Is the Galaxy S9+ too big?

[raptorstv]

I am coming from only iPhone 6 and just placed a preorder for the Galaxy S9+. I chose the S9+ because it's still a narrow phone overall, so the larger screen seems like a necessity to enhance video watching experience.

I am, however, concerned about the size and weight of the device. Does anyone ever find that the S8+ to be too big? The S9+ is actually going to be heavier than the S8+ too.

 

[VW Maverick]

I found the S8 Plus to be perfect for my use.
The S9 Plus is 1 mm bigger and will weigh slightly more.
Go to a store and hold the S8 Plus which will give you a very close ideal of the upcoming 9.

Mav.

 

[Almeuit]

Why did you have the iPhone 6? Price? Size? etc.?

i ask because if you didn't like the iPhone 6 Plus then you most likely won't like the plus size of the S9.

 

[tuckertje01]

I'm a female with small hands and my S8+ is perfect for me, feels good and easy to handle.

 

[tube517]

I'm used to phablets/big screens so the S8+ is actually thinner than what I'm used to. It's a great phone, though. I have had no issues with it.

 

[hasasimo]

YES, it is too big in my opinion. I'm 6'1" with proportionate hands. I've owned huge phones like the Lumia 1500 and currently own a Note8. Just because you can do most tasks with one hand on a big phone doesn't mean it's the most ideal or comfortable experience.

Keep in mind: It's not just about the width or height of the phone, how thick the device is factors-in as well. You should be looking at the overall volume of the phone to decide if it's the right size for you, not just individual height and width measurements.

The S8+ is not the most accurate measure of how the S9+ will feel. The S9+ will feel larger in the hand than the S8+, and is about as much smaller than the Note8 as it is larger than the S8+.

The increase in thickness to 8.5mm puts it just about on par with the Note8.

Likewise, the S9 will feel appreciably bigger in the hand than the S8, commensurate with an increase in both width and thickness.

My Note8 had freezing problems, so for the past several months I've been using a Nokia 8. It made me realize how much I missed phones that thin and generally comfortable to hold and use with one hand.

I found the S8 to feel a bit small and the Nokia 8 just about perfect. The S9 will be closer in volume to the Nokia 8 than to the S8.

For these reasons, I'm going with the S9. I took the liberty of calculating the overall volume of all the phones mentioned in this post to give you an idea of how large they'll feel with one-handed use.

Here's how they rank (in cubic millimeters):

1. Note8 - 104533
2. S9 Plus - 99176.13
3. S8 Plus - 94829.13
4. Nokia 8 - 88207.845
5. S9 - 86249.415
6. S8 - 81120.72
7. iPhone 6 - 63843.63

I, personally, would find the S8 Plus's volume to be on the max end of acceptable for one-handed use. If the S9 Plus was the exact same size as the S8 Plus, I might have gone with that. But my experience with the Note8 tells me the S9's volume is much closer to that ideal in-hand look and feel.

Whatever you decide, hopefully the measurements in this post help.

*EDIT: Added the iPhone 6's volume for the OP. One more thing to note, You're already getting a 5.8-inch display with the regular S9... we used to need huge phones for that display size. That's no longer the case with bezel-less displays. You're already getting a huge increase in display size over the iPhone 6 with the regular S9.

 

[raptorstv]

YES, it is too big in my opinion. I'm 6'1" with proportionate hands. I've owned huge phones like the Lumia 1500 and currently own a Note8. Just because you can do most tasks with one hand on a big phone doesn't mean it's the most ideal or comfortable experience.

Keep in mind: It's not just about the width or height of the phone, how thick the device is factors-in as well. You should be looking at the overall volume of the phone to decide if it's the right size for you, not just individual height and width measurements.

The S8+ is not the most accurate measure of how the S9+ will feel. The S9+ will feel larger in the hand than the S8+, and is about as much smaller than the Note8 as it is larger than the S8+.

The increase in thickness to 8.5mm puts it just about on par with the Note8.

Likewise, the S9 will feel appreciably bigger in the hand than the S8, commensurate with an increase in both width and thickness.

My Note8 had freezing problems, so for the past several months I've been using a Nokia 8. It made me realize how much I missed phones that thin and generally comfortable to hold and use with one hand.

I found the S8 to feel a bit small and the Nokia 8 just about perfect. The S9 will be closer in volume to the Nokia 8 than to the S8.

For these reasons, I'm going with the S9. I took the liberty of calculating the overall volume of all the phones mentioned in this post to give you an idea of how large they'll feel with one-handed use.

Here's how they rank (in cubic millimeters):

1. Note8 - 104533
2. S9 Plus - 99176.13
3. S8 Plus - 94829.13
4. Nokia 8 - 88207.845
5. S9 - 86249.415
6. S8 - 81120.72
7. iPhone 6 - 63843.63

I, personally, would find the S8 Plus's volume to be on the max end of acceptable for one-handed use. If the S9 Plus was the exact same size as the S8 Plus, I might have gone with that. But my experience with the Note8 tells me the S9's volume is much closer to that ideal in-hand look and feel.

Whatever you decide, hopefully the measurements in this post help.

*EDIT: Added the iPhone 6's volume for the OP. One more thing to note, You're already getting a 5.8-inch display with the regular S9... we used to need huge phones for that display size. That's no longer the case with bezel-less displays. You're already getting a huge increase in display size over the iPhone 6 with the regular S9.

I could care less about the increase from 4GB of RAM to 6GB of RAM, but what exactly am I going to miss with not having the dual camera?

 

[hasasimo]

I could care less about the increase from 4GB of RAM to 6GB of RAM, but what exactly am I going to miss with not having the dual camera?

Good question, I've been doing some research on that myself.

Basically, you'll only miss 2X optical zoom. I never really used it much on the Note8. There's also no "Live Focus" which will create a bokeh (portrait mode) effect using the 2nd camera. But the S9 apparently will still do that without the 2nd telephoto lens.

Check this link, they compare the two bokeh effects and here's what they say:

The smaller Galaxy S9 doesn’t have dual rear cameras, and that means it can’t take advantage of the Live Focus mode introduced in the Galaxy Note 8, which creates depth-of-field bokeh effects. But both the S9 and S9+ do have the f/1.5 aperture mode, and this setting delivers some nice bokeh with just a single camera.

Check out the 3:15 mark in the video to see the natural bokeh effect produced by the f/1.5 aperture, and then compare that effect to how Live Focus on the S9+ performs at the 11:06 mark. We prefer the image shot with the single lens, as Live Focus (and competing technologies from other companies) still can’t match real-world bokeh in terms of distinguishing what should and shouldn’t be blurred.

https://www.pcworld.com/article/3257675/mobile/galaxy-s9-camera-test.html

 

[rushmore]

Good question, I've been doing some research on that myself.

Basically, you'll only miss 2X optical zoom. I never really used it much on the Note8. There's also no "Live Focus" which will create a bokeh (portrait mode) effect using the 2nd camera. But the S9 apparently will still do that without the 2nd telephoto lens.

Check this link, they compare the two bokeh effects and here's what they say:

............... What's makes this different from the 8+? Ask the question then as well?

 

[hasasimo]

............... What's makes this different from the 8+? Ask the question then as well?

You mean in terms of camera performance?

 

[Maknora]

Too heavy actually

 

[richv77]

I could care less about the increase from 4GB of RAM to 6GB of RAM, but what exactly am I going to miss with not having the dual camera?

What will I miss by not having that extra 2 GB of RAM on the S9?

-Rich

 

[hasasimo]

What will I miss by not having that extra 2 GB of RAM on the S9?

-Rich

Remains to be seen I think. I'm disappointed in the less RAM, but many in this forum seem to think it makes no real world difference.

It's possible the extra RAM mainly aids in the function of the extra camera (telephoto lens), as with the Note8. At least that's what a few hands-on videos have suggested.

My Nokia 8 is running on the SD835 with 4GB RAM and is every bit as snappy as my Note8. But it's also running stock Android.

 

[richv77]

Remains to be seen I think. I'm disappointed in the less RAM, but many in this forum seem to think it makes no real world difference.

It's possible the extra RAM mainly aids in the function of the extra camera (telephoto lens), as with the Note8. At least that's what a few hands-on videos have suggested.

My Nokia 8 is running on the SD835 with 4GB RAM and is every bit as snappy as my Note8. But it's also running stock Android.

My Pixel 2 runs as smooth as butter with 4 GB of RAM but that might not be the case with the S9 after the break-in period. I owned the S8 as well and experienced the occasional lag as most other people have as well.

Thanks.

-Rich

 

[Itsa_Me_Mario]

No; it is not too big.

 

[rushmore]

You mean in terms of camera performance?

Nope, the title is referring to the phone size.

 

[hasasimo]

Nope, the title is referring to the phone size.

Well, then your question didn't make sense to me. Aside from the grammar, you quoted a post of mine that discussed the camera.

 

[rushmore]

Well, then your question didn't make sense to me. Aside from the grammar, you quoted a post of mine that discussed the camera.

Hah! Did not mean to reply to you, but the thread itself.

 

[Dualmonitors]

To the original poster:

How are you able to place a pre-order?

Pre-orders don't start until March 2nd, 12:01AM.

 

[Almeuit]

To the original poster:

How are you able to place a pre-order?

Pre-orders don't start until March 2nd, 12:01AM.

He most likely meant he reserved it.