The Galaxy S9 vs. the competition: Under the hood
This year's smaller Samsung flagship is all about refinement, but how does it fare against the Pixel 2 and iPhone 8?
On the outside the Galaxy S9 looks pretty familiar: not only does it maintain the same basic shape as the S8, but it's kept the screen and battery size of its predecessor as well. In fact, other high-end phones like the Pixel 2 and iPhone 8 have also stuck with familiar design language, which means that you have to look at the specs to see what's been revised or refined. This year it's mostly about the S9's cameras, with the rear-facing one boasting a dual aperture and the software adding a slew of new features for better pictures and videos. But what other changes should you look at, and how do they compare to what's already on the market? We've stacked up the Galaxy S9 versus its closest competitors so you can get a better idea which one you might want to pick up this spring -- though we also advise checking out our full review of the S9 when it drops next month.
Pricing | $720 (off contract) | $649, $749 (off contract) | $699, $849 (off contract) |
Known dimensions | 147.7 x 68.7 x 8.5mm (5.81 x 2.7 x 0.33 inches) | 145.7 x 69.7 x 7.8mm (5.7 x 2.7 x 0.3 inches) | 138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3mm (5.45 x 2.65 x 0.29 inches) |
Weight | 163g (5.75 ounces) | 143g (5.04 ounces) | 148g (5.22 ounces) |
Screen size | 5.8 inches (147.32mm) | 5.0 inches (127mm) | 4.7 inches (119.38mm) |
Screen resolution | 2,960 x 1,440 (570ppi) | 1,920 x 1,080 (441ppi) | 1,334 x 750 (326ppi) |
Screen type | Quad HD+ Super AMOLED | Full HD AMOLED | Retina HD IPS LCD |
Battery | 3,000mAh | 2,700mAh | 1821mAh |
Internal storage | 64GB | 64 / 128GB | 64 / 256GB |
External storage | microSD | None | None |
Rear camera | 12MP, dual aperture f/1.5 and f/2.4, 1.4μm pixel size | 12.2MP, f/1.8, 1.4μm pixel size | 12MP, f/1.8 |
Front-facing cam | 8MP, f/1.7 | 8MP, f/2.4 | 7MP, f/2.2 |
Video capture | 4K at 60fps | 4K at 30fps | 4K at 60fps |
NFC | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Bluetooth | v5.0 | v5.0 | v5.0 |
SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 | Apple A11 Bionic |
CPU | 2.8GHz octa-core | 2.35GHz octa-core | 2.39GHz hexa-core |
GPU | Adreno 630 | Adreno 540 | Apple three-core |
RAM | 4GB | 4GB | 2GB |
WiFi | Dual band, 802.11ac | Dual band, 802.11ac | Dual band, 802.11ac |
Operating system | Android 8.0 | Android 8.0 | iOS 11 |
Other features | Fingerprint sensor, IP68 certified, | Fingerprint sensor, IP67 certified, | Fingerprint sensor, IP67 certified, Lightning connector, |
Follow all the latest news from MWC 2018 right here.
