Samsung Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9+ India launch today: Live stream time, how to watch, expected price, and more

Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+: What will be the price in India? 

Samsung Galaxy S9 is priced at $720 in the US market, which comes to Rs 47,000. The bigger Galaxy S9+ is priced at $840 or nearly Rs 54,000. Both these prices are for the 64GB variants of the phones. Galaxy S9 series is launching in three variants this time: 64GB, 128GB and 256GB, and it remains to be seen which versions will launch in the Indian market. The expectation is that Samsung will introduce 64GB and 256GB variants in India.

Samsung Galaxy S9 is priced at 0 in the US market, which comes to Rs 47,000. (Image source: AP)

Previously the Galaxy S8 was launched at Rs 57,900 in India while the Galaxy S8+ was introduced at Rs 64,900. There’s a good chance Samsung will stick with a pricing similar to this for the Galaxy S9 series as well, though the 256GB versions will likely be priced higher.

Samsung Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9+: Basic specifications 

Samsung’s Galaxy S9 has a 5.8-inch Super AMOLED display, Exynos 9810 octa-core processor and 4GB RAM on board. It has 400GB expandable storage support and 3000 mAh battery on board. The Galaxy S9 comes with a single rear 12MP rear camera. However, the camera on the S9 has dual variable aperture, which is f/1.5 and f/2.4. This adjusts automatically based on lighting in order to ensure best photos even in low-light conditions. The Galaxy S9 has an 8MP front camera. Samsung has also introduced super-slow motion video at 960fps at 720p resolution on the Galaxy S9 series. The phone runs Android Oreo 8.0 with TouchWiz UI.

Samsung Galaxy S9+ comes with a 6.2-inch Super AMOLED display, Exynos 9810 octa-core processor, 6GB RAM. This phone also has 400GB expandable storage support and sports a bigger 3500 mAh battery on board. The Galaxy S9+ however, comes with a dual rear camera, which is 12MP + 12MP with dual Optical Image Stabilization (OIS).

On the Galaxy S9+, the 12MP wide-angle sensor has dual variable aperture of f/1.5 and f/2.4 just like the smaller S9. The telephoto lens comes with f/2.4 aperture. This phone’s camera has the Bokeh, Portrait mode option, which is not present on the smaller Galaxy S9. The front camera is the same as the other device, which is 8MP with f/1.7 aperture. Samsung Galaxy S9+ is also on Android 8.0 Oreo with TouchWiz UI.

Samsung Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9+: New Features

One new feature on the Galaxy S9 series is the introduction of AR Emoji. This is like Bitmoji meets Animoji where a user’s face is scanned and then converted into a custom emoji.  The emoji can move around, capture a user’s face expressions, and Samsung says it has 18 recognised expressions. These AR emojis can be shared on text messages, and even on WhatsApp, Facebook Messengers. Users can these AR Emoji to all their contacts, irrespective of whether they have the Galaxy S9 or not.

One new feature on the Galaxy S9 series is the introduction of AR Emoji. (Image source: AP)

Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ rear camera also comes with Live Translate feature in the Bixby vision. Bixby is Samsung’s own voice assistant powered by machine learning and artificial intelligence. A user will be able to point their camera to a text written in a different language and Bixby can translate it instantly. Indian languages like Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali, Gujarati, etc are all supported.

Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ also come with dual stereo speakers tuned by AKG. The phones also support Dolby Atmos, which will offer 360-degree sound effects. Both phones are also IP68 water and dust resistant.