Корпорация Samsung представила новые модели смартфонов Galaxy S9 и Galaxy S9+. Презентация состоялась 25 февраля в Барселоне, накануне открытия Всемирного мобильного конгресса (MWC 2018).
Трубки оснащены «безграничными» экранами с диагональю 5,8 и 6,2 дюйма соответственно. В Galaxy S9 имеется одинарная основная камера; в S9+ присутствует двйной модуль: "широкоформатный" и основной (разрешение во всех случаях 12 мегапикселей; все поддерживают оптическую стабилизацию).
Galaxy S9 и S9+ могут снимать замедленные видео с частотой до 960 кадров в секунду. Samsung делает акцент на том, что смартфоны хорошо снимают как при солнечном освещении, так и в условиях недостатка света: каждая камера оснащена двойной апертурой (F1.5 и F2.4).
Пользователи новых моделей могут создавать «селфимоджи» — эмодзи, похожие на них. Коммуникатор анализирует лицо человека и создаёт 3D-модель с такой же мимикой. Анимацией можно делиться, как видео или гифками.
Galaxy S9 поставляется со встроенной памятью на 64 гигабайта, S9+ — 64 и 256 гигабайт. Все 3 модификации поддерживают беспроводную зарядку и карты памяти до 400 гигабайт; вместо карты памяти можно вставить вторую SIM-карту.
В России новые модели начнут продаваться с 16 марта, а предзаказ на них открыт с 25 февраля. Galaxy S9 стоит 59990 рублей, а S9+ — 66990 (за 64 гигабайта) и 74990 рублей (256 гигабайт).
Samsung Resets The Premium Smartphone Bar With Galaxy S9 And S9+ At Barcelona Unpacked Event
by Patrick Moorhead (Forbes)
Samsung Electronics formally announced today at World Mobile Congress 2018 in Barcelona their new line of flagship smartphones, the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+. I had the chance to use the devices for a short time in pre-briefings, and from that time plus information I have gathered, I think the company has raised the high bar for a full line of premium smartphones. While 2017 signaled the year the smartphone market declined in units, both IDC and Gartner have Samsung in the full lead for 2017, but Apple is narrowing the gap. While I believe the Galaxy S9 and S9+ are more of an evolution and refinement of the S8 and S8+, Samsung improved nearly everything.
All about the camera
While Samsung improved many other capabilities, the company made it very clear with their “Camera Reimagined” positioning that this launch was all about the camera. On paper, the camera looks like a combination of the best of both worlds and a real winner:
Low light capabilities as good or better than the Google Pixel 2 with Samsung’s Dual Aperture with f/1.5 – f/2.4 capability. Yes, we keep going wider in aperture on the lenses with f/1.5
Dual lens, dual OIS (optical image stabilization) capabilities as good or better than the Apple iPhone X on the S9+, like the Note8 I reviewed here. The second lens photo clarity beyond 2X and improves bokeh effects as the camera is working in stereo like our eyes. The dual OIS means there will be less sway as we zoom in closer on images and videos. The Note8 OIS was better than any phone in my experience especially in video, and I am hoping for the best from the S9+.
Object recognition appears better than the Huawei Mate 10 and more convenient than the Google Pixel 2. Using Bixby built right into the camera app, the S9 and S9+ can translate foreign languages in real-time, take foodie pics and get calorie readouts, apply virtual makeup and get a Sephora shopping list, conduct product shopping lookups, and get location detection. I would like to see this extended to commercial applications for use cases like meter reading, skin ailment detection, and insurance adjustment.
Super Slow-mo, a clear-cut differentiator that records up to 960fps at 720P. You really have to see it to believe it. I see obvious consumer application, but also commercial applications like troubleshooting anything physical with gears as its moving. After the user takes the shot, they are presented with 35 different music options and can trim then share.
AR Emoji, like Apple’s Animoji, reads the face which can then be mapped onto many different looking characters using a 2D image camera and picking 100 points of movements. I am unaware anyone who used Animoji after the first week of ownership, and I see this feature as a checklist item.
On paper, the Galaxy S9+ looks to have the best camera on the planet. I cannot wait to get my hands on it and check it out. You can see analyst Anshel Sag’s shootout between the Apple iPhone X, Galaxy Note8 and the Google Pixel 2 here to give you a point of reference for my expectations and comparisons.
Infinity Display
Samsung Electronics led the industry with its skinny bezel designs starting with the Galaxy S6 Edge and refined it up the line in multiple iterations over many years, slowly increasing display size as a percent of the device’s front face to near perfection with the S9 and S9+ Infinity Display. The Apple iPhone X still has a higher percent face of the display, but the S9 and S9+ do not have the “notch” either. This means that software developers don’t have to do anything special to make their applications work smoothly with the S9. Samsung has narrowed the bezels even more on the S9 upper bezel from 8.66mm to 8.18mm (6%), the lower bezel from 7.72mm to 6.96mm (10%) and on the S9+ upper bezel from 8.6mm to 8.32mm (5%) and the lower bezel from 8mm to 6.99mm (13%). The march to all display moves on and I love it.
The S9 has a large, 5.8” AMOLED display at 570 PPI and the S9” has a gigantic, 6.2” AMOLED display at 529 PPI. By comparison, the Apple iPhone X has a 5.8”, 458 PPI Super Retina HD OLED display, the iPhone 8 Plus has a 5.5”, 401 PPI LCD and the iPhone 8 has a 4.7”, 326 PPI LCD. While the display quality is more than OLED versus LCD, size and PPI comparisons, the S9 and S9+ displays look great on paper. I cannot wait to see them tested at Display Mate for color gamut and accuracy, intensity, and display spectra. The Note8 won “best display” by Display Mate, then the Apple iPhone X took the reins ironically using a custom, Samsung OLED display, and I am interested in the next shootout. I will admit, I do prefer the bright ‘poppy’ tuning of Samsung OLED displays.
The 18.5:9 form factor shines in multitasking, either in portrait or landscape mode. You can run two programs at the same time side by side, which comes in handy when messaging and doing email, email and calendaring, watching videos and messaging. Samsung makes it even easier by enabling App Pairs, a one-tap solution to open two apps side by side.
40% louder, AKG-tuned stereo audio with Dolby Atmos support
Samsung Electronics also improved audio performance, and in the audio test I heard, it was noticeably louder than the S8 and S8+. I asked, and yes, the content was the same, presented at the same, max audio level. The top speaker is 1 watt, the bottom 1.2 watts, and Samsung says the output is 3-4dB louder, or 40%.
It is not only about being loud, but it is also about quality, too. The S9 and S9+ provide stereo speakers tuned by AKG and with support for Dolby Atmos, provide 360-degree audio available in Atmos-certified movies.
Galaxy S9 Enterprise Edition and new DeX Pad
While it is easy to get caught up with the consumer-focused features, the Galaxy S9 Enterprise Edition has the makings of the best large-organization enterprise phone available. What’s the big deal about the Enterprise Editions? I will cover this more in another blog, but I at least wanted to get out the basics.
Knox 3.1 security is the recognized leader in Android security, and Galaxy devices are used by governments, militaries, financial institutions and healthcare providers around the world.
* Knox Configure enables administrators to remotely provision and configure a fleet of devices applying fine-grain tweaks to policy and security. This is available as a service and likely in time, on an enterprise’s servers.
* Enterprise Firmware Over-the-Air enables the entire fleet of phones to be on the same image and update schedule.
* Purchase assurance gives IT the guarantee to be able to buy the S9 EE for two years even after first-ship
DeX is also great for enterprises whose workers have an “on the go” and “at the desk” requirement. These are workers predominantly in verticals like law enforcement, retail, and healthcare. Samsung brought out an entirely new DeX Pad which adds many new capabilities to the prior DeX Station. The Galaxy phone lies flat, enabling the display to be used as a keyboard or touchpad removing the need for a keyboard and mouse. You can still add an external, cabled or Bluetooth keyboard and mouse with two USB ports.
Also, external HDMI resolution is increased from 1,920 x 1,080 pixels to 2,560 x 1,440-pixel resolution, 78% more pixels. One of the cool things I saw demonstrated was what I like to call “state control.” If you are working on that banking app in phone mode, when connected to DeX, it will automatically “snap” into the correct, docked view. DeX gets better each iteration of hardware and software, and It is slowly creeping up to desktop capabilities. The great part is that developers do not need to write to some special DeX API, they just need to adhere to Android 7 and above windowing guidelines. Developers need to adhere to these for >7” Android tablets and Android on Chromebook apps already.
On the topic of enterprise use, while every consumer and enterprise Galaxy 9 family phone is IP68 compliant, I still need to point that out as an important enterprise selling point. IP68 protects the S9 from splashes, water, and dust, and is surprisingly not available on most Android smartphones. Apple iPhones are IP67 compliant, one notch below IP68. What’s the difference between IP67 and IP 68? DSMT describes IP 67 as “water immersion up to 1M” and IP68 as “water immersion beyond 1M”. Here are the gory IP details. To me, this means I would take the S9 and S9+ in the pool and OK to drop in the toilet.
Beefiest Android processor, 1.2Gbps modem, big memory and storage
It is great to see it took me this long to get to what Samsung calls the “Galaxy Foundation,” or capabilities that every Galaxy phone has. I like to call them the “brilliant basics.”
In the US, the S9 and S9+ will feature Qualcomm’s latest and greatest chip, the Snapdragon 845, announced at Qualcomm’s Tech Days. Analyst Anshel Sag wrote about the Snapdragon 845 here. While every smartphone maker implements SoC features differently, here’s what you should be able to look forward to:
* 30% CPU performance improvement with the Kryo 385 CPU (10nm, eight core)
* 30% GPU performance improvement or 30% power reduction with the Adreno 630 GPU
* 4K HDR video capture with the Spectra 280 ISP
* ML inference offload from the CPU and GPU with the Hexagon 685 DSP supporting all mobile ML frameworks
Twice the modem of the speed of the Apple iPhone X (600mbps) at 1.2Gbps driven by the integrated Cat18 X20 modem supporting 4x4 MIMO, LAA and 5X CA. I would like to see Samsung play this up more versus burying it in a spec list. Given Apple’s spat with Qualcomm and Apple’s history, Apple does not plan on leading in connectivity.
Anshel Sag benchmarked the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 MDP reference device here on Upload VR, but keep in mind; this was not the Samsung Galaxy S9 or S9+ so your mileage may vary but from my past experience Samsung is one of the few OEMs that outperforms Qualcomm’s MDP Overall, the benchmarks lived up to Qualcomm’s forecasts, but we will have wait for official units. I still expect the A11X Bionic to win most CPU benchmarks, expect the Snapdragon 845 to lead all other Android flagship processors from Huawei Technologies and MediaTek and destroy everyone on actual LTE modem speeds.
Samsung Electronics went big on memory and upgradable storage, too. The S9 comes with 4GB RAM, and the S9+ has 6GB RAM. Why does this matter? Have you ever been using a smartphone and you multitask to another program, come back, and when you come back to the original app, it has lost state and position? This is because the system has run out of memory and must shut down the prior app. This happens to me a lot on my Apple iPhone, and it drives me batty. More RAM speeds everything up as programs can stay in real memory without needing to hit the flash drive.
The S9 and S9+ also support up to 400GB of Micro SD storage. Yes, you can buy these today. Right here. OK, so you may not feel the need to have 400GB storage, but how about saving yourself boatloads of money if you wanted 256GB memory? Let’s take the Apple iPhone X as an example. The 64GB Apple iPhone X is $999 and the 256GB version is $1,149, an extra 192GB for $150, or $.79 per GB. With the S9 and S9+, you could buy a 200GB Micro SD memory card for $70, or $.35 per GB. There you go, I just saved you $80. Listen, it is not just about price, but if you want to save a few bucks, this is the benefit of having an SD card.
Pricing, promotions, and availability
Preorders begin March 2 and will be available March 16 at pretty much every carrier and retailer who carries the S8 and S8+. Samsung will directly sell the 64GB unlocked Galaxy S9 (5.8") and S9+ (6.2") for $719.99 or $30 per month for 24 months the unlocked Galaxy S9+ is available for $839.99 or $35 per month for 24. I will update this with carrier pricing as available. As a comparison, Apple's iPhone X (5.8") starts at $999, iPhone 8 Plus (5.5") at $799 and 4.7" iPhone 8 at $699.
Verizon Communications pricing is as follows: The Galaxy S9 is $33.33 per month for 24 months ($799.99 retail price; 0% APR) and the Galaxy S9+ is $38.74 per month for 24 months ($929.99 retail price; 0% APR). You can find details here. AT&T Next pricing is as follows: Galaxy S9 for $26.34 or the Samsung Galaxy S9+ for $30.50 over 30 months. You can find details here.
As we have come to expect from Samsung, a consumer who preorders will get some benefits as well. While it isn't a free VR headset or memory stick, Samsung will give preorderers up to $350 with "qualifying" trade-in. Details are here, and qualifying phones are what you would expect:
Samsung Galaxy Note5, GS5, GS6, GS6 Edge, GS6 Edge+, GS7, GS7 Edge and GS7 Active
Apple iPhone SE, iPhone 5 and above
LG G5, LG G6, and LG V20
Google Pixel and Pixel XL.
Wrapping up
With smartphone market growth flat to down, we should expect similar behavior from every flat to declining market- consolidation, share shift, specialization and a focus on marketing. It is becoming a two-horse market share race in the premium phone space $499 and above with Samsung and Apple and neither company is letting up in driving innovation.
The S9 and S9+ cameras look incredible, especially the S9+, a melting pot of all the desired features (dual camera-dual OIS, super low light) I always wanted plus a few features like Super Slow-mo Samsung will make people want. Samsung’s giant OLED Infinity Displays are incredible, highly rated, and looking forward to the Display Mate shootout. If displays are your thing, you must consider the S9 and S9+. The audio subsystem has been jacked up, too, and provide louder, stereo, SKG-tuned, and Dolby Atmos 360 capabilities.
The Galaxy S9 Enterprise Edition and new DeX Pad just give me more reasons to recommend Samsung to enterprises. No other smartphone vendor combines the security, breadth of product line, breadth of extensible use cases with VR and DeX, and tools, like Samsung.
Finally, the S9 and S9+ “Galaxy Foundation” adds that base layer that makes everything above possible. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 with the X20 modem brings the highest-performance Android processor and graphics and the industry’s highest performance 1.2Gbps LTE modem, twice the max modem performance of the Apple iPhone X.
With the S9 and S9+, Samsung resets the bar for a line of premium smartphones.
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