Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus review
Update: The Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus now has the likes of the Galaxy Note 9 and iPhone XS to compete with, but it remains a top phone and is now available at a slightly lower price. However, the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus is fast approaching.
Other than the newer Samsung Galaxy Note 9, the Galaxy S9 Plus is Samsung's most advanced big phone thanks to its oversized screen and superb cameras – even if it all looks identical to last year’s S8 Plus. It's also Samsung's best phone. In fact, almost a year after launch it remains at the top of our best phones list.
Without dramatic changes to the design, it’s only an iterative update to the S8 Plus – but it’s an iterative update to an Android phone that sat near the top of our best phones list for around a year. That’s important to remember.
We’ve tested the Galaxy S9 Plus for months now, and its low-light photos and big screen are the two most obvious highlights. It’s still Samsung’s grandiose 6.2-inch curved ‘Infinity’ display that will sell you on this more expensive phone over the 5.8-inch Galaxy S9, but both handsets have an improved 12MP camera that boasts a f/1.5 maximum aperture.
This is the first camera phone with such a wide aperture, giving the S9 and S9 Plus low-light and noise-defeating powers that, in many situations, are more advanced than those of even the Google Pixel 2, our previous best phone camera, and new LG G7 ThinQ with its AI camera.
That said, the newer Google Pixel 3, Huawei Mate 20 Pro and iPhone XS now have it beat in our best camera phone ranking.
The S9 Plus benefits from a rear dual-lens camera, too, giving it the same telephoto capabilities as the previous year’s Note 8 (the S9 has one lens on the back). Its primary lens can also capture super-slow-motion video at 960 frames per second if you’re serious about video and, if you’re not, uses its 8MP front-facing camera to paint your face with AR Emoji props and masks. It's Samsung's spin on Apple's Animoji, but don't get too excited about it. It's rather unimpressive, unlike the rest of the phone.
Samsung has listened to the negative feedback regarding last year’s handsets, and has wisely moved its offset rear fingerprint sensor to a center-aligned position. It’s a more natural location, although you may not even need it thanks to the face unlock and iris scanning onboard and working at the same time. Addressing another shortcoming of the S8 Plus, Samsung finally gives its flagship phones stereo speakers for superior sound.
If you’re thinking a sudden emphasis on stereo speakers, face unlock, AR Emoji and vertically stacked 12MP dual cameras sounds as if these are Samsung’s take on iPhone X features, you're right.
The S9 Plus tries to match everything Apple can do, but at a larger screen size (at least until the iPhone XS Max arrived) and with a 3.5mm headphone jack – and it also bests the Google Pixel 2 XL’s low-light photography in some scenarios. The night mode of the Huawei P20 Pro beats it in some low-light scenarios, but not all.
What’s interesting is that Apple’s and Google’s handsets aren’t the fiercest competition for the S9 Plus – it’s Samsung’s own phones. The now-cheaper Galaxy S8 Plus is an incremental downgrade, ideal for anyone put off by the high S9 Plus price, while the Galaxy Note 9 is ideal if you have a penchant for the S Pen and a slightly bigger screen.
Still, the Note 9 couldn't quite unseat the S9 Plus as our favorite phone, so if you don't need a stylus you should definitely keep reading.
Design
Samsung’s elegant-looking glass-and-metal smartphone design returns
Small changes: center-aligned rear fingerprint sensor; stereo speakers
You won’t notice the dimension differences from the S8 Plus
The Galaxy S9 Plus is the most stylish-looking smartphone you can buy thanks to Samsung continuing its design ethos of melding two glass panels with a metal frame. It doesn’t look very different from the S8 Plus, but that doesn’t matter unless you’re upgrading every year and demand annual newness.
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus (left) and the Galaxy S9 (right) are both dust and water-resistant
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus (left) and the Galaxy S9 (right) are both dust and water-resistant
The fingerprint sensor is now in a better center-aligned location, even if the pad is smaller than on other Androids
The fingerprint sensor is now in a better center-aligned location, even if the pad is smaller than on other Androids
But wow, does the back of the device retain fingerprint smudges. We JUST cleaned it, too.
But wow, does the back of the device retain fingerprint smudges. We JUST cleaned it, too.
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Samsung has made small, but meaningful, changes on the back of its new phones. You’ll find the fingerprint sensor on the rear again, but now it’s aligned in the center, below the camera. The S8 Plus had a much-maligned offset scanner adjacent to the camera, and it was hard to blindly unlock your phone without smudging the camera lens. This is an improvement, although we found the fingerprint sensor pad smaller than the ones on most other Android phones.
You can choose one of five colors, including this year's standout Lilac Purple. Other S9 color options at launch included Midnight Black and Coral Blue in the US, UK, and Europe; there’s also a Titanium Gray hue available in other countries, and the new Sunrise Gold color just launched in the US.
Our Midnight Black review unit has been a mess with fingerprints, even though we wiped it down between photos. It’s another reason to invest in a stylish Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus case.
It's as big as this New York City Nathan's hotdog
It's as big as this New York City Nathan's hotdog
The curved display and slim design makes for a winning combination
The curved display and slim design makes for a winning combination
We recommend a Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus case for this fragile handset
We recommend a Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus case for this fragile handset
Three of four color options are available in the US and Europe
Three of four color options are available in the US and Europe
And that’s it design-wise – you won’t readily notice anything else that’s new on the outside of the S9 Plus. The dimensions have changed by a few millimeters to reduce the top and bottom bezels, making the phone a tiny bit shorter than the S8 Plus, but it’s still a really big phone.
You’re still going to have to stretch your fingers to touch the corners of the screen furthest from your grip – navigating Google Maps on the go, for example, can be a cumbersome affair – so if you’ve been hesitant to buy into big-screen phones your best option is the smaller Galaxy S9. This is a big phone meant for big mitts.
Unlike many of its rivals, Samsung is standing by both the 3.5mm headphone jack and the microSD card slot. It’s also giving us a second year of the Bixby button on the left side of the phone to call up its digital assistant. No, you still can’t remap this button to your liking without third-party software and, yes, you’ll still hit it thinking it’s the nearby volume-down key.