The first Galaxy S9+ review is now live and it's not from any tech publication, it's from a lucky pre-order customer who received his unit way ahead of schedule. It's not uncommon for Samsung's retail or carrier partners to mistakenly ship out a unit or two of its upcoming flagship devices. We've seen this happen in the past as well and now it appears to have happened again. It's quite likely that other pre-order customers in markets like the United States will start receiving their units a couple of days before the official March 16 release date.
First Galaxy S9+ review
Reddit user Pinusnigra pre-ordered the Galaxy S9+ the day Samsung started taking them in his country (Turkey) and much to his surprise, the Exynos-powered variant of the device landed on his doorstep on March 1. Samsung is offering a neat little pre-order bonus to customers in Turkey who pre-order the Galaxy S9 or Galaxy S9+, they will get a Gear Sport smartwatch for free. Both devices are shipped in one single box.
He doesn't claim to be a professional reviewer in any way but his observations are what most average users will feel when they use the device for the first time. Pinusnigra touches on many aspects of the new flagship in his Galaxy S9+ review. This includes the packaging, the AKG-tuned earphones in the box, the various guides and documents that nobody reads and the finish of the device itself. He says that the Galaxy S9+ in Midnight Black has a better matte finish compared to last year's glossy one.
For those who are wondering if the new stereo speakers live up to the hype, he says that they're an “enormous upgrade,” with the earpiece functioning more or less like a tweeter while the main speaker completes the sound.
Commenting on the performance, he says that the device is snappy as expected. The Intelligent Scan feature is described as “fast and good but unreliable.” AR Emoji is a feature that's going to figure prominently in Samsung's marketing campaign for the Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy S9+. He doesn't seem to think it works well, though, and his similar thoughts about the much-hyped Super Slow-motion video feature too.
You can read his 2000-word Galaxy S9+ review on Reddit to get a sense of what Samsung's new flagship is all about. Don't forget that our full Galaxy S9 review is going to be published in the near future so do check back for that as well.
