Samsung is a household name when it comes to mobile device technology. There’s probably no one who’s never heard of Samsung as an Android brand. Samsung is right there on top competing with the world’s largest mobile device developers, producing masterpiece after masterpiece every single year. The thing with this level of prominence, though, is things can get predictable at some point.

Today, let’s take a look at one of the most anticipated and talked-about handsets by Samsung: the Galaxy S9. Is it worth all the hype, the price, and the wait? Will Samsung change the game with this handset, or are they indeed becoming predictable?

A refined version of the S8

At a glance, it’s hard to identify the difference between the Galaxy S8 and S9. In terms of their physical appearance, there really isn’t much of a difference. Their screens look the same, and they have an almost identical design. Only a closer look at the S9’s specs will show you what sets it apart from its predecessors.

Both the S8 and S9 have the same amount of RAM storage and battery capacity. But what really sets the S9 apart from its forerunner is the 12-megapixel dual-aperture back camera.  

The Samsung Galaxy S9 campaign uses the slogan “The Camera Reimagined,” a tagline that has actually lived up to the hype. The S9 boasts a powerful camera that takes stunning shots with variable aperture. The S9’s wider aperture means it can let more light into the camera, producing sharp photos with less image noise, even in low light. The default aperture is f/2.4, but photographers can easily adjust this in the camera settings.

The S9 is also now capable of taking amazing videos to compete with its other high-end rivals whose powerful cameras have the capability to shoot professional-quality movies. The S9’s slow motion feature can produce 720p videos at 960 frames per second.

Clearly, the S9 was able to solve a lot of the issues that the S8’s camera had. But while there has been a significant improvement in the overall camera experience, it still remains to be a trademark Samsung camera. This means saturated photos with warmer colors compared to what’s produced by most phones, as well as some imperfections here and there that you won’t get from other brands’ phone cameras.

For an older version

The upgrades on the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus are unsurprisingly great. With its fast performance, awesome screen, amazing camera, and head-turning design, the S9 sure seems to be an excellent phone. However, the flaws of the S9—mostly on the software—easily invalidate its upgrades, which makes it sensible for S8 owners to just hold on to their units and skip this update.

Predictably still, the S9 remains to be at the pricey end of the spectrum. Clearly, it is a more refined version of the S7 and S8, but just as certainly, there’s a lot of room for improvement. The S9 is sure to impress with its compact, sleek design and high-performance features. But if you’ve owned Samsung handsets before, particularly in the last two years, this could just be an expensive update you’d rather skip.