Samsung is back in the flagship race with Galaxy S9 and S9+. Both devices are powered by powerful specs, innovative hardware, and intriguing software which makes them stand out.
All these features make Samsung’s superior S9 model i.e. the S9 Plus, a direct contender to Apple’s iPhone X. Both devices are evenly matched, at least on paper, and that makes choosing between the two a bit difficult. Let’s enumerate their strengths and weeknesses to help you with your buying decision.
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Samsung Galaxy S9+ vs Apple iPhone X Specs
| Model | Samsung Galaxy S9+ | iPhone X |
| Display | 6.2-inch Quad HD+ (2960 × 1440 pixels) Super AMOLED Infinity display, 18.5:9 screen aspect ration, Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection | 5.8inch ‘Super Retina HD’ (2436 x 1125) OLED display, 19:9 screen aspect ratio, True Tone, Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection |
| Processor | Octa-core Exynos 8910 processor chip with Mali G72MP18 GPU | A11 Bionic chip with 64bit architecture, Neural engine, and Embedded M11 motion coprocessor |
| RAM | 6GB | 3GB |
| Internal Storage | 64GB expandable up to 400GB via microSD card | 64GB/256GB |
| Software | Android Oreo-based Experience UI | iOS 11 |
| Primary Camera | 12MP primary rear camera with f/2.4-f/1.5 variable aperture lens and 12MP secondary rear camera with f/2.4 aperture lens | 12Mp wide-angle lens with f/1.8 and a 12Mp telephoto sensor with f/2.4 |
| Front Camera |
8MP front-facing camera, f/1.77 |
7MP front-facing camera, f/2.2 |
| Battery | 3,000mAh | 2,716mAh |
| Others | 4G VoLTE, 802.11ac dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, GPS, USB-C, 3.5mm headphone jack, wireless charging, fast charging, fingerprint sensor, stereo speakers, and IP68 water resistance | 4G VoLTE, 802.11ac Wi-Fi with MIMO, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, Assisted GPS, Lightning port, wireless charging, fast charging, stereo speakers, and IP67 water resistance |
| Price | Rs. 64,900/ Rs. 72,900 | Rs. 81,490/Rs. 109,999 |
Design and Build
Both Galaxy S9+ and iPhone X are quite premium, attractive, eye-catching, and durable in their own way. They both sport a glass-sandwich design, where the metal is encased between glass on the front and back.
To be fair, the design of Samsung Galaxy S9+ is ‘almost’ indistinguishable from its predecessor, the Galaxy S8. The subtle adjustments on the phone include a centre-aligned fingerprint sensor on the rear panel and a dual-rear camera setup. Everything else like the infinity display and even the placement of headphone jack and others remain the same.
The iPhone X, on the other hand, sports the most radical design change to Apple’s phone in history. The handset features a bezel-less display, the “notch” on front and vertically aligned dual-camera on the rear. Apple even slashed its touch ID from the iPhone X and opted for Face ID instead.
The choice between the two largely hinges on how you feel about the notch. If you find it to be an exciting and distinguishing design element, you will be more exited to hold the iPhone X. On the other hand, if you’d rather prefer an “uninterupted” screen, the Samsung Galaxy S9+ is the way to go.
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Display
The Galaxy S9+ display varies from the iPhone X in terms of size, resolution and pixel density. The former sport a 6.2-inch QHD (2,960×1,440 pixels) SAMOLED display with 18.5:9 screen aspect ratio. The said panel can go up to 1200 Nits bright to guarantee stellar visibility in all sorts of lighting.
Whereas the iPhone X has a tad smaller 5.8-inch Super HD Retina (2,436X1,200 pixels) display with 19:9 screen aspect ratio. The advantage with iPhone X display is that it has a TrueTone technology that can adjust the color temperature of the screen relative to the kind of ambience you are in.
All said and done, you can’t go wrong with either of the two panels. However, the Samsung Galaxy S9+ display has an upper hand here.
Performance and Software
The comparison here incorporates iOS vs Android and A11 Bionic Chip vs Exynos 9810, which one is better? Practically, both phones have powerful chipset and feature-rich software to shoulder what most of us would ask of them.
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Samsung is using Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 equivalent Exynos 9810 SoC to power its Galaxy S9+. The chipset is fast, power efficient and supports modern perks like 4K videos at 60fps, AI, and Multi-frame noise reduction.
In the similar context, iPhone X is powered by A11 Hexa-Core Bionic chip, which has more raw power than any chip being used on Android side of the table. The A11 bionic chip has a separate motion coprocessor, 3 core GPU and neural engine that is there to handle multiple things like AI, facial recognition and Animojis.
Both phones offer enough computing power for everyday needs, but the iPhone X certainly leads in this regard.
On the software front, the Samsung Galaxy S9+ comes running on Android Oreo-based Experience UI whereas the iPhone X runs on the well-optimized iOS 11 out of the box. Both OS are feature rich, easy to navigate and user-friendly. The selection depends here on individual taste.
Camera and Battery
Samsung is touting its Galaxy S9-series with a ‘Reimagined camera’. The cameras are supposed to yield better results than its predecessors. The elder sibling of Galaxy S9, the Plus variant, boast a dual-rear camera setup that is similar to that of iPhone X with a 12MP wide angle and 12MP telephoto lens for better zoom and DSLR-style portraits.
The catch here is that the S9s allow you to control the blur intensity of image you have to shoot or have already shot. Whereas in iPhone X you can control the lighting of your portrait shot during or after you have taken a pic.
The S9 lets you record a slow-motion video up to 960 fps in HD, whereas the iPhone X has slo-mo rate of 240 fps in Full HD with its fixed f/1.8 aperture lens.
Additionally, the cameras of Galaxy S9 camera has variable aperture lens feature. The feature helps the handset to automatically switch between f/1.5 and f/2.4 depending on the lighting conditions, to produce better and more accurate result even in all sorts of lighting.
Well, it too soon to name a winner here as the cameras of Galaxy S9 and S9+ still requires a thorough testing. However, as per DxO Mark – an image quality measurements and ratings – has said that the Galaxy S9 Plus is best camera smartphone in the market, surpassing both the iPhone X and the Google PIxel 2.
As for the battery, the Samsung Galaxy S9+ is aided by a tad bigger 3500mAh battery compared to iPhone X 2,716mAh battery. Both handsets have fast as well as wireless charging.
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Animoji/AR Emoji
The AR Emojis on Galaxy S9+ is Samsung’s way to take on Apple’s Animoji. Although they are both animated emojis that can be controlled by your face yet they are different from one another.
Animojis are basically an animated emoji of an animal, robot, alien, smiling turd and so on combined with your facial expression. The AR Emojis, on the other hand, are the emoji of yourself – you take your photo and the phone processes an emoji version of you and some other set-piece animations, messaging badges and so on.
We didn’t find AR Emoji as charming as the Animoji, but they do have a distinguished and unique perspective.
Verdict
It was thrill comparing the iPhone X and Galaxy S9+. They both integrate features that make them the front-runner of the best flagship smartphone. If you are open to being part of any ecosystem – Android or iOS – here is what you should know:
Who should buy the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus?
The Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus has a camera advantage, slightly better display, a bigger battery, and its significantly cheaper. If you want a premium 2018 flagship grade experience without digging a big hole in your pocket, or if you simply detest the Notch, the Galaxy S9+ should be a better choice.
Who should buy the Apple iPhone X?
The Apple’s iPhone X, on the other hand, has a more powerful chipset, is more comfortable to handle, and has a more refined software (one that will get timely updates). If you are looking for a relatively compact phone, the iPhone X should be a better choice.
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I simply don’t want to compare iPhone with any other phones because it is the best in performance. The price of the apple is very much fare if you go for the performance of the OS. I have used both of the OS and I have loved the iOS because of its stability.