Does it really make sense to buy the Galaxy S9?
If you're thinking about upgrading, the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ are a couple of the best Android smartphones on the market right now. But, will they still be winners when the Note 9 arrives this August, or when the Galaxy S10 comes out in early 2019? Read on to find out whether or not you should wait to upgrade.
The S9 vs the current competition
The Samsung Galaxy S9 and it's larger sibling, the Galaxy S9+, are hands down two of the best flagships available today. The S9 and S9+ are powered by the Snapdragon 845, Qualcomm's top SoC of the moment, with 4 and 6 GB of RAM and 3,000 and 3,500 mAh battery capacity, respectively.
The performance is comparable to the top flagships of the moment, like the OnePlus 6 and LG G7 ThinQ which share the same Snapdragon 845 processor, and the camera can keep up with even the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, though they each have their different strengths and weaknesses. Be sure to check out our full S9 and S9+ camera review for the details.
Design-wise, you can't beat the elegance of the glass and curves on the S9 and S9+. Plus, the 5.8 and 6.2-inch AMOLED displays didn't let us down in our in-depth display review, as expected given Samsung's reputation for gorgeous displays.
Below you'll find the full specs of the S9 and S9+. As you can see, these specs can definitely rival those of new flagships which came out in 2018.
Samsung Galaxy S9 vs. Samsung Galaxy S9+ technical specifications
| Samsung Galaxy S9 | Samsung Galaxy S9+ | |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions: | 147.7 x 68.7 x 8.5 mm | 158.1 x 73.8 x 8.5 mm |
| Weight: | 163 g | 189 g |
| Battery size: | 3000 mAh | 3500 mAh |
| Screen size: | 5.8 in | 6.2 in |
| Display technology: | AMOLED | AMOLED |
| Screen: | 2960 x 1440 pixels (568 ppi) | 2960 x 1440 pixels (531 ppi) |
| Front camera: | 8 megapixels | 8 megapixels |
| Rear camera: | 12 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Flashlight: | LED | LED |
| Android version: | 8.0 - Oreo | 8.0 - Oreo |
| RAM: | 4 GB | 6 GB |
| Internal storage: | 64 GB 256 GB | 64 GB 256 GB |
| Removable storage: | microSD | microSD |
| Chipset: | Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 Samsung Exynos 9810 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 Samsung Exynos 9810 |
| Number of cores: | 8 | 8 |
| Max. clock speed: | 2.7 GHz | 2.7 GHz |
| Connectivity: | HSPA, LTE, NFC, Bluetooth 5.0 | HSPA, LTE, NFC, Bluetooth 5.0 |
Should you wait for the Note 9 or S10?
If you can wait a little while to buy a new smartphone, then you have a couple of other options to consider if you're a Galaxy fan. We can expect the Note 9 to be revealed this August, and if you have even more patience, the S10 will arrive sometime in early next year. Based on the rumors we're hearing, here's what you can expect from these two devices.
With the S9 and S9+, Samsung didn't change the design much from the S8 and focused instead on improving the hardware specs, and we can expect this from the Note 9 and S10 as well.
The Note 9's design shouldn't change much, but the rumors say Samsung is working on slimming things down and the diagonal of the premium phablet should be 6.3 inches. We expect to see a headphone jack, USB Type-C and an S-Pen, of course. A leak of a protective case shows that the dual rear camera may be aligned horizontally with the fingerprint reader underneath, but another rumor says that we may finally get an in-display fingerprint scanner on the Note 9. A benchmark test revealed that the Note 9 will likely have a Snapdragon 845 processor and 6 GB RAM.
If the dream of an in-display fingerprint scanner doesn't come true with the Note 9, then it may come early next year with the S10. Though the technology has made its way to a handful of devices like the new Huawei Mate RS Porsche Design, it won't hit mainstream until it arrives on a Samsung flagship. Samsung could also work on its 3D facial scanning technology for the S10 to keep up with Apple and implement better security and features like AR emoji. Again with the S10, we shouldn't expect major design changes. These flagships will keep the 5.8-inch and 6.3-inch sizes as well.
Conclusion
In conclusion, if you can't wait any longer to buy a new phone, you can't go wrong with the S9 and S9+ when compared to the competition of the moment in 2018. If you can wait a bit longer, the Note 9 and S10 are on their way, though you shouldn't expect many changes to the design. The hardware should be somewhat improved on both upcoming devices, but since the hardware of the S9 is already more than sufficient, it's not worth waiting unless you're dying to have an in-display fingerprint scanner, which isn't a sure bet.
Will you be getting the Samsung Galaxy S9, waiting for the next Galaxy, or going for a rival flagship? Let us know in the comments!
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