Samsung Galaxy S9

[Michael Goff]

it's just another excuse to argue on the internet

Maybe I’m just too old to want to argue about meaningless numbers...

 

[jamezr]

Question: So we care about the DxOMark score again? But why?

Why not? I have 3 of their top rated phones and their scores fall in line with my real world experiences with those smartphones cameras.

 

[Michael Goff]

Why not? I have 3 of their top rated phones and their scores fall in line with my real world experiences with those smartphones cameras.

Because the big number that everyone touts is meaningless. Maybe reading the individual scores means something, but the giant number is pointless. And it will continue to be pointless even if Apple beats it.

All the cameras on any flagship take great pictures today. The biggest obstacle has quickly turned to the person taking the shot.

 

[co.ag.2005]

Maybe I’m just too old to want to argue about meaningless numbers...

oh, I don't want to either. But it seems there's quite a bit of folks on these forums who love to argue for the sake of it.

 

[MrHopsing]

I'll pass on the Galaxy S9;

You can't get rid of Lagwiz on a Galaxy phone. Just because you install Nova launcher and an icon pack, and set animations to .05 or even 0, doesn't eliminate it. It's still very much there running the phone. Plus the bootloader is locked down like a door on submarine, they cannot be rooted and no way ROM'd.

I had the Galaxy S8+, and did all the Package Disabler stuff, and installed Nova, and did as much debloating as possible on a U..S carrier Galaxy phone, and you know what ? Lag was still there. I now have a Pixel 2 XL, and before doing anything to it, it was smooth as butter zero lag whatsoever. Plus you shouldn't have to set animations to zero to make the phone feel smoother, to test how smooth a phone is, keep it to 1 second animation, and it should be fluid and buttery smooth in opening and closing apps, like they are on Pixel phones.

Stock Android runs circles Galaxy S phones. The Galaxy S9+ does zero for me, just no reasons whatsoever I'd want it over the Pixel 2 XL. Samsung phones have become generic appliance type gadgets.

There's more to a phone than being smooth, or else I would just keep my iPhone or get a Pixel. It's about user experience, some prefer stock everything and no bloatware, and some prefer the stuff Samsung actually includes, which is the main reason I'm switching back. Features like scroll screenshot, smart select, more multitasking options, app pairing, app specific audio, more integrated gestures. I guess these are all stuff you could probably get on the Pixel 2, but its all integrated on the Samsung. And I guess you never got to test out those features since the first thing you did was to disable everything, you shouldn't have bought the Samsung in the first place if stock Android is what you were looking for.

On stuff you cannot add is wireless charging (which I use every night when I charge), expandable storage, headphone jack (which Google mocked Apple about when they released their first Pixel, ironic). And ever since the S8, Samsungs design must be one of the greatest smartphone designs out there since Apple released their 6. And is why I guess Samsung is sticking to that design language and fixing what went wrong on the S8, like that horrible placement of the fingerprint reader.

 

[jamezr]

Because the big number that everyone touts is meaningless. Maybe reading the individual scores means something, but the giant number is pointless. And it will continue to be pointless even if Apple beats it.

All the cameras on any flagship take great pictures today. The biggest obstacle has quickly turned to the person taking the shot.

The person taking the shot has always been the problem. Not all cameras on flagship phones take great shots. Then it doesn’t matter if Apple beats it or not..... at least not to me.

 

[Klyster]

It always ends up with people arguing about sales anyway

Who cares

 

[DiamonDecoden]

I'll pass on the Galaxy S9;

You can't get rid of Lagwiz on a Galaxy phone. Just because you install Nova launcher and an icon pack, and set animations to .05 or even 0, doesn't eliminate it. It's still very much there running the phone. Plus the bootloader is locked down like a door on submarine, they cannot be rooted and no way ROM'd.

I had the Galaxy S8+, and did all the Package Disabler stuff, and installed Nova, and did as much debloating as possible on a U..S carrier Galaxy phone, and you know what ? Lag was still there. I now have a Pixel 2 XL, and before doing anything to it, it was smooth as butter zero lag whatsoever. Plus you shouldn't have to set animations to zero to make the phone feel smoother, to test how smooth a phone is, keep it to 1 second animation, and it should be fluid and buttery smooth in opening and closing apps, like they are on Pixel phones.

Stock Android runs circles Galaxy S phones. The Galaxy S9+ does zero for me, just no reasons whatsoever I'd want it over the Pixel 2 XL. Samsung phones have become generic appliance type gadgets.

I want to see Google come out with a note- like phone. I think I will be very loyal to their Note line. Unless the competitor offers stylus with the phone.

 

[Fille84]

Lag during what? Give specific examples. I have used all S8/ S8+ and Note8. 0 Lag for me. I get to squeeze 4-6 SOT also without issues.

Stop stereotyping that statement that lag is present. maybe is the package disabler which is hindering the correct phone handling. Jeez.

He just enjoy saying the word "lagwiz". Can't write a sentence about Samsung without using that word.. Maybe we should chill a bit and see how the software runs on the s9 before calling it laggy. And I had the s8, no lag for me either.

 

[Michael Goff]

It always ends up with people arguing about sales anyway

Who cares

Sales
DxOMark
That company that tests screens
Price

Anything with a number that’s easy to argue about is argued about. It’s a lot easier than admitting that the most important metric is the ever elusive UX that is very subjective.

 

[Vegastouch]

I'll pass on the Galaxy S9;

You can't get rid of Lagwiz on a Galaxy phone. Just because you install Nova launcher and an icon pack, and set animations to .05 or even 0, doesn't eliminate it. It's still very much there running the phone. Plus the bootloader is locked down like a door on submarine, they cannot be rooted and no way ROM'd.

I had the Galaxy S8+, and did all the Package Disabler stuff, and installed Nova, and did as much debloating as possible on a U..S carrier Galaxy phone, and you know what ? Lag was still there. I now have a Pixel 2 XL, and before doing anything to it, it was smooth as butter zero lag whatsoever. Plus you shouldn't have to set animations to zero to make the phone feel smoother, to test how smooth a phone is, keep it to 1 second animation, and it should be fluid and buttery smooth in opening and closing apps, like they are on Pixel phones.

Stock Android runs circles Galaxy S phones. The Galaxy S9+ does zero for me, just no reasons whatsoever I'd want it over the Pixel 2 XL. Samsung phones have become generic appliance type gadgets.

Well ok, thanks for that yearly statement that never changes.
.

 

[widgeteer]

Are there any advantages ordering an unlocked model from Sammy vs the Verizon variant other than bloatware free? Also, does anyone know If VZW’s HD calling works on unlocked models?

 

[5105973]

Are there any advantages ordering an unlocked model from Sammy vs the Verizon variant other than bloatware free? Also, does anyone know If VZW’s HD calling works on unlocked models?

I’ve got the same questions but for the AT&T side of things. My husband and I did reserve a couple of S9+ for preorder and chose unlocked. It’s not an actual preorder so neither of us is too worried about what we picked out. I’m not even sure I’ll preorder after how things went with my 8+. That one was an AT&T model. Unlocked wasn’t immediately available for preorder last year, if I recall correctly. I’m more worried about getting timely updates.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Are there any advantages ordering an unlocked model from Sammy vs the Verizon variant other than bloatware free? Also, does anyone know If VZW’s HD calling works on unlocked models?

Verizon has been known to block Samsung Cloud and replace Samsung's device maintenance with their own. Don't know if they did it to the S9, but be prepared if you get a Samsung phone from Verizon. Verizon is the worst at messing with the firmware.

T-mobile leaves the Samsung devices mostly untouched. With maybe one or two apps that you can uninstall out the box.

As far as wifi calling goes ... check XDA. They always had a fix to enable wifi calling on unlocked/unbranded phones.

 

[The Game 161]

Why not? I have 3 of their top rated phones and their scores fall in line with my real world experiences with those smartphones cameras.

For the average person it doesn’t mean much but for people who post on here it’s something to talk about

 

[Vegastouch]

I am going to pre order two S9s tomorrow. TMobile has a 50% off pre order deal. Trade in your phones, pre order the S9 and get 50% off. Went in to TMobile today to get the details.
I will get the full $360 credit for my phone but my Wife's S6 will get $200 so I'll have to pay $160 and then each phone will be $15 month. It's like a buy one get one free is how I see it.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

T-mobile once again makes it difficult to pre-order on JOD without screwing up my lines or trying to get a larger the usual down payment from me.

I'll just wait until the S9+ is released, walk into a T-mobile store, and give in my Note 8 for a S9+ without paying a dime.

Not in the mood this time around to spend countless time trying to fix a T-mobile error.

 

[Macalicious2011]

Yeah, definitely. Can't wait to get back to Android, I thought iPhone X would bring me back to iOS but there's so many features I miss on my old Samsung, and Face ID really gets on my nerve sometimes. Would love if Apple just added an extra fingerprint scanner on the back, but I guess profit margins are more important than user experience or QC for Apple these days.

Interestingly I played with both the S9 and S8 yesterday but was tempted by the iPhone X as it felt a bit snappier. However if I did buy one, I would go for the Plus when it comes but it will be too pricey. The Pixel 2 XL runs lovely stock android but the bezels look clumsy after you have held an iPhone X or S8/S9.

I'm a bit of a switcher. Had Lumia 800, iPhone 5S and now Galaxy S6 Edge+.

My pickle is that I'm no longer interested in buying brand new phones the highest price. The advancements are big enough for me to justify it. I'm considering picking up a refurbished S8 Plus for £510 versus £869 for an S9 Plus. Contracts don't interest me as economically it's cheaper for me to buy outright and keep my £7/month 15GB, unlimited data+text plan.

 

[lsutigerfan1976]

I took the plunge and preordered an S9+ from Samsung. Got the unlocked version. In two weeks I will be able to see what I got myself into.

 

[co.ag.2005]

Are there any advantages ordering an unlocked model from Sammy vs the Verizon variant other than bloatware free? Also, does anyone know If VZW’s HD calling works on unlocked models?

Verizon's VoLTE worked on the unlocked S8 and Note 8, so should on the S9. Not sure about WiFi calling as I never used it.

After owning both the Verizon and Unlocked S8, go for Unlocked. Plus it has built in callier ID detection (identifies spam too)

 

[widgeteer]

Verizon's VoLTE worked on the unlocked S8 and Note 8, so should on the S9. Not sure about WiFi calling as I never used it.

After owning both the Verizon and Unlocked S8, go for Unlocked. Plus it has built in callier ID detection (identifies spam too)

Awesome. Thanks for this. I guess my only hesitation is buying from Samsung directly. I’ve read a few horror stories about their CS. I could buy direct from. Best Buy but I hate them with a passion.

 

[jamezr]

Got my order in for the Coral Blue S9+. hopefully TMO ships early like they always do

 

[co.ag.2005]

Awesome. Thanks for this. I guess my only hesitation is buying from Samsung directly. I’ve read a few horror stories about their CS. I could buy direct from. Best Buy but I hate them with a passion.

Gotta pick the lesser of two evils. If you have to return, sometimes returning via Samsung.com is a PITA. I've had good experiences returning with Best Buy

 

[5105973]

Got my order in for the Coral Blue S9+. hopefully TMO ships early like they always do

I can’t bring myself to do it. I want the unlocked but don’t know if Wi-Fi calling will work on it. I need WiFi calling only rarely but would like to have it if I can. So I’m still trying to figure out between unlocked and AT&T.

But what’s really bugging me is I haven’t seen them in person yet and don’t know the answer to the most pressing question of all: Lilac or Coral Blue?

My husband has decided to not preorder until he sees more reviews. He’s still interested in a Pixel 2. But trades of our older Samsungs put the price down into tempting range for both of us.

 

[Dominican]

Every year Samsung has best hardware but unfortunately garbage software