How the Galaxy S9 specs stack up against the Note 8 and S8
Take a look at how Samsung's Galaxy S9 specs versus those of the Note 8 and S8.
- Patrick's play The Cowboy is included in the Best American Short Plays 2011-12 anthology. He co-wrote and starred in the short film Baden Krunk that won the Best Wisconsin Short Film award at the Milwaukee Short Film Festival.
The Samsung Galaxy S9 is here.
It's been over a week since Samsung's announced the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus. On paper, the phones look a lot like last year's S8 on paper. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. But as preorders are under way, it's good to see how the new flagships stack up against last years wonders: The Galaxy S8 and Note 8.
Samsung is smart for carrying over so much of the S8's design and specs. The S9 has the same USB-C charging port, headphone jack, front-facing camera, RAM, battery, 5.8-inch display and Bixby button. Our reviewer said that the S8 was the most beautiful phone ever. Though one of the biggest negatives against the phone was the location of the fingerprint reader next to the rear camera. Well, that fingerprint reader got moved to under the camera -- closer to the center of the S9's back.
The rear camera has also been improved. It has the same 13-megapixel dual-pixel sensor as the S8 and S7, but it gets a new variable aperture that can capture images at f/1.5 or f/2.4. Phone cameras traditionally can only shoot at a single aperture. So it's fascinating to see the S9 get a camera feature that the dual-rear camera Note 8 didn't have first.
The S9 also has the new Snapdragon 845 chipset instead of the 835 found in the S8 and Note 8. At an event held by Qualcomm , we tested the new 845 processor and it was 25-percent faster than phones with an 835 processor. We look forward to testing the S9 and seeing how it does with the new processor.
As for everything else, read the chart below to see how the S9 compares to last year's S8 and Note 8. And be sure to read CNET's hands-on impressions of the Galaxy S9 for more information about the phone.
Samsung Galaxy S9 specs versus Galaxy S8 and Note 8
| Samsung Galaxy S9 | Samsung Galaxy S8 | Samsung Galaxy Note 8 | |
| Display size, resolution | 5.8-inch; 2,960x1,440 pixels | 5.8-inch; 2,960x1,440 pixels | 6.3-inch; 2,960x1,440 pixels |
| Pixel density | 570ppi | 570ppi | 522ppi |
| Dimensions (Inches) | 5.81x2.70x0.33 in | 5.9x2.9x0.31 in | 6.4x2.9x0.34 in |
| Dimensions (Millimeters) | 147.7x68.7x8.5 mm | 148.9x68.1x8mm | 162.5x74.8x8.6mm |
| Weight (Ounces, Grams) | 5.75 oz; 163g | 5.5 oz; 155g | 6.9 oz, 195g |
| Mobile software | Android 8.0 Oreo | Android 7.0 Nougat | Android 7.1.1 Nougat |
| Camera | 12-megapixel | 12-megapixel | Dual 12-megapixel |
| Front-facing camera | 8-megapixel | 8-megapixel | 8-megapixel |
| Video capture | 4K | 4K | 4K |
| Processor | Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor (2.8GHz + 1.7GHz), or octa-core Samsung Exynos 9810 (2.7 GHz + 1.7 GHz) | Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (2.35GHz+1.9GHz) or octa-core Samsung Exynos 8895 | Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (2.35GHz+1.9GHz) or octa-core Samsung Exynos 8895 |
| Storage | 64GB, 128GB, 256GB | 64GB | 64GB |
| RAM | 4GB | 4GB | 6GB |
| Expandable storage | Up to 400GB | Up to 2TB | Up to 2TB |
| Battery | 3,000mAh | 3,000mAh | 3,300mAh |
| Fingerprint sensor | Back cover | Back cover | Back cover |
| Connector | USB-C | USB-C | USB-C |
| Headphone jack | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Special features | Dual-aperture camera, water-resistant (IP68); super slo-mo video; wireless charging; iris scanning | Water-resistant (IP68); wireless charging; Gigabit LTE-ready | S Pen stylus, water-resistant, wireless charging, Gigabit LTE-ready |
| Price off-contract (USD) | Varies: $720-$800 (64GB) | AT&T: $750; Verizon: $720; T-Mobile: $750; Sprint: $750; US Cellular: $675 | AT&T: $950; Verizon: $960; T-Mobile: $930; Sprint: $960; US Cellular: $963 |
| Price (GBP) | £739 | £689 | £869 |
| Price (AUD) | AU $1,199 (64GB), AU$1,349 (256GB) | AU$1,199 | AU$1,499 |
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