Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

5105973

Cancelled
Sep 11, 2014
12,132
19,733
More camera data to process. Suggest playing with sound muted for more of a blind test then replay it with sound. Too bad they didn't include the Pixel 2 which I think has the best processing.

Lol, that model with the two-toned hair was perfect for this job. One of my longtime frustrations with iPhones prior to the iPhone 7 was that it made blondes in the family look like they had a faint green tinge to their hair in incandescent lighting. To some extent that issue is back on my 8Plus and I noticed it on the X, too. Not quite as horrible as it was on my iPhone 6s Plus and 6 Plus, but I wasn’t thrilled to take even a slight step back. And blown out highlights on my blonde highlights is a major bummer that does plague the current crop of iPhones. I also have brunettes to photograph so she gave me a good idea what to expect there, as well. She’s a lovely girl.

And this photo test has reassured me that despite any small shortcomings the S9+ cameras may have, I will still get decent photos of my usual fast moving uncooperative subjects. :rolleyes:

It must be nice to photograph a professional model who holds still and gives a pleasant facial expression when asked. I deal in kids, cats, dogs, and grouchy elders who always look manage to look constipated or guilty when I can actually get a camera trained on them and get them in focus. Even the beautiful teenagers in the family and their friends give frightful toothy grimaces rather than natural smiles when they see me taking pictures. :rolleyes:

I admit now to being curious about this Huawei phone. I’m off to look it up.

Edit...looked it up. Nice, but not what I’m looking for. I remember now that I crossed it off my list awhile back. I’m not interested in EMUI at present.
 
Last edited:

CjonesHouston

macrumors 65816
Apr 29, 2015
1,186
804
Texas
I only just preordered. Lilac Purple AT&T model to ensure I get all the services I might want. Husband got the same in blue. It should be here Wednesday.
Thanks. I'm use to the apple preorder flow. I was expecting to see some movement this weekend for 14th delivery.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 5105973

Eduardboon

macrumors 6502
Jul 17, 2012
269
39
How's your battery life? When I take the s9+ off the charger it drops to 99 in a heartbeat and to 98 within 15 minutes of just standby and checking the homescreen two times.

I've checked the battery health and it says I'm at 3327 of the designed 3500, having 5 percent battery wear. I just have 1 cycle.

Is this normal for Android? On my replacement iPhone X I also have 1 cycle, but the health is actually above the design capacity. (2784 vs 2716)
 

Ralfi

macrumors 601
Dec 22, 2016
4,373
3,101
Australia
I've checked the battery health and it says I'm at 3327 of the designed 3500, having 5 percent battery wear. I just have 1 cycle.

Yeah, level of wear seems high for a new battery. Although, I've mainly used iPhones, so can't compare exactly as I'm not sure how the Samsung batteries behave. But that kind of wear is typically seen after a long while of owning the phone - my iPhone 6s, after 16 months is 1700/1715mAh for eg.

Are you using ultra cheap charge cables &/or wireless chargers?

Maybe chat to Samsung over the phone & see what they think before taking it in for testing.
 

SteveJUAE

macrumors 601
Aug 14, 2015
4,513
4,754
Land of Smiles
How's your battery life? When I take the s9+ off the charger it drops to 99 in a heartbeat and to 98 within 15 minutes of just standby and checking the homescreen two times.

I've checked the battery health and it says I'm at 3327 of the designed 3500, having 5 percent battery wear. I just have 1 cycle.

Is this normal for Android? On my replacement iPhone X I also have 1 cycle, but the health is actually above the design capacity. (2784 vs 2716)
I would not get to hung up on this and depending how you are checking such stats and what you have going on in background etc the status % is more indicative

Try typing *#0228# after charge complete to see if you have got full charge based on how you have plugged it in etc

You can also monitor what apps are consuming power to assist
 

5105973

Cancelled
Sep 11, 2014
12,132
19,733
I finally got to see the blue S9+. Oh my goodness it’s gorgeous. It’s a deep dark blue, like blue denim. It’s just dark enough that the blue combines nicely with the black display glass the way a black phone chassis would. I was shocked it was so dark. It does not look that deep of a blue in so many of the photos I’ve seen. This was under Best Buy’s lighting.

I was so tempted to cancel my lilac preorder and do blue instead. But I looked at the lilac a few more times and decided it was a warm cheerful color that I would appreciate on gray rainy days. I’m going to use a case but it’s common for me to remove my cases and clean my phones and admire them.

My husband became fond of a Pixel 2 XL. Google has some something because the displays on the Pixel 2 XL look fantastic now. It was so much better than the one my husband got back in the preorder days.
[doublepost=1520741629][/doublepost]Oh quick question. On the S9/S9+ are any of the videos, especially the 4K ones, limited in terms of length? I had thought they had a five or ten minute limit, but when I went to test the video recording on the S9+ at Best Buy this tome I did not see any indication of a limit.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jamezr

SteveJUAE

macrumors 601
Aug 14, 2015
4,513
4,754
Land of Smiles
I finally got to see the blue S9+. Oh my goodness it’s gorgeous. It’s a deep dark blue, like blue denim. It’s just dark enough that the blue combines nicely with the black display glass the way a black phone chassis would. I was shocked it was so dark. It does not look that deep of a blue in so many of the photos I’ve seen. This was under Best Buy’s lighting.

I was so tempted to cancel my lilac preorder and do blue instead. But I looked at the lilac a few more times and decided it was a warm cheerful color that I would appreciate on gray rainy days. I’m going to use a case but it’s common for me to remove my cases and clean my phones and admire them.

My husband became fond of a Pixel 2 XL. Google has some something because the displays on the Pixel 2 XL look fantastic now. It was so much better than the one my husband got back in the preorder days.
[doublepost=1520741629][/doublepost]Oh quick question. On the S9/S9+ are any of the videos, especially the 4K ones, limited in terms of length? I had thought they had a five or ten minute limit, but when I went to test the video recording on the S9+ at Best Buy this tome I did not see any indication of a limit.
Glad you noted its a darker blue than we see in reviews as I was almost drawn to lilac

Nothing on display here in KL until official release on Friday so going to be a sloooooow week waiting
 
  • Like
Reactions: 5105973

Breaking Good

macrumors 65816
Sep 28, 2012
1,451
1,225
I have a black, unlocked S9 on pre-order. I received my Whitestone Dome screen protector last week. Speck Products finally has their dark purple and black Presidio Grip case in stock so that is on order now. I’m looking forward to receiving my S9 and getting rid of my S7.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 5105973

5105973

Cancelled
Sep 11, 2014
12,132
19,733
I’m struggling to find a case I like. If I had ordered the blue phone there would be more choices. Even Samsung seems to have ignored the fact it made a purple phone this year. I had less trouble last year lining up purple cases for the Orchid grey phone, which did end up looking more gray than purple in most lighting conditions..

I have no idea what to do about a tempered glass screen protector. I never did find anything for my S8+. I ended up keeping it in a wallet case. The one day I ventured out in a regular case it ended up with a couple of small scratches on the oleophobic coating of the display. I had tried films and one water applied film that was supposed to harden and become self healing but all made the display look low resolution.

I’m tempted to try an I-Blason case with a built in protector that got good ratings. But it only comes in black, blue and a pink that is not my taste at all. I can’t understand why several case manufacturers went with pale pink or bubblegum pink and white case options instead of something that would go nicely with the lilac purple Samsung offers. I decided to get the blue, but then saw it’s backordered for weeks. It’s too expensive for me to get the black color that I’m likely to discard once I get the color I really wanted. :(
 

Aneres11

macrumors 601
Oct 2, 2011
4,353
9,551
I got to have a little hands on with these today.
That blue is absolutely gorgeous. Like a more refined, darker version of the coral S8 - which I also loved.

The lilac - aint lilac. It's pink. But also damn lovely.
Really impressed with the design tbh, they do feel strangely different to the S8 (minimally, but in a good way) which I'm here for.

I couldn't do much as they were bolstered down onto the tables and could only be lifted on a security pull thing so I couldn't grip it properly, but the Plus felt quite nice in the hand considering it's bigger. This is where I think the rounded screen comes into its own on bigger phones - even for my small hands it didn't feel uncomfortable at all.

I came away really impressed! People are gonna be really pleased with these phones I reckon. :)
 

Thierry ba

macrumors 6502a
Apr 10, 2012
601
86
Sarajevo, Bosnia
I’m struggling to find a case I like. If I had ordered the blue phone there would be more choices. Even Samsung seems to have ignored the fact it made a purple phone this year. I had less trouble last year lining up purple cases for the Orchid grey phone, which did end up looking more gray than purple in most lighting conditions..

I have no idea what to do about a tempered glass screen protector. I never did find anything for my S8+. I ended up keeping it in a wallet case. The one day I ventured out in a regular case it ended up with a couple of small scratches on the oleophobic coating of the display. I had tried films and one water applied film that was supposed to harden and become self healing but all made the display look low resolution.

I’m tempted to try an I-Blason case with a built in protector that got good ratings. But it only comes in black, blue and a pink that is not my taste at all. I can’t understand why several case manufacturers went with pale pink or bubblegum pink and white case options instead of something that would go nicely with the lilac purple Samsung offers. I decided to get the blue, but then saw it’s backordered for weeks. It’s too expensive for me to get the black color that I’m likely to discard once I get the color I really wanted. :(
Best combination is Nilkin frosted case + whitestone dome tempered glass.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 5105973

Vegastouch

macrumors 603
Jul 12, 2008
6,185
992
Las Vegas, NV
I’m struggling to find a case I like. If I had ordered the blue phone there would be more choices. Even Samsung seems to have ignored the fact it made a purple phone this year. I had less trouble last year lining up purple cases for the Orchid grey phone, which did end up looking more gray than purple in most lighting conditions..

I have no idea what to do about a tempered glass screen protector. I never did find anything for my S8+. I ended up keeping it in a wallet case. The one day I ventured out in a regular case it ended up with a couple of small scratches on the oleophobic coating of the display. I had tried films and one water applied film that was supposed to harden and become self healing but all made the display look low resolution.

I’m tempted to try an I-Blason case with a built in protector that got good ratings. But it only comes in black, blue and a pink that is not my taste at all. I can’t understand why several case manufacturers went with pale pink or bubblegum pink and white case options instead of something that would go nicely with the lilac purple Samsung offers. I decided to get the blue, but then saw it’s backordered for weeks. It’s too expensive for me to get the black color that I’m likely to discard once I get the color I really wanted. :(
I got a tempered glass protector with white bezels to cover the black. $7.99 on eBay but they are out of stock right now. I've since seen a blue one too but also out of stock right now. I may get one of those as well. I just got a cheap case for now til better choices come out. It's not bad looking but not what I'd want long term and it's better than nothing.
 

5105973

Cancelled
Sep 11, 2014
12,132
19,733
I got to have a little hands on with these today.
That blue is absolutely gorgeous. Like a more refined, darker version of the coral S8 - which I also loved.

The lilac - aint lilac. It's pink. But also damn lovely.
Really impressed with the design tbh, they do feel strangely different to the S8 (minimally, but in a good way) which I'm here for.

I couldn't do much as they were bolstered down onto the tables and could only be lifted on a security pull thing so I couldn't grip it properly, but the Plus felt quite nice in the hand considering it's bigger. This is where I think the rounded screen comes into its own on bigger phones - even for my small hands it didn't feel uncomfortable at all.

I came away really impressed! People are gonna be really pleased with these phones I reckon. :)
Lilac IS pink under certain lighting conditions and mauve under most lights. Sometimes it looks very purple in some people's photos and they've said it does indeed look purple sometimes. Samsung applied a little bit of sorcery to the colors this year. And last year, too. My orchid grey, which I'm posting from right now, can look purple or gray.

I remember wanting a pink S7 very badly once. So I hope the lilac S9+ will look pink sometimes.
 

jamezr

macrumors P6
Original poster
Aug 7, 2011
16,077
19,072
US
Sample pictures from someone on Android Central that got their S9+ and has an S8.
Not much of a difference tbh.....
But the upgrade is worth it to me for the FPS and slo-mo camera and spec upgrades...

S9+

y4mRJHTnDijXc4ZRJ8_utQHyfpCWuoPxyhIcztOURnB1TbKyEl3j9qDnWyJZXPBleQWUDUOdsp5bxuuF8CZtCNvMlNIPJClPvBAM3TkL9m2O0jME2cWlh5uPvh6TM2Lg10zmlisN0-N-CZ_Cfu6yh5E4Y-UnwZ-SxX55ZTaz8u59st94VTFhm_y2QYDeBZLQS6RevdoMvcpokQuJhDIeme6UA


y4mYo2WmBGN6GjUX2ja2ArovUdaRxeZMiTO-uXevsy_GhbjseerPx9Xh5Abcq4ZeaK15d13lI-odRhxqglcCC92Dbz1ibQvIL5mTUWfcw3Y1yN7gm-d_lhLiQ16DGCx5M7wjHAEV6e2a8QRTPRZ6OZLv0NWgOV_iYC9Fvwrz8iC0RMkms146wD75ePvYOjcpcTq3NUcfGxPUaQIEHh9GWW9Eg





https://forums.androidcentral.com/#mn_p_lc
 

5105973

Cancelled
Sep 11, 2014
12,132
19,733
Sample pictures from someone on Android Central that got their S9+ and has an S8.
Not much of a difference tbh.....
But the upgrade is worth it to me for the FPS and slo-mo camera and spec upgrades...

S9+

y4mRJHTnDijXc4ZRJ8_utQHyfpCWuoPxyhIcztOURnB1TbKyEl3j9qDnWyJZXPBleQWUDUOdsp5bxuuF8CZtCNvMlNIPJClPvBAM3TkL9m2O0jME2cWlh5uPvh6TM2Lg10zmlisN0-N-CZ_Cfu6yh5E4Y-UnwZ-SxX55ZTaz8u59st94VTFhm_y2QYDeBZLQS6RevdoMvcpokQuJhDIeme6UA


y4mYo2WmBGN6GjUX2ja2ArovUdaRxeZMiTO-uXevsy_GhbjseerPx9Xh5Abcq4ZeaK15d13lI-odRhxqglcCC92Dbz1ibQvIL5mTUWfcw3Y1yN7gm-d_lhLiQ16DGCx5M7wjHAEV6e2a8QRTPRZ6OZLv0NWgOV_iYC9Fvwrz8iC0RMkms146wD75ePvYOjcpcTq3NUcfGxPUaQIEHh9GWW9Eg





https://forums.androidcentral.com/#mn_p_lc
I’m looking forward to comparing the S9+ to my Pixel 2 and my S8 Plus and my IPhone 8 Plus. But I’m actually not upgrading for the camera. I am upgrading for the promise of a smoother Samsung Experience and the other minor upgrades and the stereo speakers I’d wanted on all my smartphones. The display and shape is just altered enough to address my complaints about the S8+. The changes are ridiculously subtle but they were registered on my weird brain somehow. It helps I was ready to trade in my S7 Edge. It’s been used enough and far out of its warranty enough that it’s value to me is more as a means of getting a discount on a new phone than the value it holds on its own now.

I’ve got a young girl here who is hoping and praying I’ll love the S9+ so much that I let her have my Pixel 2 on “indefinite loan.” :rolleyes:

I don’t know about that. There’s still much about the Pixel experience I have left to familiarize myself with. But I did want to encourage the younger family members to break out of the walled garden at least a little bit.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jamezr

Breaking Good

macrumors 65816
Sep 28, 2012
1,451
1,225
I’m struggling to find a case I like. If I had ordered the blue phone there would be more choices. Even Samsung seems to have ignored the fact it made a purple phone this year. I had less trouble last year lining up purple cases for the Orchid grey phone, which did end up looking more gray than purple in most lighting conditions..

I have no idea what to do about a tempered glass screen protector. I never did find anything for my S8+. I ended up keeping it in a wallet case. The one day I ventured out in a regular case it ended up with a couple of small scratches on the oleophobic coating of the display. I had tried films and one water applied film that was supposed to harden and become self healing but all made the display look low resolution.

I’m tempted to try an I-Blason case with a built in protector that got good ratings. But it only comes in black, blue and a pink that is not my taste at all. I can’t understand why several case manufacturers went with pale pink or bubblegum pink and white case options instead of something that would go nicely with the lilac purple Samsung offers. I decided to get the blue, but then saw it’s backordered for weeks. It’s too expensive for me to get the black color that I’m likely to discard once I get the color I really wanted. :(

This is my first time trying the Whitestone Dome glass screen protector. I'll report back results once I have it installed.

I had a Zagg tempered glass screen protector on my Galaxy S8+ I was using from going back to the S7. I was not happy with the Zagg. The curved edges did not adhere down and there were bubbles under the protector that never went away.

The S8+ was too much to carry with the iPhone 6S+ I have for work. So I bought a used Sprint Galaxy S7. However, the battery life has just been terrible on the S7. I would have gone back to the S8+ but it is such a pain to switch phones on Sprint.

I moved to Sprint when they were running their free unlimited offer (which is really about $4/mo.). Aside from the phone switching aspect, I've been very happy with Sprint service. But I haven't been happy with the Sprint S7 between the battery life and Sprint's mandatory visual voicemail app.

I'm very partial to first Speck's Candyshell Grip cases and now their Presidio Grip cases. I understand that choosing a case is even more personal than choosing a smartphone. But I feel that Speck's Presidio Grip is the best smartphone case made. (I also feel everything else they make is crud and that they should stop making everything else and just focus on the Presidio Grip case.)

Speck makes a clear case that they claim is UV resistant to prevent the case from yellowing. But the S9+ case is $45. I believe Spigen make a clear TPU case that they are selling on Amazon for only $13.

The Spigen clear TPU case may be the way for you to go until you can find something you really want.

I've also always liked Urban Armor Gear (UAG) cases. I haven't looked to see what they specifically have for the S9+. But in the past they've make a clear case.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 5105973

Michael Goff

Suspended
Jul 5, 2012
13,329
7,422
I have to a question the merit of all these speed tests. Is anyone picking their phone based on a fraction of a second opening speed or how many apps they can have open at the same time? Is anyone really running into a major issue with the performance of their latest gen flagship (which is what these tests are about)?
 

widgeteer

Suspended
Jun 12, 2016
1,565
4,610
I have to a question the merit of all these speed tests. Is anyone picking their phone based on a fraction of a second opening speed or how many apps they can have open at the same time? Is anyone really running into a major issue with the performance of their latest gen flagship (which is what these tests are about)?

These speed tests are used for arguments. That's about it. Arguing over benchmarks and speed tests in 2018 is just dumb. As are threads comparing the latest iPhone to the latest Android. There is no competition anymore, just preference.
 
  • Like
Reactions: co.ag.2005

Ralfi

macrumors 601
Dec 22, 2016
4,373
3,101
Australia
I have to a question the merit of all these speed tests. Is anyone picking their phone based on a fraction of a second opening speed or how many apps they can have open at the same time? Is anyone really running into a major issue with the performance of their latest gen flagship (which is what these tests are about)?
They are extreme tests, using the most demanding Apps (games mostly).

I'd like tests with more of the Apps I use often (don't play many games). Therefore, they're not as accurate as they could be for my use. But they hint at the user experience, which I appreciate - both snappy performance & memory management combine to make the phone a pleasure to use. Many may not notice it, as the Apps they use aren't memory hogs, but even the lesser demanding Apps slow down now & then if the hardware isn't up to the task, which can happen as the phone ages & software integration deteriorates.

Having as snappy a phone from the outset means you have that buffer to cover slow downs over time.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.