Samsung Unveils Galaxy S9 Series Smartphones With Dual Lens Variable Aperture Camera and AR Emoji

[falainber]

This whole headphone jack debate is still killing me. I'm 31 years old, and I work in the medical field with other younger workers that use a lot of Apple products (watches and phones), and literally nobody ever says anything about the headphone jack. Everyone just owns bluetooth headphones.

There are probably a few people that were annoyed at first, but most of the younger millennial tech users (which is what Apple is marketing to) have gotten over it by now.

I would expect this crowd to be sophisticated enough to appreciate a good quality sound and not the BT compressed one but to each his own.

 

[gavroche]

That’s not what the article says


Hence my question.

FWIW I have been shooting semi-professionaly for 10 years, mostly in Motorsports. I do See huge advantage of variable aperture, just not in low light as the article highlights. I also don’t see much overall benefit given the narrow range offered in this phone, but agree it is a good step forward in mobile phone cameras.

I don't think you would want to take a one-line sentence describing a complex camera feature too seriously. Most articles are written to over-simplify things so the average user can understand. Add to the the odds that they are also written by someone with no photography knowledge. I gather what the meant to say is that the S8 had a 1.7 aperture, this has a 1.5 when fully opened. So lets in more light. Its not the fact that its variable thats operative for that statement.

 

[Tapiture]

So the same thing as the S8 with some old camera tricks. Probably a fine phone, but I’m surprised how little Samsung is criticized when they make little to no changes to phones and software for years.

Samsung doesn’t get criticized as much in general. They’re the underdog, that’s how it goes. They don’t get as much hate when they dont change much, or when they copy Apple (AREmoji). Whereas Apple gets a tidal wave of crap for it.

 

[Heineken]

Ugly as ****.

 

[Sefstah]

Wow! Up to 400 GB with micro SD. Come on Apple, please??

 

[Cosmosent]

From an iOS camera app developer's perspective, their camera ISP's dedicated RAM is a very nice enhancement !

Everyone should expect Apple to copy that idea with their next processors.

 

[gavroche]

Unlucky for the folks in the U.S when the rest of the world gets the far superior Exynos chipset...

Haven't read all the crap ton of replies here yet... but i'm curious why they did this. And more importantly, can you circumvent this by buying one off eBay that's got the Exynos if its really better. I say this as someone why might force the wife to get one and be the Guinea pig. Or is that cruel and unusual punishment?

 

[Dominicanyor]

The phone itself looks nice.

 

[gavroche]

Because those situations don't exist. If you want to argue against something, argue against it. If your only argument is based around a hypothetical situation that doesn't exist, your argument isn't valid.

"The notch is bad because if I put a notch in your monitor or TV it would be bad" isn't an argument.

"The notch is bad because it prevents people from doing XXX" is an argument.

I'm waiting to hear what XXX is.

Don't answer him! If he cannot even bother to write more than "Why?" then he doesn't even deserve a reply...
[doublepost=1519616855][/doublepost]

Hmmm, I didn't know Samsung fans had the ability to publish articles to MR.
[doublepost=1519597042][/doublepost]
It doesn't exist because people wouldn't accept it!

He was clearly talking about the comments. I don't believe the MacRumors prohibits Samsung fans from posting comments.

 

[mi7chy]

Yet another person who doesn't own an iPhone X complaining about the notch .

Good thing Apple aren't in the TV and no longer in the computer display.

The substitute for the 3.5mm headphone jack is this:

• You need to charge yet another device
• battery life is crap
• battery is NOT removable, rendering headphones useless once the charge doesn't hold
• sound quality is garbage
• wireless range isn't great
• EXPENSIVE

This is supposed to be the successor to headphone jack? What problem did you ever have with wired headphones other than the presence of a wire?

Also, you do know that the existence of the headphone jack DOES NOT mean you can't also have bluetooth as an option, RIGHT??

You also lose the versatility from not being able to use 3.5mm accessories like Square card reader, light meter, oscilloscope, multimeter, etc. The cons of removing it far outweigh any imaginary pro. It was removed to cut manufacturing cost of drilling, reduce component cost and make it cheaper to obtain water resistance.

 

[woodynorman]

The sheer level of RDF in this thread is off the charts. Why can't Apple fans just be happy with their devices? Why do they have to diss the competition?
[doublepost=1519611546][/doublepost]

Who cares? Samsung will bring variable aperture to the masses, much like Apple with wireless charging. It's not about who's FIRST!

The pendulum swings both ways

 

[cmiller4642]

Haven't read all the crap ton of replies here yet... but i'm curious why they did this. And more importantly, can you circumvent this by buying one off eBay that's got the Exynos if its really better. I say this as someone why might force the wife to get one and be the Guinea pig. Or is that cruel and unusual punishment?

It has to do with Qualcomm patents, and the fact that the big 4 carriers are split between GSM and CDMA, and Samsung's chips don't support CDMA

 

[gavroche]

FaceID is not a must have. The only people who care about FaceID are those justifying the iPhone X

Don't be absurd. Please don't try speaking for other people.

 

[Sefstah]

What do you think Animoji are?

Animoji are so limited to what Apple picked for you. AR emoji creates an emoji from your facial features. Plus it has Disney characters. Sounds better than Animoji to me.

 

[Apache1]

Tarting up the background technology means nothing to the user. The experience is hte same.

Except using a photo to get access is extreme fail

 

[woodynorman]

The specs on the camera are amazing. Specially the low light feature.

Fixed that for ya.

Nobody knows if the camera will be "amazing" or not. Unless you have one before they have been released.

 

[Sefstah]

Max aperture is max aperture. How is variable (ie ability to close the lens) going to help in low light, when it reduces the ability for it to pull in light.

Good bump on the other features, but more proof that the smartphone market is essentially Mature.

Guess we’ll just have to test it out for ourselves. Sounds promising, lets see if it delivers though.

 

[gavroche]

I can't think of a single person who was crying out for a "better" way to unlock their smartphone. Let me ask you this: How has FaceID made your smartphone usage more productive? Please, no marketing speak. I want tangible things which demonstrate how you've been more productive with FaceID than with alternatives.

I've had both TouchID and FaceID. I like FaceID a lot more, for a number of reasons. I'm sorry that you feel the need to ridicule me, and others that feel the same way. To each his own, but i recommend you purchase and use what you like, and leave others be to do what they prefer.

 

[TheFluffyDuck]

Tempting to ditch Apple for. I think the homepod is all the evidence one needs we are not going to get innovation out of Apple under the current stewardship. Android just seems more convincing these days.

 

[gavroche]

Of course you prefer Animojis. Just like you prefer a notch obstructing your view of the display. If I'm ever looking for sound judgement on any matter, I'm most definitely calling you up.

Does ripping other people for merely giving their opinion make you feel better about yourself? Just curious. I read the post you replied to, and all he said was his opinion.
[doublepost=1519617838][/doublepost]

OK, so unlocking your phone using your finger was problematic and FaceID has solved that. Once the phone is unlocked what do you do? Look at it?

I had the same problem as him... and thats why i also prefer FaceID. And i don't get your followup point.... what do we do once its unlocked. First, nothing you do touch wise requires the same level of precision as touchid... so you don't have the same kind of "failures" touching on an app icon, or swiping, or whatever. Second... its not a valid argument. If a feature made just one aspect of phone usage easier, but left all other features UNCHANGED.. that does NOT lessen the benefit of that one feature.

 

[Tech198]

Samsung doesn’t get criticized as much in general. They’re the underdog, that’s how it goes. They don’t get as much hate when they dont change much, or when they copy Apple (AREmoji). Whereas Apple gets a tidal wave of crap for it.

Ya, it sux... being one sided. If your gonna destroy a company you should have equal part in that.

 

[deanthedev]

I think what it is saying is that a 2 milli second video will be changed to 6 seconds. You can take a longer slow mo video in turn after it's processed it will just a longer video..

James

No, it's only capable of recording a consecutive 0.2 seconds (200 ms) at 960 FPS. It's not always capturing at 960 FPS, so you can't film for 5 seconds and end up with a 150 second video.

What it does is during slow motion recording if the software detects something it thinks should be captured in super slomo then it will record 0.2 seconds at 960 FPS. It can do this a maximum of 20 times during a session. So you could record a 5 minute video and it might contain 20 short 0.2 second "event captures" at 960 FPS. I don't know what the time limit between these 960 FPS captures is, but there's some delay as the camera can't continuously capture at that 960 FPS rate.

This is why I think it's kinda useless. I would rather have the ability to record 5 seconds at 960 FPS so I could dictate exactly what I want to record (as opposed to the camera deciding for me what should be recorded).

 

[blairh]

Nope.. It's actually you who was dead wrong which is why I was laughing when I read your post... But hey, it's the internet.... LOL

Most people buy from their carrier and FWIW, AT&T is not the highest price of the bunch. So another failed attempt with disinformation on your part.

ATT: S9 for $790.20; S9 Plus for $915
Verizon: $800 for the S9; $930 for the S9 Plus
Sprint: $792 and $912

Lets try this again but maybe a little slower so you can comprehend it?





I do find complete humor in your failed attempt to try and discredit someone with made up info though...

Consumers are clearly going to purchase from Samsung now if they offer the cheapest price. Look, you were wrong. Period. The S9 can be had for $719 at retail. You tried to imply to me in the past that the S9 would cost more this year and it does not. Fact. So twist it to fit your narrative as you wish to try to save face here.

Also the S9 pricing only exacerbates how ridiculous the iPhone X is to start at $1k. Which was my previous point in the past, only made concrete now.

 

[gavroche]

Personally, I would never go back to a phone that has touchID in it after using faceID.
[doublepost=1519601316][/doublepost]

I was using BT headphones before Apple removed the jack. I really wish people with get over it already, the jack isn't coming back...

A lot of people that come here to complain are clearly not Apple product owners. They are here for a reason. And there are a couple issues they hammer home to sway anyone that could be on the fence towards a different product. One issue is the notch, another is the headphone jack. When they first removed it, it was a lot of "you have to use an adapter cable, and carry it with you", until you could easily get them that had lightning cable ends... then it was "but i can't charge my phone while listening to music."
Its quite amusing watching those people come up with complaints. But you just have to always remember that there is a reason they are here, and its not that they are Apple users, or genuinely curious about Apple products.

 

[vipergts2207]

Works great on my Axon 7. Makes the tiny speakers sound good enough.

Atmos on a phone completely misses the point of Atmos. It’s akin to putting a new paint job on a 1986 Toyota Corolla. It’s wasted resources better spent elsewhere because the speakers have absolutely no way of doing it justice.