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 gadgets.
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
- The rear camera has a 2x optical zoom
- 43% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (405K versus 284K)
- Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
- Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
- Stereo speakers
- Has 50% more RAM: 6GB versus 4GB
- More recent OS version: Android 10 versus 9
- The phone is 11-months newer
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus
- Shows 14% longer battery life (26:38 vs 23:22 hours)
- Weighs 16 grams less
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Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Performance
CPU/GPU performance in apps and games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
NanoReview score
Final comparison evaluation
Value for money
You can enter your local price of these phones (in USD or any other currency) and click on the "Calculate" button to see which one has a better value for money.
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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
| 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 1.7 GHz: Cortex-A53 - 4 cores at 2.3 GHz: Exynos M2 |
| L3 cache | 4 MB | - |
| Lithography process | 10 nanometers | 10 nanometers |
| Graphics | Mali-G72MP18 | Mali-G71 MP20 |
| GPU clock | 572 MHz | 546 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~658 GFLOPS | ~349 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 5 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 5 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 9
| CPU | 116977 | 79698 |
| GPU | 121725 | 110641 |
| Memory | 74973 | 32680 |
| UX | 93023 | 63996 |
| Total score | 405429 | 284495 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Stability | 95% | - |
| Graphics test | 13 FPS | - |
| Graphics score | 2327 | - |
| PCMark 3.0 score | 6121 | - |
Memory
| RAM size | 6 GB | 4 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | 1794 MHz | 1794 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 64 GB | 64 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 |
| 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 |
| Web browsing | 06:59 hr | 09:32 hr |
| Watching video | 11:56 hr | 12:01 hr |
| Gaming | 03:44 hr | 04:49 hr |
| Standby | 79 hr | 82 hr |
General battery life
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: 1/2.55", Sony IMX333 (Exmor-RS 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 | - |
| 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 |
| 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 performance, software, camera, and sound are more important to you, then choose the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus. But if the battery life is more of a priority – go for the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 178