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iPhone X vs Galaxy S9: How to choose

We break down the most important features you should consider when comparing the S9 to the iPhone X.

Vanessa Hand Orellana CNET Senior Editor
As head of wearables at CNET, Vanessa reviews and writes about the latest smartwatches and fitness trackers. She joined the team seven years ago as an on-camera reporter for CNET's Spanish-language site and then moved on to the English side to host and produce some of CNET's videos and YouTube series. When she's not testing out smartwatches or dropping phones, you can catch her on a hike or trail run with her family.
Vanessa Hand Orellana
8 min read
Marta Franco/CNET

Samsung's Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus have come to fight for Apple's phone crown with new features and supercharged cameras. But the iPhone X won't go down easily, and deciding between the newest Galaxy and iPhone may prove tougher than ever.

Now that we've reviewed both phones, we can help break down how each performs to help you decide which one is the best for you.

Price

Samsung has a flat-out advantage here. The cheapest iPhone X (64GB) will cost you $999 (£999, AU$1,579). Expect to spend less on the S9, and you get two price points to choose from. Prices vary from carrier to carrier, starting at $720 (£739, AU$1,199) for the S9 and $840 (£869, AU$1,349). Those are also 64GB models, but -- unlike iPhones -- they can be easily and massively expanded with the addition of cheap MicroSD cards. 

Note that Apple's iPhone 8 Plus, which features nearly all of the X's features, is much more price competitive with the S9 Plus, but it's got those old-fashioned big bezels. 

Advantage: Samsung

Camera

The S9 has a single main shooter, while the S9 Plus has a dual-lens setup similar to that of the iPhone X with a 12MP wide angle and 12MP telephoto lens for better zoom and DSLR-style portraits. The S9 Plus allows you to control the intensity of the blur while you're taking the shot or after, much like the Note 8. The iPhone X, on the other hand, has Portrait Lighting that lets you play with different lighting options for portraits during or after you take the shot. Check out our comparison if you want to see them both in action.

Galaxy S9 Plus 

iPhone X 

12MP wide-angle

f/1.5 or f/2.4 (dual aperture)

12MP telephoto

f/2.4 (aperture)

12MP wide-angle

f/1.8  (aperture)

12MP telephoto

f/2.4 (aperture)

What's unique about the S9 is that the main lens has a variable aperture which changes from f1.5 and f2.4 depending on the lighting, which helps create brighter shots in low light while still retaining sharpness and clarity. It's a feature that's been around for ages in point-and-shoot cameras, but it's new for a phone and this is why it matters. It also lets you choose the aperture yourself from the camera's Pro Mode for both photos and video. The iPhone X has a fixed aperture of f/1.8 

During our photo comparison, the S9 took consistently brighter shots in low light when compared with the iPhone X with more even highlights. Low light shots on the iPhone X look darker and have more noise, but the color is more natural. The differences are more subtle in video, but the S9 still has a bit better results. 

The S9 also has a new super-slow-motion feature that lets you record video up to 960 fps in HD. This can create more dramatic shots than the iPhone X, but it's not exactly straightforward. It doesn't capture the full clip at this frame rate, and you can't edit the slow motion portion after you've shot it. 

It also has a 240fps option at 1080p that you can program manually similar to what you'll find on the iPhone. The iPhone X has max slow-mo rate of 260fps at Full HD which you can edit in post. 

fl-samsung-s9-camera

A close look at the two cameras on the S9 Plus.

CNET

The front cameras, meanwhile, break down as follows: The S9 has an 8MP front camera with an f/1.7 aperture, compared to the 7MP depth-sensing camera with an f/2.2 aperture on the iPhone X. Both use software to achieve a blurred background option for selfies and augmented reality capabilities. But according to CNET's Jessica Dolcourt, the blur on the S9's Selfie Focus mode is more aggressive, often blurring out too much of the subject, while the iPhone X's seems to be more forgiving. 

Advantage: Both are neck and neck when it comes to general photography and video, but the Galaxy S9 gives you more shooting options and was our winner in lowlight photography. See the results of our full comparison to decide on your favorite. 

Headphone jack

This one's another clear win for Samsung. It has a headphone jack. The iPhone X does not. The X requires you to use a dongle for traditional headphones, use Apple's Lightning port headphones or you can use the  Bluetooth  option on both phones.

Advantage: Samsung

Software and ecosystem

Android Oreo 8.0 vs. iOS 11 is pretty much like comparing apples to oranges (ahem!), but switching from either is a big deal. If you have deep ties to one or the other, this might be another easy deal-breaker.

Even if you're neutral on your operating system preference, however, remember that your OS choice has impact beyond the phone. If you've already purchased all of your TV shows on iTunes, you won't be able to access them on a Galaxy phone. Bought a HomePod speaker? Also no good on Samsung. Google services, meanwhile, are much more Apple friendly, but still not 100 percent compatible. You can send audio and video from some but not all of your iPhone apps to Chromecast devices, for instance.

Advantage: Varies by user preference

Design

Both phones are glass-on-glass with metal frames and barely-there bezels. The S9s have curved edges and screens that appear to spill over the sides. The bezels on the iPhone X are slimmer top to bottom, but you get the intrusive notch at the top. The iPhone comes in monochromatic Space Gray and silver, while the S9 comes in Midnight Black, Coral Blue, Lilac Purple and Titanium Gray.  

Advantage: Varies by user preference

Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus: Sizzling photos from every angle

See all photos

Screen

The iPhone X's screen is the same size as the 5.8-inch screen on the S9 (minus the notch), while the S9 Plus has a larger 6.2-inch screen. All three are OLED displays, but the S9 has a slightly higher resolution and pixel density (2,960x1,440 pixels/529ppi and 570ppi) than the Super HD Retina Display on the iPhone X (2,436X1,12,200 pixels/458 ppi). The iPhone X however has TrueTone technology that adjusts the color temperature of the screen relative to the type of ambient light, so that colors look accurate no matter what the lighting condition.

Advantage: Samsung for size and resolution, but color preference will vary.

Speakers

The iPhone X has stereo speakers on the bottom of the phone and on the earpiece. The S9 and S9 Plus are the first Galaxy phones to also get stereo speakers. They're tuned by AKG and have a Dolby Atmos codec which translates into richer, louder sound than that of the previous S8. The S9 also allows you to adjust the audio profile from the settings. 

Advantage: Both have a stereo speaker configuration, but the advantage is TBD until we can listen to them both side by side outside of a demo room.

Fingerprint scanner

samsung-galaxy-s9-2400-6192

The rear fingerprint placement on the Galaxy S9 (left) is far more sensible than that of the S8 (right). The iPhone X has no fingerprint sensor. 

Josh Miller/CNET

Neither phone has an in-screen fingerprint scanner like the Vivo X20 Plus UD or the Apex concept phone, but the S9 kept the fingerprint scanner on the back of the phone like its predecessor for mobile payments and unlocking your phone. Except this time it's in a better position. It's below the camera instead of beside it like on the S8. To unlock the iPhone X or to verify a payment, you'll have to use the Face ID feature or a passcode. The iPhone 8 Plus has the trusty ol' Touch ID fingerprint sensor on the front, but that's at the expense of thick top and bottom bezels. 

Advantage: Samsung, if a fingerprint sensor is a must-have

Face-unlock (Face ID vs. Intelligent Scan)

Both phones have facial-recognition features that can be used to unlock them, but the technology used is different. The iPhone X has a True Depth (depth-sensing) camera on the front of the phone that maps out your face in 3D using infrared dots. Apple says Face ID authentication is even more secure than its Touch ID authentication on the fingerprint scanner.

Face ID replaces Touch ID on the iPhone X for unlocking the phone.

CNET

The Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus use Intelligent Scan, a combination of the iris scanner and the less-secure facial recognition feature that uses the non-depth sensing front camera to unlock. This feature "favors ease of unlocking over security" and defaults to the "trickable" Face Unlock feature and only uses the more secure iris scanner as a backup when lighting conditions don't allow for a full face scan. 

In her review, Dolcourt found that the iPhone X's Face ID is more tamper-proof than the S9's Intelligent scan, although iris unlock on the Galaxy S8 and newer is still secure. 

Advantage: Apple

AR emojis vs. animojis

AR emojis are Samsung's take on Apple's animojis, the animated emojis that can be controlled with your face. Apple's animojis focus on a few emojis like the poop and the unicorn with more coming with the recent iOS 11.3 launch. The S9 gives you a few more options to chose from, including transforming your face into an animal, Disney character or an avatar you can create by taking a selfie on either camera.

Our CNET editors took turns trying out the AR emojis and the consensus was that the technology seems lackluster and the results creepy because the gestures on the animations didn't really match the real-life version. Dolcourt said, "Samsung's AR Emoji feature lacks the charm and verve of iPhone's animojis -- they came off as eerie and unfinished." 

Advantage: Apple 

Storage

The S9 has three tiers of onboard storage options depending on the market (64GB, 120GB and 256GB) with up to 400GB of expandable storage. The iPhone X only offers a 64GB and 256GB option with no SD card slot.

Advantage: Samsung

Speed

The motors on both these phones are beasts, but it's hard to compare them without the S9 in our hands. The S9s are powered by Qualcomm 's Snapdragon 845 or the Samsung Exynos 9810, depending on your region, while the iPhone has Apple's A11 Bionic chip on the iPhone X. 

Our early tests of the Qualcomm 845 yielded strong results versus other Android phones when we benchmarked "white box" phones earlier this year, though it's unclear if the Galaxy S9's Snapdragons will be optimized at the same speeds. Similar tests by Anandtech on the new Exynos chip were decidedly less encouraging, but the site noted that it was unclear if its test device was representative of the final shipping product.

To that end, we're still performing speed tests on the Galaxy S9s and still aren't ready to decide which phone is fastest. Stay tuned. 

Advantage: TBD after testing

Battery

Both have wireless charging and some form of fast charging, but the S9 has a larger battery than the iPhone. Sometimes the size of the battery doesn't determine the usage time.

And just like the speed tests, we aren't yet ready to declare definitively which phone has the longest battery life; however, I will say that so far our tests indicate the Galaxy S9 having noticeably longer battery life. 

Advantage: TBD after testing

Decisions, decisions...

The Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus look strong in the early running, but so far, this is more of a specs and price comparison than anything else. If some of those early "known knowns" sway you -- say, the price and headphone jack on the Galaxy S9, or the iOS and Face ID on the iPhone -- maybe you're ready to whip out your credit card and take the plunge. 

But for everybody else waiting to see how those key "TBD" items compare, we'll keep updating this article as we complete further testing.

First published March 1, 2018 at 4 a.m. PT.
Update March 1, 9:27 a.m.: Adds news on DxO test, Anandtech benchmarks and additional context.
March 10, 5 a.m.: Article has been updated with results from CNET's full review of the Galaxy S9.  
April 2, 5 a.m.: Updated with new hands-on camera findings from our direct Galaxy S9 Plus vs iPhone X camera shootout.

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