Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ hands-on review

Software

The Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ run on the latest Android Oreo 8.1 and feature the newest iteration of the Samsung Experience. Some of the new features include AR Emojis, better KNOX, Intelligent Scan unlock, Bixby real-tile translation, among others.

In term of looks, the Android+Samsung UX looks the same as we left it on the Galaxy S8 and Note8. No groundbreaking changes in looks or modus operandi.

The biometric security has gone through some reworking for the better. First - the fingerprint scanner is now positioned right. It's fast and accurate, but it's setup what has gotten a boost. Now you just need to swipe once your finger over the sensor and that's it - the fingerprint unlock is configured. This saves a lot of time and gets rid of the numerous taps and movements required from you on the S8 and Note8.

You can now dedicate different fingerprints for your locked folders - you can set up each finger to unlock a specific folder or folders.

Then there is the Intelligent Scan unlock. This is basically Face Unlock + Iris Recognition. The phone fires both simultaneously and whichever recognizes you first - it will unlock your phone. This is also used for the even more secured KNOX mode as an enhanced biometric lock.

Bixby got better, too, with new real-time translation. This is powered by Google and works the same as on Google's Translate app. There are also new partners for Bixby for food suggestions and calories counter. And the Bixby button is here to stay on both Galaxies.

AR Emojis are coming with the new S9 phones, and while it may sound like a gimmick, they turned to be rather cool. The phone snaps a picture of you and then makes an approximation of your face in 3D. You can choose to refine some of the face elements and then confirm the shape. This is the first part.

Then, just like Apple's Animojis, the phone tracks your face and uses your face render as a template. It doesn't recognize tongue, but rather than that it tracks your head, captures shakes, smiles, smirks and even singing and turns those in emojis.

The AR Emojis can also make 18 different static stickers from your face and you can use those on Facebook, Twitter, among other social networks and apps.

The new DeX pad

Finally, Samsung introduced a new DeX in the form of a pad, which is an addition to the old one, not a replacement. It allows you to dock the phone there and use its screen as a touchpad and/or keyboard.

Chipsets

Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+, just like the previous S and Note models, will be available in two variants. Samsung's own Exynos 9810 chip will power most of the S9 phones around the globe, while Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 845 will be ticking in the S9 handsets sold in North America and China.

So, what's the differences?

The Exynos 9810 chipset (10nm FinFET has a new octa-core processor packing four custom third-generation Mongoose cores at 2.8GHz and four Cortex-A55 at 1.7GHz. The GPU in charge of graphics is an 18-core Mali-G72.

The Exynos chip comes with a new LTE modem with support for 6CA (carrier aggregation) for download and maximum downlink of 1.2Gbs (Cat.18). The uplink supports 2CA and a speed of 200Mbps (Cat.18).

Finally, the Samsung's new silicon can do 4K capturing and playback at 120fps, but those won't be premiering on the S9 because the Snapdragon 845 can't do those.

The Snapdragon 845 chip (10nm LPP) introduces a new octa-core processor with new Kryo 385 cores. The high-performance pair of Kryo 385 Gold cores is clocked at 2.7GHz and the architecture derives from Cortex-A75. The power-efficient pair of Kryo 385 Silver cores works at 1.7GHz and its architecture is based on Cortex-A55.

There is also a new Adreno 630 GPU, 30% more powerful than the Adreno 540 inside the Snapdragon 835. Rumors suggest the Adreno 630 performance will be slightly behind Samsung's Mali choice, but this can't make a difference in real-life scenarios for the lifespan of the devices.

Qualcomm also has a new modem - the X20 with 5CA and LTE Cat1.18 downlink of 1.2Gbps. The uplink is inferior to Samsung's model with 2CA but LTE Cat.13 support for 150Mbps speeds.

The ISP of the Snapdragon is also inferior to the Samsung's with a support for 4K at 60fps video encoding and decoding.

And here are some benchmarks we ran on the Exynos-powered Galaxy S9.

GeekBench 4.1 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy S9
  8976
• Huawei Mate 10 Pro
  6783
• Samsung Galaxy S8
  6656
• LG V30
  6365
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SD 835)
  6301

GeekBench 4.1 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy S9
  3698
• Samsung Galaxy S8
  1991
• Huawei Mate 10 Pro
  1902
• LG V30
  1901
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SD 835)
  1832

AnTuTu 7

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy S9
  254375
• Samsung Galaxy S8
  199022
• LG V30
  182374

GFX 3.1 Car scene (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy S9
  28
• Samsung Galaxy S8
  25
• LG V30
  24
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SD 835)
  23
• Huawei Mate 10 Pro
  22
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (S820)
  18
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (E8890)
  15

GFX 3.1 Car scene (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy S9
  25
• Huawei Mate 10 Pro
  21
• Samsung Galaxy S8
  13
• LG V30
  13
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SD 835)
  12
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (S820)
  10
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (E8890)
  7.8

Basemark ES 3.1 / Metal

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy S9
  1451
• Samsung Galaxy S8
  1189
• Huawei Mate 10 Pro
  1183
• LG V30
  860
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SD 835)
  817
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (E8890)
  733
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (S820)
  624