Samsung Galaxy S9 vs iPhone X – Price and performance

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The Galaxy S9 and S9+ have received several new features compared to their predecessors, and are set to take on Apple’s iPhone X, and iPhone 8 and 8 Plus.

Among these features is a new dual-aperture camera system, which lets the camera automatically adapt to various lighting conditions, said Samsung.

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Samsung has also added a dual-camera setup to the Galaxy S9+, after introducing the feature with the Galaxy Note 8.

The camera innovations do not stop there, with super slow-motion video recording (960fps at 720p), Live Translation, and Intelligent Scan – a combination of iris and facial recognition – implemented.

Like the iPhone X and iPhone 8, the Galaxy S9 range also supports 1080p video recording at 240fps.

Animoji and AR Emoji

Following Apple’s introduction of Animojis with the iPhone X in 2017, Samsung has added augmented reality emoji stickers and videos called AR Emoji.

An initial hands-on of AR Emoji by Tom’s Hardware stated that “Samsung’s animated emoji are more lifelike than Apple’s”.

“Your face and voice are used to animate what is supposed to look like a three-dimensional cartoon version of yourself,” stated the publication.

The way the Apple and Samsung systems work is slightly different. Animoji reacts to a 3D wireframe of your face and overlays animated characters on top of that.

AR Emoji aims to create a cartoon 3D model of your face from which to generate animated GIFs, stickers, and videos.

Performance

Predicting device performance based on spec sheets is never a good idea, as the hardware and software combining in a smartphone is a complex experience.

AnandTech obtained a Samsung Galaxy S9 test device powered by Samsung’s new Exynos 9810 chip, however, and put it through a few benchmarks.

It is worth noting that South Africa receives Exynos-based flagship smartphones from Samsung.

Results from Geekbench 4 indicate a significant performance boost between the Exynos 8890 processor in the Galaxy S8 compared to the Exynos 9810 in the S9 and S9+.

Specifications

The table below details the hardware and pricing of the Galaxy S9 range and the iPhone X.

The Galaxy S9 and S9+ are available with various storage capacities, but South African retailers are predominantly selling the 64GB Galaxy S9 and 128GB Galaxy S9+.

Specifications

Galaxy S9

Galaxy S9+

iPhone X

Dimensions

147.7 x 68.7 x 8.5 mm

158.1 x 73.8 x 8.5 mm

143.6 x 70.9 x 7.7 mm

Weight

163g

189g

174g

OS

Android 8

Android 8

iOS 11

Display

5.8-inch QHD+ Super AMOLED

6.2-inch QHD+ Super AMOLED

5.8″ Super Retina HD OLED HDR

Rear camera

12MP f/1.5 and f/2.4

Dual 12MP: f/1.5 and f/2.4 wide-angle f/2.4 telephoto

Dual 12MP: f/1.8 wide-angle f/2.4 telephoto

Front camera

8MP f/1.7

8MP f/1.7

7MP f/2.2

Storage

64GB, MicroSD

128GB, MicroSD

64GB

RAM

4GB

6GB

3GB*

Processor

2.7GHz + 1.7GHz Octo-core Exynos 9810

2.7GHz + 1.7GHz Octo-core Exynos 9810

A11 Bionic

Battery

3,000mAh

3,500mAh

2,716mAh*

Cellular

LTE Cat. 18

LTE Cat. 18

LTE-A Cat. 16*

SIM

Nano (Single/Dual)

Nano (Single/Dual)

Nano

Durability

IP68

IP68

IP67

Biometrics

Fingerprint, iris, face

Fingerprint, iris, face

Face ID

RRP

R15,499

R17,999

R18,999

*Certain iPhone specifications are from third-party sources.