Samsung Galaxy S9+ Unboxing and Should You Buy It? (Video)

The Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ have arrived in Singapore (from 16th March 2018). Many are wondering if they should upgrade the handset (if they are holding on to Galaxy S8 or S8+). Here is my unboxing experience of the Galaxy S9+ and my thoughts if you should upgrade to the latest.

But first, check out the unboxing of the Samsung Galaxy S9+.

Unboxing

Comparison

Check out the differences (physical-wise) of the Samsung Galaxy S9+ with Galaxy S8+.

Bottom View

If you look at the bottom of both the S9+ and S8+, there aren’t a lot of differences. Both have the 3.5mm jack (thanks, Samsung), both are using USB-C port for charging and data transfer, both have the microphone and both have the speakers below.

One major difference is that the speaker for S9+ is designed differently. I guess not many will bother or notice. And, the S9 or S9+ now comes with stereo speakers.

Top View

On the top, there are not many changes. In fact, I should say there is NO changes.

Back Cameras

One of the most significant updates on the S9+ is the rear camera. There are two now and arranged in a vertical format.

The S9+ rear camera also sports something that no other mobile camera has (correct me if I am wrong). It has dual aperture. Physically, you can see the aperture switched from large (more light at F/1.5) and small (lesser light at F/2.4)

And Samsung has been listening to feedback. Now the new S9 or S9+ has fingerprint sensor in a new location. It is not next to the camera anymore. It is now below the camera.

Front Camera

The front camera remains similar to S8+. However, the sensor next to the front camera of the S8+ is not around anymore. And the speaker grill for S9+ is now the other stereo speaker. When you play via speaker mode, sound can be heard from this grill and the bottom speaker.

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There are other small changes like the bezel for the S9+ is smaller now as compared to S8+. In my opinion, I could not really see the differences.

Should You Buy the Samsung Galaxy S9+

I am now sharing my views as a previous S8+ user and a current S9+ user (for less than a week).

I love shooting videos using mobile. In fact, since I upgraded to S8+ last year, most of my videos are shot using it.

Nowadays, most brands are coming up with flagship phones with great specs. If you use them for basic usage like calling, messaging or social media, any of these flagship phones will be good enough.

However, if you are using it for photography or videography, or to replace your compact cameras, you have lesser choices.

I love mobile photography and videography. One of the criteria for me is that the mobile phone must have a good camera, especially on video recording. Another criterion is storage. I need lots of storage.

If you into mobile photography or videography, you might have already check out the Google Pixel 2 Phone or the Huawei Mate 10 Pro. Both are good phones but if you want to have an all-rounder (in terms of photography and videography and still looking good), Samsung flagship phones are so far the best, in my opinion.

Now, the question is that if you already owned the S8+, should you upgrade to S9+? Here are my answers:

Yes, if you want:

  1. Better camera with better low light performance
  2. Lots of camera/video options like UHD (4K 60fps), UHD and etc.
  3. To make full use of the dual rear cameras for great DOF (Depth of Field) shot (blurry background at the back).
  4. More options for storage (S9+ has 256GB option)
  5. More RAM (S9+ has 6GB of RAM)
  6. Better sound
  7. Better processor
  8. Super Slo-mo (Slow motion at 960fps) or Slo-Mo (Slow motion at 120fps)
  9. AR Emoji (Emoji that represents you)
  10. Intelligent Scan (a mixture of Iris scan, face scan)
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If none of the above excites you, stick to your S8+. It is still a good phone.

Summary

Basically, for any new flagship phone from any brands, it is always the best phone that they have made thus far. Looking beyond those gimmicky words, you have to know what you need or want.

Often, I was asked to recommend a phone to someone. In the end, my answer would revolve around their usage and budget. It will never be a straight “Get this phone, it is the best one around”.

The only “regret” I have after purchasing the S9+ is that I should have pre-ordered it first. With pre-order, I can get a free wireless charger (worth S$108). I did think about pre-ordering but I got my info mixed up on the previous Concierge package. I thought I could upgrade the phone within one year which in fact, is incorrect. I can only upgrade (without penalty from the telco) when it is over a year and I have to trade in my phone immediately.

With the Samsung trade-up (read below), I should have pre-order it to enjoy the free gift.

Before I end, there are two apps from Samsung that I would like to highlight. Kudos to Samsung for making them.

The Samsung Switch

The Samsung Switch is an app that transfers all your information (contacts, app and etc) from one phone to another (including other Android phones or iPhone). It is a painless process for me as I just wanted to upgrade the phone and not changing my settings.

The app allows me to choose which app, what details (Contacts and etc) to transfer over. There are several ways to transfer (via cable, wireless or external storage).

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Overall, I have good experiences with it.

The Samsung Trade-up

Next, the Samsung Trade-Up app. This app will evaluate the condition of your Samsung phone to see how much they are worth to trade-in. I believe it is region specific. You will need to check if your region has this option/app available or not.

The reason why I love it is that it allows me to take my time to trade in my Samsung Phone. You can perform the eval after you transfer all the data. Once done, you can choose the location for them (the company is Brightstar) to pick up the phone.

Check out this video to understand.

Do note that this is purely for upgrading to S9 or S9+. Let me know if you have any questions. Comment below.