My S9+ First Impressions coming from an S8+

[TheGeekNextDoor]

I basically upgraded to get the 2x optical zoom on the camera, but a lot more came with it! I think the extra 2GB of RAM makes the overall feel of the phone a good bit smoother. I'm running the 8.0 beta on my S8+, so the UI overall should be pretty similar.

I don't know if it is because it is new, but it is fast. I restored 90% of my files via the Samsung Smart Switch app. I did NOT restore via google restore. I bought a new SD card with more space and faster, but the Smart Switch didn't seem to have the ability to move the stuff from the SD card on the old phone to the SD card on the new one. It just put it in internal memory, so I ran out of space and basically did a phone reset to just start over again.

The Intelligent unlock feature works better than just the iris or just the face unlock. I haven't even turned on the finger print reader yet. Just seems like that thing has to take battery power while waiting for my finger to touch it.

SECURE FOLDER
Didn't know you could backup your secure folder files to Samsung, so I did so I could restore the files I have in there back to my new phone. Worked like a champ!

BIXBY and HOME SCREEN
Popping over to Bixby news feed is WAY faster. The S9 has the ability to view the home screen in landscape mode if you enable it in the Display settings. This also extends to Bixby news feed...it now shows up in landscape if you like.

MESSAGING APP
The messaging app changed slightly. Now it is blue instead of orange, and some of the original settings like background images are gone from the app. This doesn't bother me. I think you can still affect the background in it via a theme. The new messaging app has the ability to click an icon in the bottom right corner to record a voice message to send via text. Pretty cool when you are in a pinch.The dropdown menu that appears when you click the 3 dots in the upper right hand corner while in a text conversation is nicer. It shows the 4 most recent photos received from that contact plus most of the other stuff that used to be there. My S8 has Create Slideshow, but the new phone doesn't. Not sure what the slideshow is...never used it before. Being able to send animated GIFs easily in the new messaging app is nice. The messaging app now shows 2 lines of a message instead of just 1, so fewer messages are seen. Maybe this is a setting somewhere, but I can't find it.

AR EMOJIS
AR Emojis just don't matter right now. They aren't as creepy as everyone keeps saying. They just aren't that useful.

CAMERA APP
Love the new camera app. It is much more similar to the iPhone app where you can just swipe back and forth between the camera modes. Way easier than swiping to a screen to pick a style. Live Focus creates a great portrait style photo with changeable background blur. It holds onto the original wider screen version because the portrait shot is actually a zoomed up image.

CAMERA
Having 2x optical is pretty darn nice. Low light photos are pretty amazing. I took a picture of a black desk in low light with both. Examples are below. The interesting thing is the S8+ photo size for the photo was 3.31MB while the S9+ photo was 8.18MB. They are the same resolution and DPI. Guess there is just more data in there. There is no comparison. The S9+ took a smooth photo while the S8+ took a grainy photo.

S8+ Photo:


S9+ Photo:


I'll post more if I find more differences that matter.

Edit 7:12pm
I totally forgot about the speakers!!! They blow away my S8+. The sound for music as well as podcasts and audio books is amazing. It is loud enough that I don't feel compelled to hook up a bluetooth speaker just so I can hear my book while I'm doing dishes at night. Having sound come at you without cupping a speaker is so nice. I know this has been out on other phones for awhile, but it is so nice to have the all the features I've been wanting in the phone I love.

I'm in bed with Samsung for their Health App and the tracking via my S3 Frontier and Gear Fit2. They have on wrist detection that pairs whichever one with my phone automatically and blends all the stats into one app... but that isn't anything new here, just one reason why I'm in on Samsung.

Edit 7:39

Here are a couple more photos in low light. The room had little direct light, and it is getting late here in Atlanta, so no real sun light.

S8+


S9+

 

[waveuk]

Great review. I switched from a S8 to an S9+ and I am very impressed.

To your comments I would add the battery. I see a huge improvement; even more after the update today. With 65% battery left I have already 3 hours SOT.

 

[mozman]

Thanks for the review from an S8 owner perspective. I'm considering switching from my S8+.

 

[geraldem]

Great review. I switched from a S8 to an S9+ and I am very impressed.

To your comments I would add the battery. I see a huge improvement; even more after the update today. With 65% battery left I have already 3 hours SOT.

Curious...you have the snapdragon 845? Ie, US version?

 

[Fred98TJ]

I basically upgraded to get the 2x optical zoom on the camera, but a lot more came with it! I think the extra 2GB of RAM makes the overall feel of the phone a good bit smoother. I'm running the 8.0 beta on my S8+, so the UI overall should be pretty similar.

I don't know if it is because it is new, but it is fast. I restored 90% of my files via the Samsung Smart Switch app. I did NOT restore via google restore. I bought a new SD card with more space and faster, but the Smart Switch didn't seem to have the ability to move the stuff from the SD card on the old phone to the SD card on the new one. It just put it in internal memory, so I ran out of space and basically did a phone reset to just start over again.

The Intelligent unlock feature works better than just the iris or just the face unlock. I haven't even turned on the finger print reader yet. Just seems like that thing has to take battery power while waiting for my finger to touch it.

SECURE FOLDER
Didn't know you could backup your secure folder files to Samsung, so I did so I could restore the files I have in there back to my new phone. Worked like a champ!

BIXBY and HOME SCREEN
Popping over to Bixby news feed is WAY faster. The S9 has the ability to view the home screen in landscape mode if you enable it in the Display settings. This also extends to Bixby news feed...it now shows up in landscape if you like.

MESSAGING APP
The messaging app changed slightly. Now it is blue instead of orange, and some of the original settings like background images are gone from the app. This doesn't bother me. I think you can still affect the background in it via a theme. The new messaging app has the ability to click an icon in the bottom right corner to record a voice message to send via text. Pretty cool when you are in a pinch.The dropdown menu that appears when you click the 3 dots in the upper right hand corner while in a text conversation is nicer. It shows the 4 most recent photos received from that contact plus most of the other stuff that used to be there. My S8 has Create Slideshow, but the new phone doesn't. Not sure what the slideshow is...never used it before. Being able to send animated GIFs easily in the new messaging app is nice. The messaging app now shows 2 lines of a message instead of just 1, so fewer messages are seen. Maybe this is a setting somewhere, but I can't find it.

AR EMOJIS
AR Emojis just don't matter right now. They aren't as creepy as everyone keeps saying. They just aren't that useful.

CAMERA APP
Love the new camera app. It is much more similar to the iPhone app where you can just swipe back and forth between the camera modes. Way easier than swiping to a screen to pick a style. Live Focus creates a great portrait style photo with changeable background blur. It holds onto the original wider screen version because the portrait shot is actually a zoomed up image.

CAMERA
Having 2x optical is pretty darn nice. Low light photos are pretty amazing. I took a picture of a black desk in low light with both. Examples are below. The interesting thing is the S8+ photo size for the photo was 3.31MB while the S9+ photo was 8.18MB. They are the same resolution and DPI. Guess there is just more data in there. There is no comparison. The S9+ took a smooth photo while the S8+ took a grainy photo.

S8+ Photo:
View attachment 280745

S9+ Photo:
View attachment 280746

I'll post more if I find more differences that matter.

Edit 7:12pm
I totally forgot about the speakers!!! They blow away my S8+. The sound for music as well as podcasts and audio books is amazing. It is loud enough that I don't feel compelled to hook up a bluetooth speaker just so I can hear my book while I'm doing dishes at night. Having sound come at you without cupping a speaker is so nice. I know this has been out on other phones for awhile, but it is so nice to have the all the features I've been wanting in the phone I love.

I'm in bed with Samsung for their Health App and the tracking via my S3 Frontier and Gear Fit2. They have on wrist detection that pairs whichever one with my phone automatically and blends all the stats into one app... but that isn't anything new here, just one reason why I'm in on Samsung.

Edit 7:39

Here are a couple more photos in low light. The room had little direct light, and it is getting late here in Atlanta, so no real sun light.

S8+
View attachment 280750

S9+
View attachment 280751

Regarding the two photos of the cabinet: besides the obvious difference in white balance, the one taken with the S9 has some motion blur and the one taken with the S8 has more detail, which is probably to be expected. It appears (at least in lower light) that the S9is using more aggressive noise reduction.
Regarding the dog photos, the same comments. Besides the obvious difference in white balance, the photo taken with the S8 shows better detail. Looks almost like the focus missed with the S9.

Post up some more as you have time.

 

[rushmore]

If you have the 845 version how is signal reception? Seems to be an apparent trend.

S8 Exynos has good reception, S9 has mediocre reception

S8 Qualcomm has mediocre reception, S9 has good reception.

 

[sleepnclass]

cute pup op.

 

[gazuga6176]

If you have the 845 version how is signal reception? Seems to be an apparent trend.

S8 Exynos has good reception, S9 has mediocre reception

S8 Qualcomm has mediocre reception, S9 has good reception.

reception for me has been amazing. s7 and s8 got 2 bars at my house. I have full bars now. I might swap sims with the s8 and get a more scientific reading.

 

[rushmore]

reception for me has been amazing. s7 and s8 got 2 bars at my house. I have full bars now. I might swap sims with the s8 and get a more scientific reading.

Which version?

 

[WSH90]

Thanks for sharing

 

[Theot]

reception for me has been amazing. s7 and s8 got 2 bars at my house. I have full bars now. I might swap sims with the s8 and get a more scientific reading.

You need to get an app to measure the actual dBm, the bars can be different on every phone. Full bars on one phone can be the same as 2 on another.

 

[ScottsoNJ]

Great review. Also very happy here. Still adjusting things,getting used to things