Gadgetory

Barcelona a city steeped in rich history iconic architecture and unforgettable food and yes sometimes rain sometimes lots of rain still we're here to test samsung's new Galaxy S 9 from its cutting-edge dual aperture camera and design upgrades to 3d avatars you can create of yourself today well visit some of the city's most famous sites with a s 9 is our constant companion hey Andy you want to come meet me in the lobby in five minutes see you soon from the front the galaxy s 9 and larger s 9 plus look virtually unchanged from last year's phones but from the back the fingerprint reader moves beneath the camera module and the S line plus picks up a second lens Samsung has managed to shave down the bezels even more leaving us with a gorgeous high-resolution display that subtly curves along both sides the s nines 5.8 inch screen and the s 9 pluses 6.2 inch screen are full and bright and take up almost the entire phone face the s 9 phones have that customizable edge menu that you can access from any screen it works like a speed dial for your contacts and apps the button on the left opens up nixb voice Samsung's very own voice app unfortunately you can't reprogram it to open any other app that you can keep the Bixby home screen from opening when you press the button well at least they're still Google Assistant our day starts at the book Attiyah market a glorious wonderland of Catalonian gastronomical delight I think we need to go and find some house yeah it's raining outside but the s9 phones can take a dip in up to three feet of water for as long as 30 minutes so I'm not worried the Boqueria is a feast for the senses and also the sensors the galaxy s 9 and s 9 plus are the first phones with dual aperture lenses the 12 megapixel camera senses your lighting conditions and swaps apertures to make low-light shots brighter with less digital noise you can also switch into Pro Mode and toggle apertures manually the galaxy s 9 plus we have here includes a 12 megapixel telephoto lens on the back in addition to the main camera that means you can take depth of field portrait photos that blur the background and make your scenes pop you can adjust the flirt level and keep both those wide-angle and portrait pics the galaxy s 9 s 8 megapixel front-facing camera picks up a new trick - selfie focus brings some of that background blurring magic to your self-portraits this tool uses software and not a second lens so your photos aren't quite as good and you may wind up learning parts of yourself that shouldn't be blown we're only just starting to take photos every day but so far pictures are looking pretty bright and crisp when Andy wanders off I get a chance to test out the s nines improved speaker setup which amplifies audio using the speakers on the top a microphone on the bottom and Dolby sound technology it's loud in the book at a yep but I can hear him above the din hey I meant the central bar but I lost you are you okay do you want to give me here I'll get you a beer okay after walking around in the cold for a while we've worked up an appetite for late lunch so we had to El Nacional a beautiful building showcasing restaurants that specialize in Iberian cuisine unfortunately it's closed but we're hungry so we settle on a sidewalk cafe to watch the world go by oh look more rain throughout the day I've been unlocking my phone with my fingerprint and my iris which are both secured biometric methods for getting into the phone I love not having to reach across the camera anymore to hit that fingerprint reader but I feel other phones still do this better by dishing out the fingerprint target and making it easier to find without a case what I don't like is intelligent scan which Samsung added is a convenient way to open the device without error it combines face and lock which is not secure and iris scanning which is that means nothing about this feature is secure so why even included in the first place while we're deciding what to order we open up a translation tool powered by Google it's pretty useful when it works the same goes for a dietary detection and calorie scanning app which didn't consistently identify our food poached egg okay it's a fried egg and Hertz controls very creative lunch was delicious and our bellies full we hop on the metro to checkout it up from part of town Andy breaks out a game and I tune into a video you'll notice when we go back to the home menu that the app icons are in landscape mode so you'll no longer have to turn the phone upright to browse this is an option you can now find in the settings the s9 phones run on Qualcomm's lead a Snapdragon 845 chip which boasts performance improvements for silky task processing and slightly longer battery life some s9s will get Samsung's own Exynos chip instead hey what's that are those wires sticking out of our ears yes it's true there is a headset jack many top phone stitch there as long ago but Samsung actually throws in a pair of AKG earbuds into the box they retail for about $100 u.s. and the audio quality is quite good in need of a pick-me-up we duck out of the rain for a break at one of Barcelona specialty coffee shops well Andy watches the bags I break out samsung pay which works at any terminal that accepts credit cards not just the ones that take Google pay and that's a good thing because we're running low on euros la Sagrada família gaudi's ambitious masterpiece of the Catholic Church that was first started in 1882 and is still unfinished the gorgeous stained windows inside create an irresistible kaleidoscope of color this is the perfect place to see the galaxy s nine can capture the magical moments in photo and video we've really been impressed with the s nines image quality overall and there are tons of settings to choose from even if you never stray from automatic photos and video modes this is one of the top performing cameras we've seen we just wish it wasn't so easy to accidentally flip from one mode to the next not every camera tool is absolutely perfect the new super slow-mo video we took at this popular skater spot records at a lower 720p resolution and works better outdoors than inside you'll want to use manual controls for the best results it's really fun sharing these videos with your friends but for higher resolution video go for the regular slo-mo option back at the hotel we cool our heels and hold cocktail hour by playing with Samsung's new 3d avatars called AR emoji you don't have to be familiar with Apple's an emoji to see that these are not good in fact almost offensively bad we asked a bunch of CNN editors to build our own and here's what they thought I don't know why the AR mode you gave me a man bun oh lord have mercy yeah that's unsettling that looks like have ya had some real sort of nerve problems it's it's kind of it's horrifying but I can't take my eyes away from it I'm basically like blocked on to this kind of plasticky image that is meant to be me that I don't identify with at all in any way shape or form but even if crossing into the uncanny valley to create your own digital humanoid clone for you there are tons of other effects and stickers you can apply to lighten up your messaging game me I like a practical tool so I'm partial to the new notifications window that lets you swipe down a text message to reply directly the idea is that the widget won't entirely pull you out of what you're doing you can just exit out and keep watching your video or puttering around on your browser the galaxy s 9 and s 9 plus are pumped full of top-shelf specs like android 8.0 or EO quite a lot of storage and that ambitious low-light camera and I love that they don't just sell around the world and gray in black in fact I like the purple and blue shades best the s9 plusses battery lasted a full day of sightseeing but we did want to give it a top up before going out for a late dinner and drinks you can charge the phones wirelessly or through the fast charging cable that comes in the box our the galaxy s 9 and s 9 plus worth the sky-high price well if you've already got in s 8 there to fundamentally close to rush out for an upgrade but if you're overdue for a new phone anyway they fulfill almost every requirement for day to day use really nice design battery life that takes you through the day pleasing photos with lots of tweaking options as long as those core features stay the course and by and large they do I can look past Samsung's bungled gimmicks and see the Galaxy S 9 phones for the sum of their parts these are two strong devices that earn a place in your pocket