Hands-On Look at the New Samsung Galaxy S9 & S9 Plus

Hands-On Look at the New Samsung Galaxy S9 & S9 Plus – Following news of its impending release earlier this year, Samsung has officially debuted the newest version of its flagship smartphone: the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus.

CNET offers up a brief hands-on look at the upcoming phone, detailing the new features and upgrades from the previous S8.

The biggest improvement over last year’s model and the highlight is the bold new camera. The standard S9 features a single lens on the rear of the phone: a 12MP rear sensor with optical image stabilization, and a number of improvements packed in to “reimagine” the phone camera. The S9 Plus sports a dual lens setup, with an added telephoto lens, like the Note 8.

The other big chance is the movement of the fingerprint reader from the side of the rear camera to the center of the phone’s back — something heavily criticized last year. We approve too!

It’s also powered by the new Snapdragon 845 processor, allowing for better speed, battery life, and security upgrades; external storage support being upped to 400GB, and it’s powered by Android 8.0 Oreo.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 will also come in new colorways: Lilac Purple and Coral Blue.

Preorders for the new smartphone begin March 2, with the phones going on sale March 16. It’s available in various storage points, but the S9 goes for between $720 and $800 and with the S9 Plus around $840 and $930.