First impressions of the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus [VIDEO]

The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus provided arguably the best experience for most of 2017. This has left many folks clamoring to see how Samsung would follow up with the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus.

There are a few features that could help the Galaxy S9 stand apart from the group in 2018, but that may not be enough this time around. We had some hands-on time with the devices, and we're back to share our thoughts.

Design

When looking at the Galaxy S9 lineup from the front, it would be a bit difficult to tell whether these are actually the upgraded versions. The fun starts when you pick the device up and look at it from the rear.

This is because the Galaxy S8 marked such a drastic design change for Samsung's lineup in recent years, that 2018 has turned into a "refinement" year of sorts. The gorgeous Infinity Display has returned, with the same 18.5:9 aspect ratio, and curved edges to help the device melt into your hands.

Turning it over to the back is where all the fun begins. The standard Galaxy S9 features a single 12MP sensor, but the Galaxy S9 offers a dual-camera system. Thanks to a new camera module, Samsung has listened to the consumer and rearranged the rear-mounted fingerprint scanner.

Instead of being awkwardly placed to the right, almost out of reach, the scanner is now oriented below the camera module on both devices. The heart rate monitor and LED flash are placed to the right of the main camera module, which sort of looks out of place.

Around the rest of the device, we see the return of the Bixby button, which is placed below the volume rocker, similar to the S8 lineup. On the bottom, we have a speaker/microphone, USB Type-C charging port, and 3.5mm headphone jack. In recent weeks we knew that the headphone jack would be returning, but there is always a chance that the headphone jack could be removed.

As for the design, the Galaxy S9 is definitely a refinement, but still feels a lot like its predecessor. Samsung sure knows how to produce a gorgeous device, and it stuck with the old adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

Camera

Since the overall design is practically the same as the Galaxy S8, Samsung turned its focus to the camera(s). The Galaxy S9 features a plain-jane 12MP sensor, but the star of the show is the Galaxy S9 Plus.

The larger device features dual-12MP sensors, although the secondary sensor features a variable aperture. This aperture mechanically adjusts between f/1.4 and f/2.5, allowing you to capture the right amount of light, regardless of your situation.

Obviously, this is an attempt to offer the best smartphone with low-light camera performance, and the Galaxy S9 Plus just might do the job. In our limited time with the device, we were able to take a few camera shots, and you can check those out below.

READ MORE: 38 Photos taken with the Samsung Galaxy S9 [GALLERY]

Super Slow-Mo

Keeping with the camera trend for a bit longer, in addition to featuring a mechanical aperture, the Galaxy S9 lineup has another trick up its sleeve. Both devices are capable of shooting "Super Slow-Mo" video at 960fps.

The way that this works is that you have a box in the frame (within the camera app), that can be moved around. Once the device recognizes that an object is passing through the focal point, it will then begin the Super Slow-Mo video in short bursts.

This turned out to be a pretty neat feature, but you will definitely need to make sure that the shot is properly framed. When testing this feature out, there were a few times where the video was activated before it was supposed to, simply because the shot wasn't framed properly.

The addition of Super Slow Mo is something that will likely be seen as a novelty, however, it could become more popular. This is due to the fact that Samsung moved the position of the shooting mode to right next to "Auto", as Samsung found that standard slow-mo was the second most popular camera mode on previous Samsung devices.

AR Emoji

Leading up Sunday's big event, we saw some rumors claiming Samsung would be looking to take on Apple's Animoji in some fashion. The rumors came true as we were introduced to AR Emoji, and there have been mixed feelings so far.

Luckily, I was able to play around with AR Emoji in my time with the Galaxy S9 and learned a few things. Before jumping right in, let me explain what AR Emoji is and how it works.

Chances are you have heard of Bitmoji at some point in time, and this is the same premise offered by AR Emoji. You create a little cartoon person resembling yourself, with the software doing all of the heavy lifting.

The difference here is that Bitmoji didn't use a camera to determine how your emoji would look like. With AR Emoji, you use either the front or rear facing cameras and allow the device to analyze your face.

From there, you will see a little character appear on the screen, which is intended to at least resemble you. My AR Emoji kind of looked like me, but didn't really match up with my facial features.

After the character has been created, you can customize different aspects, including hair style, color, glasses, and what type of clothes you wanted to wear. Once all of the boxes were checked, you were greeted with a personalized AR Emoji.

When creating this emoji, the Galaxy S9 would also create 18 different GIFs which could also be used as stickers. Then you can send these to your friends and family if things work smoothly.

What I mean by this is that my emoji didn't exactly track my facial expressions properly, often making me grimace when all I was doing was smiling. Maybe it's just because my smile is an awkward one, but the resulting AR Emoji was a bit terrifying.

This is going to be a cool gimmick to show off what the Galaxy S9 is capable of on the software side of things. But we will definitely be seeing more and more examples as Samsung pushes its advertising agenda over the next few months.

Here are some of the gifs created by AR Emoji by default:

Performance

As expected from a Samsung flagship, the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus have flagship specs. This means that the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 can be found powering the device, coupled with either 4GB or 6GB of RAM.

I have no doubt that this will be serviceable for many users for a few months, but the key for Samsung will be the software. Samsung is notorious for packing so many features into its devices that a slowdown is inevitable.

It's highly doubtful that the move to Android Oreo will do much to help keep these flagships in tip-top shape. But then again, we're are in the early days and have no data to really base much else off of at this time.

Conclusion

Am I excited for what the Galaxy S9 offers? Not exactly, but that's not entirely Samsung's fault. We are in an "off-year", meaning that this is an incremental upgrade. We are also bound to see the same thing from other OEM's over the course of the year.

That's why Samsung put so much focus into the camera and adding even more gimmicks to the package. What really got me excited was the inclusion of the new Lilac Purple color variant.

This could sell like hotcakes when the Galaxy S9 launches and could be the fan favorite for 2018. Then again, the flagship Galaxy lineup always sells like hotcakes, so I'm sure we'll begin seeing reports that the S9 is projected to outsell its predecessor.

Be sure to sound off in the comments below and let us know what you think about these devices and whether you'll be picking one up for yourself.

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So long, and thanks to all the Phans

It has been almost exactly four years since my first official post as a Phandroid writer. In that time, I have written thousands of posts including news articles, tips & tricks guides, phone reviews, and just plain silly stuff. I've also had my face in front of the camera in countless videos and podcast episodes. I've enjoyed all of this work, but all good things come to an end. Today is my last day at Phandroid.

I would like to take this opportunity to reminisce about some of my favorite pieces, look back at how much Android has changed, and give some thanks.

The 5 Types of Android Users You Meet

This article started with a suggestion from Rob to write something about the countless "Share your home screen" threads on Android Forums. I thought it would be fun to categorize the home screens into different types of Android users. From there, it just kept getting more silly. I decided to give each user a nickname, McDonald's order, and favorite beverage just for fun.

Readers immediately responded to the article positively. Twitter started blowing up with tweets from people sharing home screens and declaring their type. I remember Rob saying something to me after the post went live about how the article wasn't what he had in mind but he liked it. That's why it's my favorite. I was able to take a basic idea and put my own creative spin on it.

Phan Favs

Phan Favs was a series I started that allowed readers to vote for their favorite apps. We've written a ton of "Best Apps" lists and readers always disagree with our rankings. So this was a way for readers to decide. I had a lot of fun putting these together and tallying up the votes. It's always fun interacting with the community.

It's time to stop treating Android Wear like a phone

This article makes me a little sad because I feel like Google really lost their way with Android Wear. It started out as a pretty simple interface for notifications and glanceable information. Google had all these guidelines for making the watches feel more like a watches, but people just wanted phones on their wrist. That's why I switched to Pebble. I also really like the photo I took for this article.

HTC One Remix Review

My first review on Phandroid was the HTC One Remix, the Verizon version of the HTC One Mini 2. There's nothing special about this phone, but it was the first of many review units I was lucky enough to get. I actually still have this phone because I accidentally dropped it and cracked the screen shortly after the review went up. The first phone I ever received for Phandroid and I broke it. Thankfully, I was much more careful with the phones that followed.

5 Tops Apps & Games of the Week

A lot of my work at Phandroid revolved around apps and games. I made a majority of the "Best Apps for [BLANK]" lists, Best Apps of the Month, app reviews, and the weekly 5 Top Apps videos on YouTube. These were some of my favorite things to make. The weekly app videos were fun and the comments were alwayts positive.

Speaking of videos, I made a lot of them for Phandroid. A lot more than I ever thought I would. When I first started working for Neverstill, I wasn't very good at videos. It's amazing to see how much more comfortable I got over the years.

Here is the first video I ever made:

Here's one of the last videos I made for Phandroid:

Is that even the same guy? Here are a couple of my other favorite videos.

Android has changed a lot in the last four years. My daily driver when I started at Phandroid was the Nexus 5. I was still excited about Android tablets. Smartwatches were just getting started. Android O seemed like it was a decade away. If a phone didn't have a headphone jack it got laughed out of existence. It was a different time.

One thing hasn't changed over the years: the passion that Android users have for the platform. Interacting with Phandroid readers has always been a joy (even when we get into arguments). If no one cares about the content there's no point in writing any of this stuff. I want to thank everyone who has read my articles and watched my videos over the years. I appreciate it a lot.

Thank You

Lastly, I need to thank the team at Neverstill Media. My life was changed 6 years ago when Rob hired me to write about Windows Phones. I look back at my time here and realize how incredibly lucky I am. I've learned so much and I've made so many unforgettable memories. I owe it all to Rob for giving me a chance. I can't thank him enough.

And for the rest of my teammates, keep kicking ass and doing your thing. We have an incredibly talented cast of writers and developers at Phandroid. I enjoyed getting to know you all and becoming good friends. I wish you nothing but the best in the future. Thank you for everything.

As for me, I'm off to XDA-Developers where I will be Managing Editor. If you're interested in following me, I'm most active on Twitter (@tallshmo). Thanks again for reading and watching my work! Android Forever!

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Fun Fact: Android was originally made to be run on digital cameras

Android runs on, well, pretty much everything these days, but much of the world will remember that it got its start on smartphones. That began on the T-Mobile G1, as you all know.

But did you know that it wasn't even originally made for phones? Andy Rubin spilled the beans in an interview at Mobile World Congress, noting that Android was actually meant to be run on digital cameras. The work was being done as early as 2004, he says.

Eventually, some digital cameras did run Android.

It's an interesting revelation, but as his company correctly predicted, consumer-grade digital cameras were being phased out as the popularity of cameras on smartphones took hold. Of course, smartphone cameras couldn't hold a candle to digital cameras back then, but they were still good enough for people who desired to eliminate yet another gadget from their tote bags.

Andy Rubin likely couldn't have predicted that Android would explode into popularity just a few years later, but he did know that offering it as an open source platform free to use by anyone would disrupt the market in some fashion.

"We wanted as many cellphones to use Android as possible. So instead of charging $99, or $59, or $69, to Android, we gave it away for free, because we knew the industry was price sensitive," he said.

Now, you can find it on TVs, bikes, inside cars, on your wrist, in your clothes, and everywhere in between — even those digital cameras it was originally destined for. Andy Rubin's contemporary visions may not be quite as successful, but you can't take this one away from him.

via PCWorld

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My Tamagotchi Forever comes to the Play Store on March 15th

If you're a fan of throwback "feels", then you'll be super stoked to learn that Tamagotchi's are coming back! My Tamagotchi Forever has landed on the Play Store, but you can't download it just yet.

The game will require you to take care of your own Tamagotchi, just like the old days. You'll need to feed it, play mini-games, and evolve it when the time is right. Then, you can share your progress on social media to do some bragging.

Bandai Namco made the introduction as a way to celebrate the companies 20th birthday. This is one way to bring folks on board and hit everyone's nostalgia bone.

My Tamagotchi Forever launches on iOS and Android on March 15th, but you can pre-register to know as soon as it becomes available to download. If you register through the official Tamagotchi website, you will be entered for a chance to "become the inspiration for a brand new Tamagotchi character".

Bandai Namco has released a fun little teaser trailer which shows the progression of a Tamagotchi starting back in 1997. Then it fast forwards to today and reveals a new character which ends up actually pooping on your floor. So we hope you're ready to clean up after a little pet all the time.

Let us know if you're excited for the release of My Tamagotchi Forever!

Pre-register for My Tamagotchi Forever

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Amazon acquires Ring’s smart doorbell business

The big tech companies continue to gobble up the competition. Reuters is reporting that Amazon has agreed to acquire Ring for more than $1 billion. Ring is a company best known for doorbell security cameras, but they also offer other smart home devices. The smart home market is very important to Amazon, and now they have one of the biggest up-and-coming players.

Ring is expected to operate under its own branding like business as usual. We can expect to see a much greater integration with Amazon products and services. Ring already integrates with Amazon Alexa really well. If you're an existing Ring user, you probably won't notice anything different. The acquisition ensures that your Ring services will be working for a long time.

The problem with this acquisition is something that has been happening in the tech industry for a while. "Success" for startups is no longer defined by how well the business does. It's defined by getting acquired by Amazon or Google. Companies like Ring and Nest start small and become successful, but instead of taking on the big dogs head-to-head, they get absorbed.

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ASUS ZenFone 5Z (iPhone X clone) announced alongside the 5, and 5 Lite

ASUS is pretty household name when it comes to PC hardware, but they also build some pretty nice smartphones through the years. Dubbed the "ZenFone," we don't really see too much of them here in the states, but never-the-less, the manufacturer continues churning out brand new Android devices every year.

Their newest flagship — announced at MWC 2018 — is the ASUS Zenfone 5. Like year's past, there's multiple version of the phone with varying hardware specs at different price points. The highest-end and most premium is the ZenFone 5Z (which has the exact same body as the regular ZenFone 5).

Priced at $500, the ZenFone 5Z offers a wide range of flagship specs along with a design all too familiar to Apple fans. In fact, the phone is a spitting image of the recently released iPhone X with a 6.2-inch 19:9 FHD+ and yes, trademark notch. ASUS talked about the notch being somewhere around 25% smaller than the iPhone X's but let's be real — that's like paint giving you 25% less lead poisoning.

There's no real point to the notch when there's still a thick enough bezel along the bottom of the phone to house the phone's sensors and front facing camera. Just eliminate the notch, flip the phone upside down, and call it a night. That's not to say the phone's not a clear design upgrade from last year's ZenFone 4. The ZenFone 5/5Z actually has a smaller overall footprint, while increasing the size of the display. That's saying something.

Aside from the ridiculous notch, ASUS advertised a handful of the phone's smart features, something it appears they've just replaced with the word "AI." For instance, the ZenFone 5Z features an "AI Display," which adjusts the color temperature to the ambient light around you (just like on the iPhone X). There's also "AI Ringtone," and "AI Charging" — what artificial intelligence has to do with those features is anyone's guess. Like the Huawei Mate 10 Pro, the ZenFone 5Z features an "AI Camera" that supposedly recognizes scenes and objects in real time, adjusting settings for snapping the best pics.

As for the rest of the hardware specs, you're looking at a Snapdragon 845 processor, up to 8GB of RAM, 256GB of internal storage with micro SD expansion, and a 3,300mAh battery. As for the 5Z's cameras, you have dual 16MP and 6MP (wide angle) cameras on the back, while the front has 20MP/6MP cameras. The ZenFone 5 and 5 Lite (5Q in the US) will have Snapdragon 635, 630, or 430, as well as 4GB or 6GB of RAM, and 32GB or 64GB of storage depending on the specific model. There's certainly a lot of variation there.

It's worth nothing that none of the phones — not even the flagship ZenFone 5Z — feature wireless charging or water resistance like you'll find on most modern flagships. ASUS hopes to make up for this with their own knock-off Animoji, something they're calling "Zenimoji."

You can expect the ZenFone 5Z to be released sometime in June for €479 (around $500 US dollars), the ZenFone 5 in April, and the ZenFone Lite in March. For more on ASUS' new ZenFone lineup, check out The Verge's video below.

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The Pixel team is looking for feedback on improving the user experience of device settings

Google Pixel owners are some of the most vocal, die-hard Android enthusiasts out there. Because of this, they can be pretty brutal when it comes to feedback, being hyper aware of the phone's faults.

To help learn more about improving the user experience on their devices, the Google Pixel team is currently "collecting feedback related to settings and device configuration" over in a post on Reddit. It's not general feedback, it's specifically in relation to any sort of pain points in dealing with the phone's settings.

To help give you a better idea of what they're looking for, here are a few ideas they're hoping you'll help them with:

• There's a setting you constantly have to manage yourself (e.g. you turn Bluetooth on and off 10 times a day)
• There's a setting you love, but wish you had found out about earlier (e.g. you are a big DND user, but never realized there was a DND scheduling feature)
• There's a setting or configuration you wish your phone could be smarter about (e.g. why can't my Pixel put itself in airplane mode when I'm taking off in a plane?)
• There's a setting or configuration you wish your phone could remind you about (e.g. I wish my phone could make sure I don't forget to silence my phone at work)
• There are settings you changed the second you setup your phone (e.g. I turned off haptic feedback right away after setting up my Pixel)

It's worth noting that Google is committing to anything at the current moment, whether that's new features or products. They're simply looking for feedback that could help improve the user experience of their devices in the future. If you'd like to help, drop them a line over in the thread on Reddit and make your opinions known.

via Reddit

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AT&T making changes to its new unlimited data plans

If you're a fan of unlimited data (who isn't?), AT&T has some good news today. They have announced a couple of changes to their unlimited plan line-up. The new plans are called Unlimited Plus Enhanced and Unlimited Choice Enhanced.

The big thing that everyone will be happy about is the Unlimited Pirce Enhanced plan is $10 cheaper than the current Unlimited Plus plan. It's $80 compared to $90. The Plus plan also increases hotspot data to 15GB. Unlimited Choice Enhanced, however, is $5 more than the current plan. Both new plans will come with a $15 loyalty credit.

These prices are only available if you sign up for paperless billing and autopay. As with anything that involves carriers, there's a ton of fine print and extra details, so be sure to read the full announcement before running to sign up.

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Alleged OnePlus 6 leak features a iPhone X-like notch and glass back

If OnePlus follows their usual release schedule, we're still a good few months away before the OnePlus 6 is even announced with an actual launch date sometime in June. So far there hasn't really been anything even rumored about the phone, the OnePlus 5T and its limited edition colors are still fresh in our minds. Then, out of nowhere, alleged photos of the phone have now hit the ground running.

We should warn you, the photos appearing on IT Home — after being pulled on Weibo — are extremely suspect. They show a device that's allegedly the OnePlus 6 and featuring a new glass back (which is all the rage these days for whatever reason), a squircle fingerprint sensor, and vertically arranged dual camera setup. The OnePlus logo is emblazoned across the back and for the most part, everything looks legit.

Flipping the phone over and you can see a new nearly bezel-less display with iPhone X-like notch at the top. The screen UI shows some of the software information, with the phone running Android 8.1. This is where things start to look a little shoppy, but it's a tough call to make.

 

via Slashleaks

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This $150 iPhone X knockoff totally misses the point

Shameless iPhone ripoffs have been a consistent source of amusement for us tech heads over the years, but Leagoo's S9 takes the cake. This $150 device aims to take its cue from the iPhone X, despite its name being completely lifted from Samsung's newly-announced flagship.

And that's not even the most ridiculous thing of all. Not only is the use of a notch obnoxious for the fact that it doesn't have the same advanced optics the iPhone X jams in there, it doesn't even help Leagoo eliminate the bottom bezel from the device. Here's what the iPhone X was able to do thanks to its notch:

So really, they took a big bite out of the top of its display for no damned good reason at all. But it's only $150 and someone's going to be naive to buy it, so hey, more power to them!

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Apple’s iCloud confirmed to be powered by Google’s Cloud Services

While it may seem like Apple's biggest competition comes from Samsung, Google is still hanging around and has been gaining steam over the last few years. However, even companies as big as Apple and Google have to look elsewhere from time to time in order to provide customers with a better experience.

We've seen this with Google's recent acquisition of a portion of HTC"s division for its Pixel lineup of devices, and Apple outsourced its iPhone X display needs to Samsung. It seems that Apple's outsourcing isn't done yet, as it was revealed that the company makes use of the Google Cloud Platform for iCloud storage.

This is a new change and one that has replaced the old guard of using Amazon's S3 services alongside Microsoft Azure. However, those days are gone as the iOS Security Guide has been updated with new language confirming Google's involvement.

For those wondering, just because iCloud's infrastructure takes advantage of Google's Cloud Services, this doesn't just mean that Google has access to all of the information. In fact, Apple is quick to confirm that while there is encrypted information on GCS, there is no 'user-identifying information' available in the cloud.

This move is not all that surprising, as Google continues to build up its cloud storage capabilities. And with Apple not looking to join the cloud infrastructure "game", the company will continue looking for the best option for its users. This time around, it just seems that Google is here to benefit and offer exactly what Apple needs. Sometimes it's nice to see two giants of the industry working together, instead of being entrenched in a mythical war.

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38 photos taken with the Samsung Galaxy S9 [GALLERY]

The Samsung Galaxy S9 was officially announced earlier this week. It's not a huge upgrade over the Galaxy S8, but a couple of the improvements involve the camera. The most notable new feature is the mechanical aperture in the main camera. It can go from f/1.5 all the way up to f/2.4.

With a lower aperture, the camera can let in more light at a time. This means low-light photography will get a great boost by offering up well-lit photos without adding a ton of noise to the image. Samsung has released a slew of official camera samples to show off what the camera can do at both apertures. Check them out below.

F/1.5 Samples

F/2.4 Samples

Front Camera

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