Samsung Galaxy S9+ review

SuperAMOLED at its finest, 6.2 inches of it

The Galaxy S9+ is equipped with a 6.2-inch SuperAMOLED display, Samsung's own. Nothing's changed in the numbers - it's still in an 18.5:9 aspect (2.06:1) and resolution is 1,440x2,960px for a 521ppi density.

We measured a maximum brightness of 631nits in auto mode - that's when the phone can push out more nits than you can get just by turning the slider all the way up, in which case you'd get something along the lines of 376nits. Both numbers are lower than on the S8+ (647 nits in auto, 442 in manual) and the Note8 (647/412), though the Auto figure is within a few percents. The smaller S9 has a few extra nits in auto (658), and it practically as bright as the Plus in manual (370).

The iPhone X can still go a little brighter, while other high-end OLEDs like the LG V30 and Huawei Mate 10 Pro are marginally dimmer than the S9+ in Auto. The Pixel 2 XL and OnePlus 5T max out some 200nits down.

Sunlight legibility is excellent on the S9+, proper top-tier performance in our test. The S9 and the S8+ are marginally better in this respect, but the S9+ is superior to the Note8. The iPhone X remains unchallenged at the top of our chart.

Sunlight contrast ratio

• Apple iPhone X
  5.013
• OnePlus 5T
  4.789
• Samsung Galaxy S8
  4.768
• Samsung Galaxy S8+
  4.658
• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
  4.615
• Samsung Galaxy S9
  4.600
• Samsung Galaxy S9+
  4.537
• Motorola Moto Z2 Play
  4.459
• Oppo R11
  4.454
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
  4.439
• OnePlus 3
  4.424
• Samsung Galaxy S7
  4.376
• HTC One A9
  4.274
• Samsung Galaxy Note7
  4.247
• Samsung Galaxy A3
  4.241
• Nokia 8
  4.239
• Google Pixel 2 XL (pre-update)
  4.234
• OnePlus 3T
  4.232
• Google Pixel XL
  4.164
• ZTE Axon 7
  4.154
• Samsung Galaxy Note8
  4.148
• Meizu Pro 7 Plus
  4.147
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
  4.124
• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
  4.124
• Huawei Mate 10 Pro (normal)
  4.096
• Samsung Galaxy Note5
  4.09
• Google Pixel 2 (pre-update)
  4.023
• LG V30
  4.022
• Huawei Nexus 6P
  4.019
• Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro
  3.998
• Vivo Xplay5 Elite
  3.983
• OnePlus X
  3.983
• Oppo R7s
  3.964
• Apple iPhone 7
  3.964
• Apple iPhone 8 (True Tone)
  3.957
• Huawei P9 Plus
  3.956
• Meizu Pro 6 Plus
  3.935
• Lenovo Moto Z
  3.931
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
  3.918
• OnePlus 5
  3.914
• Samsung Galaxy C5
  3.911
• Samsung Galaxy C7
  3.896
• Samsung Galaxy A5
  3.895
• Samsung Galaxy J7 outdoor
  3.879
• Samsung Galaxy J2 outdoor
  3.873
• Samsung Galaxy A8
  3.859
• Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018)
  3.842
• Sony Xperia XZs
  3.818
• Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016)
  3.817
• Motorola Moto X (2014)
  3.816
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017)
  3.812
• Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
  3.804
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) outdoor mode
  3.802
• LG V20 Max auto
  3.798
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  3.798
• Sony Xperia XZ
  3.795
• Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)
  3.789
• Apple iPhone 6s
  3.783
• Meizu Pro 5
  3.781
• Microsoft Lumia 650
  3.772
• Xiaomi Mi 6
  3.767
• Sony Xperia XZ1
  3.765
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
  3.756
• Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact
  3.729
• Apple iPhone 8 Plus (True Tone)
  3.725
• Oppo F1 Plus
  3.709
• Vivo X5Pro
  3.706
• Sony Xperia X Compact
  3.694
• Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017)
  3.688
• Apple iPhone SE
  3.681
• Huawei Mate 9
  3.68
• Samsung Galaxy A7
  3.679
• Meizu PRO 6
  3.659
• BlackBerry Priv
  3.645
• Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
  3.597
• Apple iPhone 7 Plus
  3.588
• LG G6
  3.556
• Apple iPhone 6s Plus
  3.53
• Motorola Moto Z Play
  3.526
• Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016)
  3.523
• Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) outdoor mode
  3.523
• Acer Jade Primo
  3.521
• Microsoft Lumia 950
  3.512
• Oppo R7 Plus
  3.499
• nubia Z11
  3.466
• Huawei P10 Plus
  3.456
• HTC U Ultra
  3.453
• Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra
  3.445
• Samsung Galaxy J7
  3.422
• Meizu MX5
  3.416
• LG V20
  3.402
• Huawei P10
  3.379
• Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016)
  3.378
• Oppo R9s
  3.352
• Honor 8 Pro
  3.341
• Oppo R7
  3.32
• Lenovo P2
  3.316
• Archos Diamond Omega
  3.305
• Honor 9
  3.289
• Xiaomi Mi 5s
  3.276
• Nokia 5
  3.261
• Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
  3.244
• Nokia 6 (Global version)
  3.238
• Samsung Galaxy J2
  3.235
• Sony Xperia X Performance
  3.234
• Xiaomi Mi Note 2
  3.228
• Motorola Moto X Play
  3.222
• Oppo F3 Plus
  3.218
• Huawei Mate 9 Pro
  3.206
• Huawei P9
  3.195
• Xiaomi Mi Mix 2
  3.19
• ZTE Nubia Z17
  3.159
• Oppo R11s
  3.153
• Lenovo Vibe Shot
  3.113
• HTC U11 Life
  3.108
• Motorola Moto X Force
  3.105
• LG Nexus 5X
  3.092
• HTC U11
  3.089
• Huawei Mate S
  3.073
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
  3.065
• Asus Zenfone 4 ZE554KL
  3.019
• Motorola Moto X4
  3.012
• Sony Xperia XA1
  3.012
• Sony Xperia L1
  2.994
• Sony Xperia X
  2.989
• LG Q6
  2.987
• Huawei P10 Lite
  2.974
• Samsung Galaxy Note
  2.97
• Xiaomi Redmi 5
  2.951
• Huawei Mate 8
  2.949
• Sony Xperia XA2
  2.938
• Xiaomi Redmi 4
  2.92
• Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus
  2.913
• Xiaomi Redmi 3S
  2.913
• Sony Xperia XA Ultra
  2.906
• LG G5
  2.905
• Huawei Honor View 10
  2.896
• Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime
  2.893
• Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
  2.884
• Sony Xperia XZ Premium
  2.877
• Sony Xperia XZ Premium (sRGB)
  2.877
• Sony Xperia Z5
  2.876
• Nokia 3
  2.871
• Microsoft Lumia 550
  2.851
• Lenovo Moto M
  2.813
• Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro
  2.803
• Sony Xperia Z5 compact
  2.784
• Nokia 2
  2.752
• Meizu MX6
  2.751
• LG V10
  2.744
• Huawei Mate 10 (normal)
  2.742
• Motorola Moto G5S Plus
  2.737
• Xiaomi Redmi 3
  2.735
• Huawei Honor 7X
  2.734
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  2.714
• Meizu M5
  2.71
• Sony Xperia M5
  2.69
• Xiaomi Mi A1
  2.689
• Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime
  2.679
• Huawei P9 Lite
  2.679
• vivo V7+
  2.671
• Vivo V3Max
  2.659
• Xiaomi Mi Mix
  2.658
• Huawei Mate 10 Lite
  2.654
• Oppo F5
  2.653
• Doogee Mix
  2.642
• Xiaomi Mi 4i
  2.641
• Xiaomi Redmi 4a
  2.635
• Xiaomi Mi 5X (Standard)
  2.616
• Sony Xperia XA
  2.609
• Motorola Moto G4 Plus (max auto)
  2.582
• Motorola Moto G4 Plus
  2.582
• Meizu M5s
  2.58
• Xiaomi Mi 4c
  2.574
• LeEco Le Max 2
  2.567
• Microsoft Lumia 640
  2.563
• Huawei P Smart
  2.563
• Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
  2.563
• Xiaomi Mi Max 2
  2.561
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A (Y1)
  2.556
• HTC U11+
  2.556
• Lenovo K6 Note
  2.544
• Lenovo Moto G4
  2.544
• Oppo F1
  2.528
• Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
  2.525
• Huawei Honor 7 Lite / Honor 5c
  2.506
• Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
  2.503
• BlackBerry Motion
  2.494
• Oppo F1s
  2.481
• Motorola Moto G
  2.477
• Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
  2.473
• Huawei G8
  2.471
• Huawei nova
  2.467
• Sony Xperia Z
  2.462
• Lenovo Vibe K5
  2.459
• Meizu m3 max
  2.447
• Xiaomi Mi 4
  2.424
• Xiaomi Mi 5X (Auto)
  2.417
• HTC 10 evo
  2.407
• Huawei Honor 7
  2.406
• Vivo V7
  2.404
• Sony Xperia E5
  2.386
• ZUK Z1 by Lenovo
  2.382
• HTC 10
  2.378
• Oppo F3
  2.376
• vivo V5 Plus
  2.371
• Meizu m1 note
  2.362
• Huawei nova plus
  2.329
• Razer Phone
  2.328
• HTC One E9+
  2.305
• Alcatel One Touch Hero
  2.272
• Sony Xperia L2
  2.266
• Lenovo Vibe K4 Note
  2.254
• Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
  2.253
• HTC U11+ (EU)
  2.253
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek)
  2.249
• Sony Xperia C4 Dual
  2.235
• Xiaomi Mi Note
  2.234
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  2.233
• LG Nexus 5
  2.228
• Huawei P8
  2.196
• Meizu M5 Note
  2.189
• Huawei Honor 6
  2.169
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
  2.166
• OnePlus Two
  2.165
• HTC One X
  2.158
• LG Aka
  2.145
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (X20)
  2.145
• Archos 50 Diamond
  2.134
• Xiaomi Redmi Note
  2.119
• Xiaomi Mi 4S
  2.095
• Acer Liquid X2
  2.084
• Huawei P8lite
  2.078
• vivo V5
  2.059
• Moto G 3rd gen max manual
  2.026
• Xiaomi Mi 3
  2.001
• Xiaomi Mi Max
  1.996
• Sony Xperia E4g
  1.972
• OnePlus One
  1.961
• Sony Xperia Z2
  1.944
• Meizu m3 note
  1.923
• BlackBerry Leap
  1.892
• Meizu m2 note
  1.892
• HTC Butterfly
  1.873
• ZTE Nubia Z9 mini
  1.759
• Sony Xperia U
  1.758
• Asus Zenfone Selfie
  1.68
• Motorola Moto E (2nd Gen)
  1.675
• ZTE Nubia Z9
  1.659
• Jolla Jolla
  1.605
• Motorola Moto E
  1.545
• Sony Xperia M
  1.473
• Sony Xperia L
  1.351
• HTC Desire C
  1.3
• Sony Xperia C
  1.283
• Meizu MX
  1.221
• Sony Xperia E
  1.215

Color accuracy is awesome if you know what you're after and are willing to go into display settings and select the appropriate mode. Measured against an sRGB target color space, Basic mode yields an average DeltaE of 1.5, AMOLED Photo is faithful to AdobeRGB within an average DeltaE of 1.9, while AMOLED Cinema can reproduce the DCI-P3 color space with an average DeltaE of 1.7. Adaptive mode (the default setting) measured against an sRGB target will get you an average DeltaE of 4.8.

Samsung Galaxy S9+ battery life

The Galaxy S9+ packs a 3,500mAh battery - that number remains unchanged from the last generation. We're firm supporters of the 'moar is better' philosophy when it comes to battery capacity, but if Samsung thinks 3,500mAh is enough - so be it. A year later, chipsets are more powerful while still made on a 10nm process, so there was a certain amount of anxiety on our part going into the battery tests.

It turns out we were wrong to worry. The Galaxy S9+ posted very similar results to the model it replaces. A 40-minute bump in video playback longevity sees that number verging on 17 hours. Web browsing over Wi-Fi depleted the S9+'s battery in a little over 11 hours, leaving the S8+ reloading pages for an hour more. If voice calls are your thing, the S9+ can do those over 3G for a full day and then some, an hour and a half more than the S8+.

Those numbers translate into an Endurance rating of 86 hours, 2h less overall than the S8+ and 3h less than the Note8. That said, the S9+ outlasts the Note8 in each of the three individual disciplines, only to lose its lead due to the Note's lower standby consumption.

Even with the drop in the web browsing endurance, the S9+ remains one of the best performers in the field - only the Mate 10 Pro has an edge here (okay, with 15:21h the Mate is a league of its own). And then it's only the Mate that comes close to the video playback endurance of the S9+.

Our endurance rating denotes how long a single battery charge will last you if you use the Samsung Galaxy S9+ for an hour each of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily. We've established this usage pattern so our battery results are comparable across devices in the most common day-to-day tasks. The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritties. You can also check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.

In 30 minutes of charging, Samsung's Adaptive fast charger will get the S9+'s battery from flat to 37%. It's not blazing fast, and we've seen much more impressive numbers from, say, Huawei (58% of the larger 4,000mAh battery on the Mate 10 Pro in the same amount of time). The iPhone X, on the other hand, will be at only at 20% after a 30-minute charge from flat with the bundled adapter, so there's that.

A couple of things should be noted. Number one, we had the Exynos version of the Galaxy S9+ for testing, and the Snapdragon variant has been known to post different results (typically not as good). Number two, the effect of the always on display on overall endurance will vary wildly depending on what percentage of the time the phone will spend in a pocket or purse. The AOD turns off in the dark or when its proximity sensor is covered. Our test takes into account the power consumption as it is while sitting on a desk during the day (when it'll be on all the time) - so take our numbers as the worst case scenario.

Loudspeaker

It took a while, but we're finally there - the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ have stereo speakers. They've done it the Huawei way - the bottom-firing driver covers the low end of the spectrum and one of the channels in the stereo pair, while the earpiece is responsible for the other channel's mids and highs.

While in landscape, the speakers switch according to orientation, so the earpiece acts as left channel while the earpiece is on the left, and right channel if you hold the phone the other way around. When in portrait, the right channel goes to the earpiece.

Not only is the sound stereo, but it's also loud. The Galaxy S9+ placed in the Very good category in our three-pronged loudness test - marginally ahead of the iPhone X and marginally behind the LG V30 in total decibels. The output is clean and full-bodied, and a (strictly non-official) panel of two stereo speaker phone owners at the office ruled it superior to the Pixel 2 XL and the iPhone X in terms of quality.

Solid audio quality

The Samsung Galaxy S9+ managed to replicate the performance of its smaller sibling when it came to audio output accuracy. The larger of the two flagships had the same perfectly clear output with an active external amplifier and negligible degradation with headphones.

Where the Galaxy S9+ didn’t quite match the Galaxy S9 is loudness - the Plus model was still above average, but it not really impressive. Then again that may not matter much depending on your headphones - for those sticking to lower-impedance ones the S9+ likely won’t be any different.

Samsung Galaxy S9+ frequency response

You can learn more about the tested parameters and the whole testing process here.