I've had the Samsung Galaxy S9 for roughly 2 months already and I'm having tons of fun playing with the mobile phone. If you have been following my Instagram, the pictures taken these couple of months were taken with this phone and I must say my selfie game has been improved thanks to the better camera functions.
So, here's my take on the smartphone and if you are planning to get the Samsung Galaxy S9, hope these review points help you with the discussion...
Design & Appearance
Basically the Samsung S9 is very similar to the S8 in terms of body design and overall appearance. Being 5.81 x 2.70 x 0.33 in and weighing 5.75 oz, it's a very nice grip to fit into my palms and though it's said to be using Gorilla Glass 5 for its front and back body, I'm still very wary of dropping it. It's also very easy to get smudges and fingerprints stains on the phone, which I think that's why Samsung has provided a transparent Silicon Cover in the box.
Since I was still using their S7 edge phone, it's a very nice change to have the Infinity Display, where I can watch videos without border distractions, even the bottom home button can be hidden, so that the video can fill up the whole screen. Though the buttons are now "on-screen", it is still very easy to transition between the phone, I got used to it very fast.And speaking of watching videos, I find myself watching more shows and videos on the S9 for the sound system is also improved with stereo sound system. Music is easily room-filling, with richer and clearer sound. It’s a step up from Samsung’s previous smartphones, but if they could add in front-facing speakers, it would be perfect!
So, without the physical home button, the fingerprint reader has already been shifted to the back where the camera lens are. But compared with the S8, the fingerprint reader is now positioned more conveniently for your finger swiping with a raised button on the back. It's very easy to activate the phone with the fingerprint reading or for more advance, you can also activate using the Intelligent Scan or Face Scanner.
Once with my face scanned and stored into the phone's memory, I can just activate the phone just by looking at the phone. It does take a while to "recognize" and unlock the phone, but it will be helpful if your hands happened to be full. However, when I tried unlocking the phone outside, under the sun, it may fail at times, for my face may be against the sun and if you do wear spectacles like me, it also takes awhile to turn on the phone, maybe it's the reflection on the lens?
One thing I'm not very used to is the Bixby button. Located under the volume button, I tend to press on the Bixby thinking it's the lower volume option. Having Bixby popping up all the time can be a little frustrating.
So it's a dilemma for me. I find Bixby very helpful when I'm using the phone but coz I keep pressing the button accidentally, I turned off the function, which makes calling out Bixby another additional step hassle...
To disable Bixby Home from popping up whenever we accidentally press the side button
- Press the Bixby button on the left side of the phone, right under the volume rocker.
- In the top menu bar, tap the Settings button (looks like three cogs).
- Uncheck Bixby Key.
Functions
Battery Life is very important when it comes to selecting my smartphone. The fact that I'm on social media all the time, and I love mobile gaming so much, a long battery life is what I need, but sadly the S9 runs out fast. The phone just dies after a full day of heavy usage, which normally other phones can last 1.5 days. I find myself dimming the screen alot of times, just to save battery, so, a minus point there...
