Samsung today launched the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+, the company’s latest flagship smartphones at an event in India, as it had promised. These were introduced at the MWC last week and have variable aperture cameras. The S9 has a 12-megapixel rear camera with variable aperture tech that uses f/1.5 aperture for night shots for a brighter picture and f/2.4 aperture for normal shots in daytime. The S9+ has a secondary 12MP Telephoto lens for live focus for bokeh effect with background blur.
Both these have 960fps Super Slow-mo video option and also have automatic Motion Detection and an intelligent feature that detects movement in the frame and automatically begins to record. After capturing the Super Slow-mo video, you can also select background music from 35 different options or add a tune from their favorite playlist.
Both the phones have Infinity Display – an end-to-end, bezel-less screen that extends to the phone’s sides. S9 comes with a 5.8-inch Quad HD+ screen and the S9+ comes with a 6.2-inch Quad HD+ screen, both with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection on the front and the back, same as the predecessors. The company says that the screen is now 15% brighter than the S8 series.
These also have stereo speakers tuned by AKG and support Dolby Atmos. The company says that it has loudest speakers in a Galaxy smartphone till date. It also has AR Emoji that uses machine learning to analyse and map more than 100 facial features to create a 3D model that reflects and imitates expressions. It can be exported to video or stickers and uses a standard AGIF file format that lets you share with third-party messaging platforms.
In addition to VoLTE support, it also comes with 4G LTE Carrier Aggregation on Airtel and Jio in select cities that promises 2.5X faster speeds compared to normal 4G or up to 250Mbps download speeds.
Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ specifications
- S9 – 5.8-inch Quad HD+ (2960 × 1440 pixels) Super AMOLED Infinity display with 570ppi, Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection
- S9+ – 6.2-inch Quad HD+ (2960 × 1440 pixels) Super AMOLED Infinity display with 529ppi, Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection
- Octa-Core Samsung Exynos 9 Series 9810 processor with Mali G72MP18 GPU
- S9 – 4GB LPDDR4x RAM with 64GB/256GB storage (UFS 2.1), expandable memory up to 400GB with microSD
- S9+ – 6GB LPDDR4x RAM with 64GB/256GB storage (UFS 2.1), expandable memory up to 400GB with microSD
- Android 8.0 (Oreo)
- Hybrid Dual SIM (nano + nano / microSD)
- S9 – 12MP Dual Pixel rear camera with LED Flash, f/2.4-f/1.5 variable aperture, 960fps super slo-mo
- S9+ – 12MP primary rear camera with f/2.4-f/1.5 variable aperture, LED Flash, 960fps super slo-mo, 12MP secondary rear camera with f/2.4 aperture
- 8MP auto focus front-facing camera with wide-angle lens, f/1.7 aperture
- Water and dust resistant (IP68)
- Stereo speakers tuned by AKG, Dolby Atmos
- Sensors – Accelerometer, Barometer, Fingerprint Sensor, Gyro Sensor, Geomagnetic Sensor, Hall Sensor, Heart Rate Sensor, Proximity Sensor, RGB Light Sensor, Iris Sensor, Pressure Sensor
- S9 Dimensions: 147.7mm x 68.7mm x 8.5mm; Weight: 163g
- S9+ Dimensions: 158.1mm x 73.8mm x 8.5mm; Weight: 189g
- 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac (2.4/5GHz), VHT80 MU-MIMO, Bluetooth 5 (LE up to 2Mbps), GPS with GLONASS, USB 3.1, NFC, MST
- S9 – 3000mAh battery with fast Charging both on wired and wireless (WPC and PMA) charging
- S9+ – 3500mAh battery with fast Charging both on wired and wireless (WPC and PMA) charging
The Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ will be available in Midnight Black, Coral Blue and Lilac Purple colors in India.
Pricing and availability
- Samsung Galaxy S9 64GB – Rs. 57,900
- Samsung Galaxy S9 256GB (Midnight Black) – Rs. 65,900
- Samsung Galaxy S9+ 64GB – Rs. 64,900
- Samsung Galaxy S9+ 256GB (Midnight Black) – Rs. 72,900
Both the phones are available for pre-order starting from 2PM today, exclusively on Flipkart. Pre-booking began last week on Samsung Shop. It is also available for order from select retail stores offline. It will start shipping from March 16th. The 256GB variant of Galaxy S9+ will be sold exclusively at Reliance Digital stores, Samsung exclusive stores and Samsung Shop.
Launch offers
- Paytm mall cashback – Rs. 6000
- HDFC Credit Card cashback (on both EMI and non EMI transactions) of Rs. 6000 or cashback when making a full payment using HDFC Credit Cards or by paying through HDFC CD Loan
- Up to 22,500 off on exchange + additional exchange bonus of Rs. 6000 on select phones
- No Cost EMIs on 3/6/9/12/18 months on Samsung Shop
- Airtel – Own an S9 at down payment of Rs. 9900 and monthly postpaid tariff of Rs. 2499 over 24 months and get 2TB data and other benefits
- Airtel – Special “Double Data” offer on Airtel Infinity Rs. 499 (80GB) & Rs. 799 (120GB) postpaid plans with Unlimited voice & SMS + Amazon Prime (1 year) + Handset Protection
- Jio – Rs. 4999 annual plan offers 1TB data, unlimited calls and SMS
- Vodafone – 1 year free Netflix subscription on RED plans starting at Rs.999 till April 30, 2018
- Vodafone pre-paid – Recharge with Rs. 199 and get unlimited voice and 1.4GB/day and an additional 10GB free data every month for next 10 recharges.
Check out the hands-on impressions.