Samsung Galaxy S9 vs Galaxy S8

45 out of 100
Samsung Galaxy S9
VS
41 out of 100
Samsung Galaxy S8

Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 5.8-inch Samsung Galaxy S9 (with Exynos 9 Octa 9810) that was released on February 25, 2018, against the Samsung Galaxy S8, 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.

Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Memory
4 / 64 GB

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S9
  • 42% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (611K versus 430K)
  • 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
  • 2.1x faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 769 and 361 points
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S8
  • Shows 12% longer battery life (16:58 vs 15:09 hours)

Review

Evaluation of Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S8 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
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate NanoReview Score
πŸ“± Primary usage:

Value for money (Beta)

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Currency
4 / 64 GB
VS
4 / 64 GB
47.9
(Average)
Value Index
72.2
(Good)

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests
Phone:
vs

Display

Type Super AMOLED Super AMOLED
Size 5.8 inches 5.8 inches
Resolution 1440 x 2960 pixels 1440 x 2960 pixels
Aspect ratio 18.5:9 18.5:9
PPI 568 ppi 570 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max rated brightness 658 nits 540 nits
HDR support Yes, HDR10 Yes, HDR10
Screen protection Corning Gorilla Glass 5 Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Screen-to-body ratio 84.1% 84.2%
Display features - Always-On Display - Always-On Display
Display tests
RGB color space - 99.8%
PWM 240 Hz 250 Hz
Response time 7 ms 4.4 ms
Contrast ∞ Infinity ∞ Infinity
Peak brightness test (auto)
Galaxy S9 +7%
663 nits
620 nits
Sources: NotebookCheck [3], [4]

Design and build

Height 147.7 mm (5.81 inches) 148.9 mm (5.86 inches)
Width 68.7 mm (2.7 inches) 68.1 mm (2.68 inches)
Thickness 8.5 mm (0.33 inches) 8 mm (0.31 inches)
Weight 163 g (5.75 oz) 155 g (5.47 oz)
Waterproof IP68 IP68
Rear material Glass Glass
Frame material Metal Metal
Colors Black, Gold, Gray, Blue, Purple Black, Silver, Gold, Gray, Blue, Red, Pink
Fingerprint scanner Yes, rear Yes, rear
Screen-to-body ratio
84.1%
84.2%

Performance

Chipset specifications of Samsung Galaxy S9 and Samsung Galaxy S8
SoC
Chipset Samsung Exynos 9 Octa 9810 Samsung Exynos 9 Octa 8895
Max clock 2900 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
Manufacturing Samsung Samsung
Lithography process 10 nanometers 10 nanometers
Neural processor (NPU) Yes No
GPU
Graphics Mali-G72MP18 Mali-G71 MP20
GPU shading units 216 240
GPU clock 572 MHz 546 MHz
FLOPS ~247.1 GFLOPS ~262.1 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Benchmark comparison of Samsung Galaxy S9 and Samsung Galaxy S8
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Galaxy S9 +113%
769
361
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Galaxy S9 +61%
2000
1240
Compute Score (GPU)
4798
n/a
Compute Score (GPU) 4798 -
Single-core score 769 361
Multi-core score 2000 1240
Sources: Geekbench [3], [4]
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
Galaxy S9 +42%
611930
430382
CPU 242718 184651
GPU 92154 78838
Memory 121349 99514
UX 155709 67379
Total score 611930 430382
Samples [16 tests] [7 tests]
PCMark 3.0
6353
n/a
Web score 5601 -
Video editing 5488 -
Photo editing 9525 -
Data manipulation 5650 -
Writing score 6250 -

Recent User Tests

The latest benchmark tests that have been submitted by users
Samsung Galaxy S9
DateBenchmarkResult
πŸ“˜ 2026-07-06 -> leguskAnTuTu653076
πŸ“˜ 2026-07-04 -> Otchem1488AnTuTu617656
πŸ“˜ 2026-06-15 (Dib)AnTuTu539997
πŸ“˜ 2026-06-03 (Zolw)AnTuTu670558
πŸ“˜ 2026-04-20 (Seldo)AnTuTu616860
Samsung Galaxy S8
DateBenchmarkResult
πŸ“˜ 2026-06-03 (leo)AnTuTu421047
πŸ“˜ 2026-02-23 (Ok)AnTuTu430382
πŸ“˜ 2025-12-31 (Barmaley)AnTuTu447464
πŸ“˜ 2025-12-26 (Barmaley)AnTuTu447464
πŸ“˜ 2025-10-23 (Loki)AnTuTu383236

Memory

RAM
RAM size 4 GB 4 GB
Memory type LPDDR4X LPDDR4X
Memory clock 1794 MHz 1794 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
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 2.5 One UI
OS size 14 GB 11.7 GB

Battery

Capacity 3000 mAh 3000 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 (40% in 30 min)
Full charging time 1:35 hr 1:45 hr
Battery life tests
Web browsing 05:32 hr 06:26 hr
Watching video 09:42 hr 10:09 hr
Gaming 03:45 hr 04:05 hr
Standby 75 hr 85 hr
General battery life
15:09 hr
Galaxy S8 +12%
16:58 hr

Main camera

Matrix 12 megapixels 12 megapixels
Image resolution 4000 x 3000 4000 x 3000
Zoom Digital 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 1) Standard: 12 MP
1) Standard: 12 MP
Camera features - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- Pro mode
Standard lens
Image resolution 12 MP 12 MP
Aperture f/1.5 - 2.4 f/1.7
Focal length 26 mm 26 mm
Sensor Samsung SAK2L3 Sony IMX333
Sensor size 1/2.55" (β‰ˆ 0.39 inch) 1/2.55" (β‰ˆ 0.39 inch)
Pixel size 1.4 micron 1.4 micron
Autofocus Phase autofocus Phase autofocus
Stabilization Optical Optical

DxOMark main camera tests

Photo quality
Galaxy S9 +18%
104
Video quality
Galaxy S9 +3%
91
Generic main camera score
Galaxy S9 +13%
99
Samples - Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S8 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
Sensor Samsung S5K3H1 Samsung S5K3H7
Sensor size 1/3.6" (β‰ˆ 0.28 inch) 1/3.6" (β‰ˆ 0.28 inch)
Pixel size 1.22 micron 1.22 micron
Autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) Phase autofocus
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 1440p at 30 FPS 1440p at 30 FPS
Depth sensor (TOF 3D) No No
DxOMark front camera
Galaxy S8 +16%
94
Photo - 86
Video - 107

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
Galaxy S9 +4%
86 dB
82.4 dB

Other

Category Flagship Flagship
Announced February 2018 March 2017
Release date March 2018 April 2017
Launch price (MSRP) $720 $720
Successor - Samsung Galaxy S25 FE - Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
SAR (head) 0.362 W/kg 0.315 W/kg
SAR (body) 1.18 W/kg 1.27 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

After analyzing all the data, we think that the Samsung Galaxy S9 is definitely a better buy.

Cast your vote

So, which phone would you choose?
516 (69.8%)
223 (30.2%)
Total votes: 739

User opinions

You can share your opinion or ask a question in the comments below
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Samsung June 6, 2026 at 04:42 PM
why is snapdragon variant comparison not in the list only exynos?
0 Reply