Galaxy S9 ready for lights, camera, action

Not much change in the design - but be ready for a souped-up camera system on the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+.

If Samsung Electronics' invitation to its Unpacked event this Sunday is any indication, we may be about to see things through a whole new lens.
And Apple and Sony Mobile might want to take notice.
The world's biggest smartphone maker is set to unveil its newest devices, the Galaxy S9 and S9+, touted to be the first super-phones of 2018, at a dedicated event ahead of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona over the weekend. The MWC officially starts on Monday and will run through March 1.
With 'The Camera. Reimagined.' splashed over Samsung's invitation, the industry is highly anticipating what the South Korean tech giant has in store for one of the most - if not the most - looked-at component of a smartphone. And a 30-second teaser video on Samsung's Unpacked website that showed nothing but everything related to cameras only raised the heat.
The latest leaks suggest that Samsung will be including technology on its 8MP front camera that turns faces into emojis - apparently a direct response to Apple's Animoji, which was rattled off in the 10th-anniversary iPhone X in September.
The 12MP main dual-lens cameras on the S9 and S9+ are also expected to capture slow-motion video at a frame rate of 960fps, at par with the one Sony Mobile first introduced on the Xperia XZ Premium, which was unveiled at the MWC last year. It would also feature a lower aperture of f/1.5, meaning it should do even better in low-light situations.
Though similar in design to its predecessors - plus the Galaxy Note8 - the bezels on the new smartphones are anticipated to be smaller, which would extend Samsung's leadership in the screen-to-body ratio segment; the Galaxy S8+ has a ratio of about 84 per cent, higher than the iPhone X's 83 per cent. The S9 and S9+ are also expected to have the same Infinity Displays of 5.8 and 6.2 inches, respectively.
They will also be the first devices to run on the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chip.
And while long rumoured to have an in-screen fingerprint sensor - something that was also widely expected from the iPhone X - the S9 and S9+ will rather have this feature placed below the rear camera lens, which is already gaining positive feedback from those who find its present spot, to the right of the lens, a bit awkward.
However, these upgrades will obviously knock off more from your pocket. Initial price leaks suggest that the S9 will cost as high as an eye-watering £789 (Dh4,045), while the S9+ will fetch as far as a hair-raising £879 (Dh4,500).
But there's hope: it's news that says the new devices will actually be priced lower. According to a report from TechRadar, quoting a UK industry source, the S9 will be sold for £739 (Dh3,800).
Still, those are significant bump-ups from its predecessors - and may handily beat out the iPhone X's prices.
- alvin@khaleejtimes.com