Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ Focus on Camera Upgrades Ahead of MWC Launch
Samsung prepares to launch the Galaxy S9 and S9+ right before Mobile World Congress, prioritizing major camera improvements over physical design changes. The larger S9+ model distinguishes itself with more RAM, a dual-camera setup, and a repositioned fingerprint scanner.
Samsung skips the Consumer Electronics Show and instead prepares to unveil the Galaxy S9 and S9+ just before Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. These new flagships stick closely to the design script established by last year's models, offering only minor physical adjustments rather than a complete visual overhaul. The standard S9 features a 5.8-inch display while the larger S9+ boasts a 6.2-inch screen, maintaining the Super AMOLED panels users expect.
Under the hood, the devices use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor in the U.S. and China, with Samsung's Exynos 9810 chip powering the rest of the world. The two models differ significantly in their memory configurations, as the S9+ receives an upgrade to 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, whereas the standard S9 retains the previous generation's 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. This hardware gap makes the base model a tougher sell for users who prefer a smaller screen but still want premium specifications.
The primary selling point for both smartphones is a heavily revamped camera system that features a mechanical variable aperture switching between f/1.5 and f/2.4 on the main 12-megapixel sensor. Both phones also capture "super slow-mo" video at 480fps when the camera detects rapid movement, while the S9+ adds a second fixed-aperture 12-megapixel rear lens. Additionally, Samsung finally moves the fingerprint scanner to a more ergonomic spot directly below a vertically aligned camera module and adds stereo speakers to the bottom of the devices.