Samsung Galaxy S9 256GB

Samsung has really upped the ante when it comes to smartphone photography and has outfitted the Galaxy S9 duo with dual aperture sensors. As opposed to a fixed aperture lens which is found on pretty much every other smartphone in the market, the Galaxy S9's camera can switch between two different aperture modes of f/1.5 and f/2.4. Switching to f/1.5 aperture mode opens up the lens and lets in more light, ensuring that the quality of the images doesn't take a dip even when you're shooting with the smartphone at night.Unfortunately, you do miss out on a secondary telephoto lens with the Galaxy S9 which is present on the S9 Plus. While the S9 can still click images in portrait mode with the background of the subject blurred, the quality of shots takes a hit since there's no dedicated sensor on the smartphone to capture depth information. Moreover, you can't adjust the amount of blur on the S9, whereas you get the option to manually tweak it while taking the photo as well as after you've clicked it on the S9 Plus.Despite all of that, I still believe that the Galaxy S9 is right up there with its pricier sibling in terms of mobile photography. The images you can click with the S9's 12MP sensor are simply breathtaking and are rich in both colour as well as details. The lowlight capabilities of the smartphone surpass every other flagship in the market and you'll be amazed by how effective the variable aperture system on the S9 is. I've posted a few sample shots to give you an idea of the device's camera prowess but rest assured, if you want a smartphone with the best camera, then you can't go wrong with either of the two flagships from Samsung.I was impressed with the smartphone's 8MP, f/1.7 aperture selfie-camera too. While it hasn't seen a huge upgrade since last year, the camera still managed to capture incredibly detailed selfies. It is also one of the few selfie-shooters in the market which comes with autofocus capabilities, ensuring that a slight movement in your hand doesn't result in a blurry picture. Moreover, Samsung has also bundled a ‘selfie focus' mode with the Galaxy S9 which blurs the background of your portraits when clicked with the front camera.If you are addicted to watching ‘the Slo Mo guys' on YouTube, then you'll be glad to know that the Galaxy S9 will let you capture slow motion videos of your own too. Now, the resolution is capped at 720p and the feature only works when there's ample light around (even then it's a hit or a miss). However, when you do get it right, the footage looks impressive and for some reason, really satisfying too.Lastly, you'll also get the option to unlock your S9 by either letting the device scan your face or your irises. The smartphone can even choose which scanning method should be used depending upon the lighting conditions on its own. Samsung calls this Intelligent Scan and for the most part, it works as advertised. However, I did find the method to be a tad bit slower when compared to face unlock on other smartphones. Moreover, it doesn't always work when you're using your phone in the dark.In summation, the cameras on the Samsung Galaxy S9 certainly live up to the hype the company created at the launch event of the smartphones. Now, let's talk about something that didn't - the AR Emojis.AR Emojis are Samsung's take on Apple's Animojis, which allow users to create a 3D avatar of themselves. Unfortunately, my avatar looked nothing like me and came out to be rather disturbing and creepy which is why, I didn't find much use for this feature. To know more about how AR Emojis work, make sure to check out our review of the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 boots Android Oreo which is layered with the custom Samsung Experience 9.0 skin on top. As far as custom skins go, Samsung has done a pretty good job at keeping things minimal, though it's still a far cry from stock Android. While the company has reduced the bloatware on the device, the handset is still riddled with numerous duplicate applications.Now, you do get some nifty features with the skin such as the ability to create a shortcut for a pair of apps to be opened in split-screen mode simultaneously. However, they don't make up for the UI stutters and random app crashes on the S9. Moreover, you still can't remap the Bixby button to open some other application and since it's positioned so close to the volume rocker, you will end up accidentally pressing it on several occasions. Suffice it to say, software is Samsung's weakest link and it is still haunting the company's flagships, even to this day.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 is a really fast smartphone, though I must say, using the OnePlus 5T (review) has spoiled me a bit. The S9 is powered by an Exynos 9810 octa-core processor which has been paired with 4GB of RAM. Together, they churn out incredible performance, albeit the device doesn't seem as snappy as the 5T or even the Google Pixel 2 XL (review) for that matter. The difference in the performance becomes evident when you're multitasking between several applications and I noticed that the S9 struggled to keep applications in memory over extended usage.I never faced this issue with my 5T, whose 8 gigs of memory helped me switch between different applications instantly. Make no mistake, the Galaxy S9 can easily handle intensive gaming and does a fine job at multitasking too, but it's just not the quickest smartphone in the market. Suffice it to say, if you want a bit more grunt under the hood, then you'll be better off with the S9 Plus, which ships with 6GB of RAM.I wish I could say that Samsung's performance woes end there, but that's not it. During my usage, I noticed that my unit of the Galaxy S9 stayed perpetually warm to the touch, which made it uncomfortable to hold in the hot temperature conditions of Delhi. You shouldn't expect to get through the end of the day with the smartphone's 3,000mAh battery either. Even with the display set at full HD+ resolution, the battery on my Samsung Galaxy S9 dipped to critical numbers by evening. Thankfully, you get a fast charger bundled with the retail packaging of the smartphone so you can top it back to 100 percent charge level quickly. The phone supports wireless charging as well. In the audio department, the S9 now comes with a pair of speakers, (one at the bottom and the other being the earpiece itself) which have been fine-tuned by AKG. Coupled with the smartphone's brilliant display, the S9 offers an impeccable movie-watching experience.