Samsung changed the course of smartphone market when it launched the first flagships in the Galaxy “S” series, dubbed Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge. Both the phones came with top-end specs that gave them the edge over other Android phones in the market. Right from design to software to camera, Samsung overhauled everything to make the Galaxy S series stand out in the flagship segment. Every year, Samsung launched two new smartphones in the series, Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ are the latest ones to come out. The well-diverse and incremental lineup of Galaxy S series gave us an idea to compare three smartphones under, differentiated over the year they came out. The three phones are – Samsung Galaxy S7 (launched in 2016), Samsung Galaxy S8 (launched in 2017) and the latest, Galaxy S9 (launched in 2018). Let’s take a look at what the three devices offer and what makes them different from each other.
Samsung Galaxy S9 vs Galaxy S8 vs Galaxy S7: Display
Starting with the latest in the series, the Galaxy S9 features a 5.8-inch QHD+ Curved Super AMOLED display with 18.5:9 aspect ratio for Infinity Display. It comes in an aluminum frame with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection on both front and rear to protect against scratches.
The Samsung Galaxy S8, on the other hand, bears a 5.8-inch QHD+ Super AMOLED display with 1440×2960 pixels resolution. It also features Infinity Display (dual-edge curved display) with 18.5:9 aspect ratio and has Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection on both front and back.
The Galaxy S7 features a 5.1-inch QHD Super AMOLED display bearing 2560X1440 pixels resolution, it has an Always On display that enables users to check notification, date, and time without waking up the phone. It is also protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 4 on both front and rear.
There is not much difference between the Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy S8, but Galaxy S7 lags behind in terms of design that is not bezel-less like the other two and also the quality of the display.
Samsung Galaxy S9 vs Galaxy S8 vs Galaxy S7: Hardware, Software
Regarding hardware and software specifications, for the Indian market, the Galaxy S9 comes powered by Samsung’s in-house Exynos 9810 Octa octa-core processor that garnered good results on benchmarking platforms. The phone features Mali-G72 MP18 GPU for graphics with 4GB of RAM and 64GB/128GB/256GB storage, depending on the variant. On the software, the phone runs Android 8.0 Oreo with Bixby 2.0 as the virtual assistant. A 3000mAh battery backs the phone with support for Quick Charge 2.0 and wireless charging. It also features AR Emoji, which is Samsung’s answer to Apple’s Animoji that is a tool of converting images or videos into virtual avatar. It also has the face recognition and Iris Scanner features for unlocking the device.
The Galaxy S8 is powered by an octa-core Samsung Exynos 8895 SoC with 4GB of RAM and 64GB internal storage. The phone is backed by a 3000mAh battery with support for both fast and wireless charging. The Galaxy S8 launched with Android 7.1 Nougat out-of-the-box, but Samsung recently started rolling out Android 8.0 Oreo to it. The Galaxy S8 was the first Samsung phone to launch with Bixby support, and after several roadblocks, the virtual assistant was finally made available on it in all the regions. The Galaxy S8 also features Iris Scanner and Face Unlock for unlocking the device.
Different from the other two, mainly due to the fact that it launch a year and two before the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S9, the Galaxy S7 is powered by an octa-core Exynos 8890 SoC with 4GB of RAM and 32GB storage. It was launched with Android 6.0 Marshmallow and was later updated to Android 7.1 Nougat. A 3000mAh battery backs the device with support for fast charging. Unlike the other two phones in this comparison, the Galaxy S7 lacks Bixby support, but Google Assistant is available on it. It lacks Iris Scanner and Face Unlock features, but has a fingerprint scanner on the front.
Just like the previous segment, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S9 fair quite close with not any glaring advantage over each other. The Galaxy S7, however, pales out on a few features.
Samsung Galaxy S9 vs Galaxy S8 vs Galaxy S7: Camera
The Samsung Galaxy S9 features a 12MP+12MP dual rear camera setup with dual OIS and wide-angle lens geared with Super Speed Dual Pixel and double f/1.5-f/2.4 aperture in the first 12MP lens and f/2.4 aperture and standard autofocus in the second 12MP telephoto lens. It can also record super slow-mo videos at 960fps, which means that a clip of 0.2 seconds can be stretched into a 6 seconds slow-mo video. It also boasts Bixby Vision feature that can offer live translation alongside the ability to recognise landmarks and also show the calories in the item. On the front, the phone features an 8MP selfie shooter with f/1.7 aperture.
The Galaxy S8 comes with a 12MP camera on the rear with OIS (optical image stabilization) and an LED flash. On the front, the Galaxy S8 also features an 8MP autofocus selfie snapper. Unlike its successor, the Galaxy S8 lacks Bixby Vision and super slow-mo features.
Galaxy S7 sports a 12MP ‘Dual Pixel’ rear camera with Smart Optical Image Stabilization (smart OIS) feature, fast autofocus, and single f/1.7 aperture. On the front, it has a 5MP selfie shooter with a f/1.7 aperture.
Being the latest and greatest from Samsung yet, the Galaxy S9 takes the cake in camera comparison, but the other two phones are also quite good.
Samsung Galaxy S9 vs Galaxy S8 vs Galaxy S7: Price in India
The Samsung Galaxy S9 is retailing at Rs. 57,900 in India and is available in Blue, Black, and Purple colour options. On the contrary, the Galaxy S8 is currently available for as low as Rs. 47,800 while the Galaxy S7 can be yours for Rs. 26,990.
Samsung Galaxy S9 vs Galaxy S8 vs Galaxy S7: Verdict
The verdict of this comparison depends on how much budget you have got set for your next phone. If you want all the latest features with a great design without bezels, then you go for either Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S8. However, if you have a limited budget of under 30k and want a Galaxy S series phone with relevant features then the Galaxy S7 is still a great phone to buy.
