Samsung’s Galaxy S9 will go on pre-order in Australia today
The Samsung Galaxy S9 will arrive rapidly, with pre-orders kicking off today and Australian availability from 16 March 2018.
In Barcelona at Mobile World Congress, Samsung has formally launched the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+, its flagship phones for 2018. While significant leaks detailed just about every factor of the new handsets, Samsung had kept a few details to itself.
As had been rumoured, Samsung is opting for a tiered device strategy with its Galaxy S9 series, with the larger Galaxy S9+ not only offering up a larger display screen, but also a secondary 12MP rear camera in a similar style to that of the Galaxy Note 8 handset. If you opt for the smaller and slightly less expensive Galaxy S9, you'll be using a single 12MP lens instead. New camera features include super low light and super slow motion 960fps video recording.
The camera is also used to create Samsung's take on animated emojis with what it calls AR Emojis. Tracking 100 points on your face, your own AR Emoji creates custom views of your face, if you like that sort of feature.
Samsung's design team has essentially really only tweaked around the edges of the existing Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ designs with the Galaxy S9. The most obvious change is a shift in the positioning of the rear-mounted fingerprint sensor to below the lens, as distinct from the side as it was on the previous design.
In terms of specifications under the glass, as expected Samsung will produce the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ with either Qualcomm's Snapdragon 845 SoC or its own Exynos 8910 silicon. In Australia, we'll see the Exynos variant of the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+, although it's inevitable that direct importers will also offer the Snapdragon 845 variant.
On the pricing front, if you want the Galaxy S9 outright, it will cost $1199 in Australia for the 64GB variant, while the 256GB version will run you $1349. The Galaxy S9+ will cost $1349 for 64GB or $1499 for the 256GB variant. While Samsung will produce a 128GB version of both phones, we won't see those models in Australia.
They'll be offered in Australia in Midnight Black, Coral Blue or Lilac Purple finishes, although there will be some variance as to where colours and storage variants are available. Specifically, the Midnight Black version will be available everywhere, but if you want a 256GB Lilac Purple or Coral Blue Galaxy S9 or Galaxy S9+, you'll have to order those through Samsung only.
The Samsung Galaxy S9 and Samsung Galaxy S9+ will also be offered by all the major carriers, with pre-orders through Samsung commencing on 26 February for delivery on 16 March 2018. Carrier pre-orders will kick off from 27 February.
| Handset | Samsung Galaxy S9 | Samsung Galaxy S9+ |
|---|---|---|
| Colours | Midnight Black, Titanium Gray, Lilac Purple, Coral Blue | Midnight Black, Titanium Gray, Lilac Purple, Coral Blue |
| Water resistance | IP68 | IP68 |
| Display size | 5.8-inch, 1440 x 2960 Pixel, 570ppi | 6.2-inch, 1440 x 2960 Pixel, 529ppi |
| Display Type | Super AMOLED (18.5:9), Infinity Display QHD+ | Super AMOLED (18.5:9), Infinity Display QHD+ |
| Operating System | Android 8.0 Oreo | Android 8.0 Oreo |
| CPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 (4x 1,7 + 4x 2,6 GHz) or Samsung Exynos 9810, Octa Core-CPU (4 x 2.9GHz + 4 x 1.9GHz) | Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 (4x 1,7 + 4x 2,6 GHz) or Samsung Exynos 9810, Octa Core-CPU (4 x 2.9GHz + 4 x 1.9GHz) |
| RAM | 4 GB | 6 GB |
| Storage | 64GB/128GB/256GB | 64GB/128GB/256GB |
| Rear Camera | 12 MP, F/1.5-F/2.4 | Dual Sensor 12 MP F/1.5 & F/2.4 and 12 MP F/2.4 |
| Front Camera | 8 MP F/1.7 | 8 MP F/1.7 |
| Autofocus | F/1.7 AF | F/1.7 AF |
| Dual SIM | Yes | Yes |
| LTE | Yes | Yes |
| USB | USB C | USB C |
| Battery | 3000 mAh | 3500 mAh |
| Wireless charging | Yes | Yes |
| Sensors | Iris scanner, fingerprint reader, facial recognition | Iris scanner, fingerprint reader, facial recognition |
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