Samsung Galaxy S9

[4RunnerHeaven]

Comparison between iPhone X (Top) and S9+ (Bottom).
This only a example but nearly every photo i take looks more pleasing on the iPhone X.

It's a known fact that the Samsung Camera App is really junk. Use GCAM if you want great quality pictures. Here is a link. It will actually take better pics with GCAM than the Pixel XL 2.

https://www.xda-developers.com/google-camera-updated-zero-shutter-lag-xiaomi/

Topic with comparison photos

https://www.reddit.com/r/GalaxyNote8/comments/7zqxsk/i_think_we_have_a_clear_winner_here_gcam_v5_vs/

https://www.reddit.com/r/GalaxyNote...e8_gcam_vs_note8_stock_vs_pixel_2_comparison/

 

[Vegastouch]

For those getting the regular S9: What made you make the switch? Does less RAM (4gb) really matter?

I have a S7 and I thought I only had 3GBs of RAM. Specs show I have 4 so it will be the same for me but with a faster processor.

 

[nviz22]

I have a S7 and I thought I only had 3GBs of RAM. Specs show I have 4 so it will be the same for me but with a faster processor.

2 year update is fine. I just don’t get why Samsung gimped the smaller phone? I would be all over the S9 if it had 6gb RAM.

 

[The Game 161]

2 year update is fine. I just don’t get why Samsung gimped the smaller phone? I would be all over the S9 if it had 6gb RAM.

Seems to be the way to go these days to get you to buy the bigger expensive device

Will be same with next gen iPhone X and x plus.

 

[Breaking Good]

For those getting the regular S9: What made you make the switch? Does less RAM (4gb) really matter?

My employer issues me an iPhone 6S+. I tried carrying the iPhone 6S+ and a Samsung Galaxy S8+ for personal use. But it was just too much. I actually bought a used Samsung Galaxy S7 for personal use. But the battery life on it has been awful. I'm looking forward to getting my Galaxy S9.

Today, If I had my choice (which I don’t), I would get a Galaxy S9+ for work and switch to a Note 9 when it was released. Then I would stay on an annual Galaxy Note upgrade cycle after that. Then I would get an iPhone 8 for personal use and switch to an iPhone SE2 if and when it is ever released and stay on an upgrade cycle for Apple’s smallest phone.

As I mentioned I don’t have these choices and that is probably a good thing because I will probably want to do something entirely different next week (or tomorrow) and then change my mind again shortly after that.

 

[Aneres11]

2 year update is fine. I just don’t get why Samsung gimped the smaller phone? I would be all over the S9 if it had 6gb RAM.

It's disgraceful. But companies seem to keep borrowing the worst ideas from Apple. Gimping the smaller device and the notch.

Next thing you know, the Note 9 will have a stylus that is stored / charged by plugging it into the bottom of the phone...

 

[5105973]

My employer issues me an iPhone 6S+. I tried carrying the iPhone 6S+ and a Samsung Galaxy S8+ for personal use. But it was just too much. I actually bought a used Samsung Galaxy S7 for personal use. But the battery life on it has been awful. I'm looking forward to getting my Galaxy S9.

Today, If I had my choice (which I don’t), I would get a Galaxy S9+ for work and switch to a Note 9 when it was released. Then I would stay on an annual Galaxy Note upgrade cycle after that. Then I would get an iPhone 8 for personal use and switch to an iPhone SE2 if and when it is ever released and stay on an upgrade cycle for Apple’s smallest phone.

As I mentioned I don’t have these choices and that is probably a good thing because I will probably want to do something entirely different next week (or tomorrow) and then change my mind again shortly after that.

Lol, well nobody can accuse you of being afraid to try new things! I have been where you are now. But I did get finished trying out what I wanted to try so I’m settling down with the iPhone 8 Plus, Pixel 2.

Meaning I’m skipping whatever Apple releases in 2018. Probably 2019 as well, unless they come out with that must-have sharks-with-lasers cool feature. Right now I’m just not feeling most of the decisions they made that brought us to X. I tried the X and I loved it and I see why other people love it but it didn’t make me as content as my 8 Plus has.

I had thought I would go for Pixel 3, but when I stopped to think about it, my Pixel 2, “Snowball”, has it all and it also has a 2 year warranty. What more do I want from Google? The only thing is, I have a kid that fell in love with it and is hoping the Pixel 3 makes me want to upgrade. Everybody who sees Snowball falls in love. My husband even went a bit bonkers for Snowball. Snowball is my favorite phone and I curse the circumstances that don’t let me make it my primary phone. This very plain little unassuming phone with the outdated bezels turned out to be the device that was magical.

Samsung remains the big question mark. Will I settle down happily with the S9+ or will I get the itch to upgrade when Note 9 or S10 come out? Will I go off of Samsung altogether? It could happen. It almost happened. I’m giving them this one last chance to knock my socks off the way they did with the Note 7 before it all went to hell.

My goal with the experimentation and upgrading I’ve done since 2016 was to find and settle on the one upgrade path I wanted to be on. I used to just get one new iPhone every year, trading in the old one or passing it to family members. In 2016 I decided to try a Note 7. Their exploding battery fiasco caused me to end up with a bunch of Android phones instead of just a Note 7 and an IPhone.

The past couple of years have gotten ridiculous. I don’t plan to settle down on just one upgrade path anymore, because I couldn’t imagine not having both iPhone and an Android phone anymore. But now my goal is to not upgrade every single phone every year. I didn’t like the S8+ enough to settle down with it. S7 definitely didn’t have great battery life.

I’m hoping for good things from S9+.

I’m trying very very hard not to look at Essential phones. Bahahahaha.

 

[hijibiji]

here I found full speed download link to Galaxy S9 Stock Firmware: click here

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Several questions for you lucky ones that have S9/S9+ in your hands .......

Notice any better performance is data speed? Carrier and Wifi.

Any improvement in battery life over the Note 8 or S8+?

How good is the dual speakers compared to the competition?

 

[5105973]

I’m still waiting for Fed-Ex. Sigh. I’m near the end of the route, I think.

 

[jamezr]

Several questions for you lucky ones that have S9/S9+ in your hands .......

Notice any better performance is data speed? Carrier and Wifi.

Any improvement in battery life over the Note 8 or S8+?

How good is the dual speakers compared to the competition?

So far...
Too early to tell battery life...but it seems on par with my Note 8
The speakers are better than on my Note 8
Data speeds on TMO seem the same and WiFi too. But I haven't tested indoor reception to test the new bands TMO activated for 600Mhtz

 

[co.ag.2005]

I’m still waiting for Fed-Ex. Sigh. I’m near the end of the route, I think.

me too. they typically come around 3pm (local time). But it seems like on "new device delivery day", it's later

EDIT: and it's trash / recycling / yard trimmings pick up day. That means 3 additional trucks roaming my neighborhood that sound just like the FedEx truck...

EDIT 2: FedEx just dropped off! 12:17pm local. Wow, same time as my trash truck too

 

[jamezr]

Loving this camera. My 10 year old son....
S9+

 

[widgeteer]

Changed my order to an unlocked S9+ for VZW. Not too concerned with updates as odds are I won't have the device for longer than 6-7 months. Just hoping there aren't any services that don't work with unlocked models.

 

[5105973]

Changed my order to an unlocked S9+ for VZW. Not too concerned with updates as odds are I won't have the device for longer than 6-7 months. Just hoping there aren't any services that don't work with unlocked models.

We weren’t completely sure about what we would be missing so we just sucked it up and took the higher prices and extra bloat on the AT&T models. Which are here. Super early since I’m at the end of all the delivery routes. Normally my deliveries don’t get here until well after my husband has gotten home from work. Definitely not until after I’ve picked the kids up from school. Wow.

Of my multi cat household, I have two indoor cats who love unboxings. (And they also love screen protector application time). They will be so disappointed there are no dongles to steal. I don’t know what they did with my Pixel 2 dongle but it’s missing. I don’t know if one of them took it or I just misplaced it.

I’m so excited to have a new phone for which I don’t have to keep track of a dongle.

Sadly, while I do have my phone and my husband’s phone, I don’t have my husband. He is at work. I won’t do this unboxing without him. So I’ll have to be patient awhile longer and hope he can leave a little bit early today.
[doublepost=1521048567][/doublepost]

Loving this camera. My 10 year old son....
S9+

Yay! It’s always great to see your son. And the S9 takes great photos of people, I see. Look at those gorgeous brown eyes!

 

[widgeteer]

We weren’t completely sure about what we would be missing so we just sucked it up and took the higher prices and extra bloat on the AT&T models. Which are here. Super early since I’m at the end of all the delivery routes. Normally my deliveries don’t get here until well after my husband has gotten home from work. Definitely not until after I’ve picked the kids up from school. Wow.

Of my multi cat household, I have two indoor cats who love unboxings. (And they also love screen protector application time). They will be so disappointed there are no dongles to steal. I don’t know what they did with my Pixel 2 dongle but it’s missing. I don’t know if one of them took it or I just misplaced it.

I’m so excited to have a new phone for which I don’t have to keep track of a dongle.

Sadly, while I do have my phone and my husband’s phone, I don’t have my husband. He is at work. I won’t do this unboxing without him. So I’ll have to be patient awhile longer and hope he can leave a little bit early today.
[doublepost=1521048567][/doublepost]
Yay! It’s always great to see your son. And the S9 takes great photos of people, I see. Look at those gorgeous brown eyes!

Man...you guys are lucky. I wish my wife were as into phones as I am. Or do I. That would add double to all of my purchases. :O

 

[Aneres11]

Fantastic shot @jamezr !

 

[5105973]

Man...you guys are lucky. I wish my wife were as into phones as I am. Or do I. That would add double to all of my purchases. :O

Well, I suppose it could get expensive if I were as into other things as I am into phones. Fortunately I stayed pretty frugal even after my husband’s career took off into the stratosphere. We pick something that amuses us and for now phones are what we have time for. There are other hobbies we’d like to explore but time is the restriction now. So is energy.

 

[Roadstar]

Man...you guys are lucky. I wish my wife were as into phones as I am. Or do I. That would add double to all of my purchases. :O

Yep, the way it’s with me and my wife is easier on the wallet as she tends to drive her phones to the ground before getting a new one. Of course when she does need a new one, I’ll get a perfect excuse for upgrading However, her slow upgrade cycle means it’s pretty much iPhone only for her. With most Androids she’d go maybe a couple of years without updates and I’m not convinced I’d let her risk her data that way.

 

[Klyster]

Well, I suppose it could get expensive if I were as into other things as I am into phones. Fortunately I stayed pretty frugal even after my husband’s career took off into the stratosphere. We pick something that amuses us and for now phones are what we have time for. There are other hobbies we’d like to explore but time is the restriction now. So is energy.

I give my partner my 'old' phones, pretty much one year old flagships every year, and she's like "Meh....".
A little enthusiasm would would go a long way haha
Maybe I should give her my old Galaxy S1 again hahaha

 

[Bass]

I'm looking forward to reading all of you guys' thoughts and reviews after you've had the phones for a week or two...even though I have no intention of picking an S9 up and am more than happy with my Pixel 2 XL and am not getting itchy to try out another phone at all...

I think you're all bad influences

 

[5105973]

Yep, the way it’s with me and my wife is easier on the wallet as she tends to drive her phones to the ground before getting a new one. Of course when she does need a new one, I’ll get a perfect excuse for upgrading However, her slow upgrade cycle means it’s pretty much iPhone only for her. With most Androids she’d go maybe a couple of years without updates and I’m not convinced I’d let her risk her data that way.

There is something so cool about hand me downs. I took my husband's old iPad Pro and an old Surface. The iPad Pro got recycled into a birthday present. He got me a new cover for it and a new pencil. It was only a year old so it was like new to me. I loved it all the more for it having been his, first.

I get his hand me down automobiles, too. Though I did drive the same car for 25 years until recently. I badly wanted one of his SUV's about 15 years ago but he couldn't afford to pass it to me. He needed to trade it in to get the new one. I was pretty sad about that but I kept quiet. I can't believe how different things are now and I could be passed his truck this time. I was so excited. I always wanted a truck but never thought I could afford one. Not one this nice, even used. I'm the third owner but it is new to me! My old car is a tough act to follow but this truck manages it. I would love to get 25 years out of this one.

If we get two of the same things at the same time he always offers to let me have the one I like best. This time around he will trade his blue s9+ for my lilac one if I decide I like blue the best.

OMG, I hear the garage door! He's here! I'm going to open up my new phone! TTYL!

 

[Mark316]

Samsung Canada says my order is still preparing to be shipped so I don't even have a tracking number yet, I'm going to be very annoyed if it's not here by Friday and I could have just walked into a store to buy it faster.

Was hoping to get it a bit early for an anniversary gift but that didn't happen

 

[The Game 161]

There is something so cool about hand me downs. I took my husband's old iPad Pro and an old Surface. The iPad Pro got recycled into a birthday present. He got me a new cover for it and a new pencil. It was only a year old so it was like new to me. I loved it all the more for it having been his, first.

I get his hand me down automobiles, too. Though I did drive the same car for 25 years until recently. I badly wanted one of his SUV's about 15 years ago but he couldn't afford to pass it to me. He needed to trade it in to get the new one. I was pretty sad about that but I kept quiet. I can't believe how different things are now and I could be passed his truck this time. I was so excited. I always wanted a truck but never thought I could afford one. Not one this nice, even used. I'm the third owner but it is new to me! My old car is a tough act to follow but this truck manages it. I would love to get 25 years out of this one.

If we get two of the same things at the same time he always offers to let me have the one I like best. This time around he will trade his blue s9+ for my lilac one if I decide I like blue the best.

OMG, I hear the garage door! He's here! I'm going to open up my new phone! TTYL!

Surprised your husband doesn’t post on here seeing as he likes his tech?

 

[5105973]

Surprised your husband doesn’t post on here seeing as he likes his tech?

He might. I don't know his screen name! He says he might troll me from time to time. there's been a few guys I thought might be him but I can't ask them "are you my husband?" Bonkers.

We are setting the phones up now. I'm typing on the new S9+ and there is no pink stain, though I had better try the display under more lighting conditions to be completely sure!

I've got At&T wifi calling and visual voicemail set up on this phone. There's some bloat but it isn't horrible. Facebook is the only one that set my teeth on edge. I wish I could uninstall it but I'll settle for disabling it.

There's so much to test!

Oh and I'm keeping the lilac.

Forgot to say the edges are finally refined now to where I actually enjoy them. Holding the phones up next to each other I can't see exactly how they made the edges differently between the S8+ and the S9+ but they did. The content doesn't wrap or wrap around the curve as much. Hardly at all, from what I can see. That makes a difference.

This display is amazing. No pink. I'm using basic mode which is the least saturated. The other modes look excellent too.