Samsung has kicked of the 2018 phone race with its early unveiling of the Galaxy S9 at Mobile World Congress 2018, as a follow up to last year’s Galaxy S8. Tech pundits have the tendency of putting the latest gadget in some kind of spec battle with the existing latest and greatest smartphone gizmos.
The Galaxy S9 is actually a pretty simple device to explain. In essence, it’s the Galaxy S8, with a couple of tweaks (like moving the fingerprint sensor to a right position), and all the specs jacked up to the absolute max for the most powerful device on the market — at least, on paper.
So, we’ve put the S9 and S9 Plus head-to-head against some of its biggest competition, including the Pixel 2, iPhone X, the Essential Phone. We hope this will give you a better idea of what the smartphone landscape looks like and help you start making that decision you’ve long been waiting for.
| Specification | Galaxy S9 | Galaxy S9 Plus | Pixel 2 XL | Pixel 2 | iPhone X | iPhone 8 | iPhone 8 Plus | Galaxy Note 8 | Essential Phone | LG V30S ThinQ | Sony Xperia XZ2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 5.8 inches | 6.2 inches | 6.0 inches | 5.0 inches | 5.8 inches | 4.7 inches | 5.5 inches | 6.3 inches | 5.71 inches | 6 inches | 5.7 inches |
| Resolution | 2960 x 1440 | 2960 x 1440 | 2880 x 1440 | 1920 x 1080 | 2436 x 1125 | 1334 x 750 | 1920 x 1080 | 2960 x 1440 | 2560 x 1312 | 2880 x 1440 | 2160 x 1080 |
| Processor | Snapdragon 845 (2.8GHz and 1.7GHz, octa-core) | Snapdragon 845 (2.8GHz and 1.7GHz, octa-core) | Snapdragon 835 (2.35GHz and 1.9GHz, octa-core) | Snapdragon 835 (2.35GHz and 1.9GHz, octa-core) | A11 Bionic | A11 Bionic | A11 Bionic | Snapdragon 835 (2.35GHz and 1.9GHz, octa-core) | Snapdragon 835 (2.45GHz and 1.9GHz, octa-core) | Snapdragon 835 | Snapdragon 845 (2.7GHz and 1.7GHz, octa-core) |
| RAM | 4GB | 6GB | 4GB | 4GB | 3GB | 2GB | 3GB | 6GB | 4GB | 6GB | 4GB |
| Storage | 64GB | 64GB | 64GB, 128GB | 64GB, 128GB | 64GB, 256GB | 64GB, 256GB | 64GB, 256GB | 64GB, 128GB, 256GB | 128GB | 128GB, 256GB | 64GB |
| Rear camera | 12 megapixel | 12 megapixel, 12 megapixel (wide) | 12.2 megapixel | 12.2 megapixel | 12 megapixel, 12 megapixel (wide) | 12 megapixel | 12 megapixel, 12 megapixel (wide) | 12 megapixel, 12 megapixel (wide) | 13 megapixel, 13 megapixel (monochrome) | 16 megapixel, 13 megapixel (wide) | 19 megapixel |
| Front camera | 8 megapixel | 8 megapixel | 8 megapixel | 8 megapixel | 7 megapixel | 7 megapixel | 7 megapixel | 8 megapixel | 8 megapixel | 5 megapixel | 6 megapixel |
| Battery | 3000mAh | 3500mAh | 3520mAh | 2700mAh | 2716mAh | 1821mAh | 2675mAh | 3300mAh | 3040mAh | 3300mAh | 3180mAh |
| Water protection | IP68 | IP68 | IP67 | IP67 | IP67 | IP67 | IP67 | IP68 | N/A | IP68 | IP65/68 |
| Weight | 0.36 pounds | 0.42 pounds | 0.39 pounds | 0.32 pounds | 0.38 pounds | 0.33 pounds | 0.45 pounds | 0.43 pounds | 0.41 pounds | 0.35 pounds | 0.44 pounds |
| Dimensions (in.) | 5.81 x 2.70 x 0.33 | 6.22 x 2.91 x 0.33 | 6.20 x 3.00 x 0.30 | 5.70 x 2.70 x 0.30 | 5.65 x 2.79 x 0.30 | 5.45 x 2.65 x 0.29 | 6.24 x 3.07 x 0.30 | 6.40 x 2.94 x 0.34 | 5.57 x 2.80 x 0.31 | 5.97 x 2.97 x 0.29 | 6.02 x 2.83 x 0.44 |
| Starting price | 719.99 | 839.99 | 849 | 649 | 999 | 699 | 799 | 930 | 699 | TBA | TBA |
| Misc. | Iris scanner, mechanically adjustable aperture, wireless charging | Iris scanner, mechanically adjustable aperture, wireless charging | Squeezable sides, no headphone jack | Squeezable sides, no headphone jack | Face ID scanner, no headphone jack | Wireless charging, no headphone jack | Wireless charging, no headphone jack | S Pen, Iris scanner, USB-C, wireless charging | Modular attachement system | Quad DAC for Hi-Fi audio, ThinQ AI | Dynamic vibration system |
