. The more something can do, the more can be exploited. We have actually bought old non-smart phones for a few key applications where making phone calls and receiving text messages is all we need, simply to make absolutely certain that no security problem can arise from any of the "smart" features of the phone.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.