Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus vs S8 Plus

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Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus vs S8 Plus

Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.2-inch Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus (with Exynos 9 Octa 9810) that was released on February 25, 2018, against the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus, which is powered by Exynos 9 Octa 8895 and came out 11 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
  • 58% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (458K versus 290K)
  • The rear camera has a 2x optical zoom
  • Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
  • Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
  • Stereo speakers
  • More recent OS version: Android 10 versus 9
  • The phone is 11-months newer
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus
  • Shows 15% longer battery life (26:38 vs 23:09 hours)
  • Weighs 16 grams less

Review

Evaluation of Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus and S8 Plus crucial features
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
NanoReview Score
Final comparison evaluation

Value for money

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests

Display

Type Super AMOLED Super AMOLED
Size 6.2 inches 6.2 inches
Resolution 1440 x 2960 pixels 1440 x 2960 pixels
Aspect ratio 18.5:9 18.5:9
PPI 531 ppi 529 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max rated brightness 631 nits 580 nits
HDR support Yes, HDR10 Yes, HDR10
Screen protection Corning Gorilla Glass 5 Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Screen-to-body ratio 84.2% 84%
Display features - Always-On Display - Always-On Display
Display tests
RGB color space - 99.8%
PWM 215 Hz 250 Hz
Response time 7 ms 4.4 ms
Contrast ∞ Infinity ∞ Infinity
Peak brightness test (auto)

Design and build

Height 158.1 mm (6.22 inches) 159.5 mm (6.28 inches)
Width 73.8 mm (2.91 inches) 73.4 mm (2.89 inches)
Thickness 8.5 mm (0.33 inches) 8.1 mm (0.32 inches)
Weight 189 g (6.67 oz) 173 g (6.1 oz)
Waterproof IP68 IP68
Rear material Glass Glass
Frame material Metal Metal
Colors Black, Gold, Gray, Red, Purple Black, Gold, Gray
Fingerprint scanner Yes, rear Yes, rear
Screen-to-body ratio

Performance

Tests of Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus and Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus in the benchmarks
SoC
Chipset Samsung Exynos 9 Octa 9810 Samsung Exynos 9 Octa 8895
Max clock 2700 MHz 2300 MHz
CPU cores 8 (4 + 4) 8 (4 + 4)
Architecture - 4 cores at 1.9 GHz: Cortex-A55
- 4 cores at 2.9 GHz: Exynos M3
- 4 cores at 1.69 GHz: Cortex-A53
- 4 cores at 2.314 GHz: Exynos M2
Lithography process 10 nanometers 10 nanometers
Graphics Mali-G72 MP18 Mali-G71 MP20
GPU shading units 324 320
GPU clock 572 MHz 546 MHz
FLOPS ~370.6 GFLOPS ~576 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
CPU 142354 65790
GPU 106454 105471
Memory 92729 55536
UX 113153 62144
Total score 458699 290480
3DMark Wild Life Performance
Max surface temperature 40.7 °C 39.6 °C
Stability 95% -
Graphics test 13 FPS -
Graphics score 2328 -
Web score 5002 -
Video editing 5467 -
Photo editing 9176 -
Data manipulation 5634 -
Writing score 5961 -

Memory

RAM
RAM size 6 GB 4, 6 GB
Memory type LPDDR4X LPDDR4X
Memory clock 1794 MHz 1794 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage size 64 GB 64, 128 GB
Storage type UFS 2.1 UFS 2.1
Memory card MicroSD MicroSD
Memory card max size Up to 400 GB Up to 256 GB

Software

Operating system Android 8.0 (Can be upgraded to Android 10) Android 7.0 (Can be upgraded to Android 9.0)
ROM One UI 2.1 One UI
OS size 13.9 GB 11.7 GB

Battery

Capacity 3500 mAh 3500 mAh
Max charge power 15 W 15 W
Battery type Li-Po Li-Ion
Replaceable No No
Wireless charging Yes, Qi/PMA (10 W) Yes, Qi/PMA
Reverse charging No No
Fast charging Yes (40% in 30 min) Yes, Samsung Adaptive Fast Charge (60% in 45 min)
Full charging time 1:40 hr 1:55 hr
Battery life tests
Web browsing 06:50 hr 09:32 hr
Watching video 11:56 hr 12:01 hr
Gaming 03:31 hr 04:49 hr
Standby 79 hr 82 hr
General battery life
26:38 hr

Camera

Specs and camera test of smartphones
Main camera
Matrix 12 megapixels 12 megapixels
Image resolution 4032 x 3024 4000 x 3000
Zoom Optical, 2x Digital
Flash Dual LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K video recording No No
4K video recording Up to 60FPS Up to 30FPS
1080p video recording Up to 240FPS Up to 60FPS
Slow motion 960 FPS (720p) 240 FPS (720p)
Lenses 2 (12 MP + 12 MP) 1 (12 MP)
Wide (main) lens - 12 MP
- Aperture: f/1.5 - 2.4
- Focal length: 26 mm
- Pixel size: 1.4 micron
- Sensor: 1/2.55", Samsung SAK2L3 (ISOCELL CMOS)
- Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
- Optical stabilization
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/1.7
- Focal length: 26 mm
- Pixel size: 1.4 micron
- Sensor: 1/2.6", Samsung S5K2L2 (ISOCELL CMOS)
- Phase autofocus
- Optical stabilization
Telephoto lens - 12 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4
- Focal length: 52 mm
- Pixel size: 1 micron
- Sensor: 1/3.6" (CMOS)
- Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
- Optical stabilization
-
Camera features - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- Pro mode
Samples Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus from DxOMark -
Selfie camera
Megapixels 8 megapixels 8 megapixels
Image resolution 3264 x 2448 3264 x 2448
Aperture f/1.7 f/1.7
Focal length 25 mm 25 mm
Pixel size 1.22 microns 1.22 microns
Sensor type ISOCELL CMOS CMOS
Sensor size 1/3.6" 1/3.6"
Video resolution 1440p at 30 FPS 1440p at 30 FPS

DxOMark camera tests

Photo quality
Video quality
Generic camera score

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
Bluetooth version 5 5
Bluetooth features PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.1 3.1
USB features - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
GPS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo
NFC * Yes Yes
Infrared port No No
Network
Number of SIM * 2 2
Type of SIM card Nano Nano
Multi SIM mode Standby Standby
eSIM support * No No
Hybrid slot Yes Yes
LTE Cat * 18 16
5G support No No

Sound

Speakers Stereo Mono
Headphone audio jack Yes Yes
FM radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speakers test
Max loudness

Other

Category Flagship Flagship
Announced February 2018 March 2017
Release date March 2018 April 2017
SAR (head) 0.294 W/kg 0.26 W/kg
SAR (body) 1.35 W/kg 1 W/kg
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint
- Barometer
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint
* Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.

Conclusion

If the camera, gaming, software, and sound are more important to you, then choose the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus . But if the performance and battery life are more of a priority – go for the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus .

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