South Korean giant, Samsung finally unveiled the Galaxy S9 and the S9+. The devices were unveiled at an event a day ahead of MWC 2018. This made the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ centres of attention just before the Mobile World Congress. This new smartphone will be replacing the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+.
However, the new smartphones are more of a revision of the older devices and not entirely different devices. Things like the display, storage and memory on the smaller variant, overall design language remains the same. Except for the cameras which the company calls to be “Reimagined.”
This makes the new devices not very different from their older counterparts. This makes the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ which is not cheaper thanks to a new smartphone, a better option. Depending on one's usage the newer Galaxy S9 devices may not be even any different than the older Galaxy S8 devices.
So here are the top 5 reasons why not to buy the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+.
Too Similar in Design
The newer Samsung Galaxy S9 apart from a repositioned fingerprint sensor has the same design as the Galaxy S8. This makes the smartphone not very interesting design wise. Going to the Galaxy S8 which will now be on discount a better value for money.
Pricing
The Samsung Galaxy S9 starts at USD 799(~ Rs 51,700). And the bigger Galaxy S9+ starts at USD 949(~ Rs 61,400). This makes the offering's like the OnePlus 5T a more affordable option. Also, after the launch of the Galaxy S9, the older Galaxy S8 will be available at a discount. This makes the S9 a hard buying option.
Gimmicks and nothing more
The latest offering from Samsung offers many new features software wise. The Samsung Galaxy S9 and the S9+ offer features like the Iris scanner and face unlock combined. The company calls it Intelligent scanning. What it does is implements the company's Iris scanner. And then falls back to a less secure face recognition using the phone's camera. when you consider the fact that the older Galaxy S8 also had this feature, you don't get anything new. Apart from the face scanner of course, which is just another gimmick. Also, the fingerprint sensor is way faster and secure.
Also, the new Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ sports a feature called AR-emoji. It sounds and works a lot similar to Apple's Animoji found on iPhone X. It uses the device's front camera to enable animated figures for yourself. This is nothing more than a gimmick.
Bixby Button
The Samsung Galaxy S9 and the S9+ carry the Bixby button from the last generation Galaxy S8. And also, the placement of the Bixby button is just below the volume rocker. This makes accidentally pressing the Bixby button way common. Also, Samsung's Bixby is not as advanced as the Google assistant or Amazon Alexa. Considering the fact that the Google Assistant is also present in the Galaxy S9 and S9+. This makes the Bixby pointless. If the button could be re-mapped, it would have been a blessing for the users.
Android Updates
When we buy a flagship smartphone, we expected nothing but the latest and greatest in every aspect. Samsung is notoriously known for delaying the software updates. Take for example of the Galaxy S8. The device got Android Oreo Update just a few weeks ago. The new Android P is on the brink now. This is because of the heavily skinned Samsung Experience UI, but it is present.
