Samsung Launches the Galaxy S9 & S9 Plus

Faizel Patel- 26-02-2018

South Korean electronics company Samsung took centre stage at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) with the unveiling of its latest flagship device, the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus.

About 1,500 people showed up to watch the unveiling on Sunday around a stage surrounded by screens while in South Africa, the company held a live streaming of the event at Art it Is in Johannesburg.

Samsung says the new smartphones “reimagine the way people communicate, share, and experience the world”, and packs in plethora of awesome features.

DJ Koh, Samsung’s president of IT and mobile communications, says the most important function of a phone today was “visual communication”, and the Galaxy S9 had been designed for the visual and social generation.

The South Korean technology giant is banking on new features such as augmented reality-based emojis, camera upgrades and stereo speakers tuned by AKG, audio with Dolby Atmos.

The Samsung S9 features a redesigned new dual aperture lens that powers an innovative low light camera, Super Slow-mo video capabilities.

Samsung says the lens adapts like the human eye and its able automatically switch between various lighting conditions with ease—making your photos look great whether it’s bright or dark, day or night.

Samsung says the new cameras equipped on the S9 and S9+ feature a Super Speed Dual Pixel sensor with dedicated processing power and memory that can combine up to 12 frames into one amazing shot for the highest photo quality possible.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 takes:

• Super slow-mo shots – dynamic, slow-motion video that captures 960 frames per second.
• Motion detection – an intelligent feature that detects movement in the frame and automatically begins to record.
• Low-light shots – similar to the way the iris of a human eye expands and contracts, Samsung’s Dual Aperture (F1.5/F2.4)
  automatically lets in more light when it’s dark and less light when it’s too bright.
• AR Emoji – Samsung lets users create an emoji that looks, sounds and acts just like them.
• Bixby – Samsung’s intelligence platform, integrated into the camera, uses augmented reality and deep learning technologies to provide helpful information about a user’s surroundings.

The Samsung S9 is IP68 water and dust resistance and features Wireless charging, Expandable memory of up to 400GB with MicroSD, Knox 3.1 security and Iris, fingerprint, and facial recognition.

Vice President of Integrated Mobility, Samsung South Africa Craige Fleischer says the way we use our smartphones has changed as communication and self-expression has evolved.

“With the Galaxy S9 and S9+, we have reimagined the smartphone camera. Not only does the Galaxy S9 and S9+ enable consumers to shoot the best photos and videos anywhere, it’s a smartphone that’s designed to help them connect to others and express themselves in a way that’s unique and personal to them.”

The S9 and S9+ will cost R14 599 and R17 999 on pre-order in South Africa, It will be available starting in March 16, in Midnight Black, Titanium Grey and a new hue, Lilac Purple.

Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ Product Specifications