Galaxy S9 vs. iPhone X vs. Pixel 2: how the flagship phones stack up

2017 smartphones are so last year (literally), and Samsung is kicking off the 2018 phone race with its traditionally early announcement of the Galaxy S9 at Mobile World Congress 2018, as a follow up to last year’s Galaxy S8

For years now, the story of these flagship phones has been trying to transcend a simple spec shootout, with devices attempting to compete on offering the best experience, and not necessarily the most powerful hardware. This time, the Galaxy S9 is actually a pretty simple device to explain. In essence, it’s the Galaxy S8, with a couple of tweaks (like moving the fingerprint sensor to a more sensible location), and all the specs jacked up to the absolute max for the most powerful device on the market — at least, on paper.
The larger S9 Plus takes things a step further, with more RAM and a second camera, but the philosophy is the same: keep what worked great with last year’s well received S8, fix what didn’t, and make it all even more powerful.

Can Samsung make lightning strike twice with a similar design? It’s still too early to tell, and we’ll have a review soon that should tell you exactly how good Samsung’s newest flagship is. In the meantime, we’ve put the S9 and S9 Plus head-to-head against some of its biggest competition, including the Pixel 2, iPhone X, the Essential Phone, and more to give you a better idea of what the smartphone landscape looks like and help you start making the decision of what phone should get the coveted spot in your bag or pocket.

S9 SPEC COMPARISON

Display
5.8 inches
6.2 inches
6.0 inches
5.0 inches
5.8 inches
4.7 inches
5.5 inches
6.3 inches
5.71 inches
6 inches
6.0 inches
5.7 inches

Resolution
2960 x 1440
2960 x 1440
2880 x 1440
1920 x 1080
2436 x 1125
1334 x 750
1920 x 1080
2960 x 1440
2560 x 1312
2880 x 1440
2880 x 1440
2160 x 1080

Processor
Snapdragon 845 (2.8GHz and 1.7GHz, octa-core)
Snapdragon 845 (2.8GHz and 1.7GHz, octa-core)
Snapdragon 835 (2.35GHz and 1.9GHz, octa-core)
Snapdragon 835 (2.35GHz and 1.9GHz, octa-core)
A11 Bionic
A11 Bionic
A11 Bionic
Snapdragon 835 (2.35GHz and 1.9GHz, octa-core)
Snapdragon 835 (2.45GHz and 1.9GHz, octa-core)
Snapdragon 835
Snapdragon 835 (2.45GHz, octa-core)
Snapdragon 845 (2.7GHz and 1.7GHz, octa-core)

RAM
4GB
6GB
4GB
4GB
3GB
2GB
3GB
6GB
4GB
6GB
4GB, 6GB
4GB

Storage
64GB
64GB
64GB, 128GB
64GB, 128GB
64GB, 256GB
64GB, 256GB
64GB, 256GB
64GB, 128GB, 256GB
128GB
128GB, 256GB
64GB, 128GB
64GB

Rear camera
12 megapixel
12 megapixel, 12 megapixel (wide)
12.2 megapixel
12.2 megapixel
12 megapixel, 12 megapixel (wide)
12 megapixel
12 megapixel, 12 megapixel (wide)
12 megapixel, 12 megapixel (wide)
13 megapixel, 13 megapixel (monochrome)
16 megapixel, 13 megapixel (wide)
12 megapixel
19 megapixel

Front camera
8 megapixel
8 megapixel
8 megapixel
8 megapixel
7 megapixel
7 megapixel
7 megapixel
8 megapixel
8 megapixel
5 megapixel
8 megapixel
6 megapixel

Battery
3000mAh
3500mAh
3520mAh
2700mAh
2716mAh
1821mAh
2675mAh
3300mAh
3040mAh
3300mAh
3930mAh
3180mAh

Water protection
IP68
IP68
IP67
IP67
IP67
IP67
IP67
IP68
N/A
IP68
IP68
IP65/68

Weight
0.36 pounds
0.42 pounds
0.39 pounds
0.32 pounds
0.38 pounds
0.33 pounds
0.45 pounds
0.43 pounds
0.41 pounds
0.35 pounds
0.41 pounds
0.44 pounds

Dimensions (in.)
5.81 x 2.70 x 0.33
6.22 x 2.91 x 0.33
6.20 x 3.00 x 0.30
5.70 x 2.70 x 0.30
5.65 x 2.79 x 0.30
5.45 x 2.65 x 0.29
6.24 x 3.07 x 0.30
6.40 x 2.94 x 0.34
5.57 x 2.80 x 0.31
5.97 x 2.97 x 0.29
6.24 x 2.95 x 0.33
6.02 x 2.83 x 0.44

Starting price
$719.99
$839.99
$849.00
$649.00
$999.00
$699.00
$799.00
$930
$699.00
TBA
€799
TBA

Misc.
Iris scanner, mechanically adjustable aperture, wireless charging
Iris scanner, mechanically adjustable aperture, wireless charging
Squeezable sides, no headphone jack
Squeezable sides, no headphone jack
Face ID scanner, no headphone jack
Wireless charging, no headphone jack
Wireless charging, no headphone jack
S Pen, Iris scanner, USB-C, wireless charging
Modular attachement system
Quad DAC for Hi-Fi audio, ThinQ AI
Squeezable side function
Dynamic vibration system

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