If you’re in the market for a flagship Android device, one of the best bets is Google Pixel 2. The Pixel 2 comes with the top of the line camera in the market, best performance and as well as great build quality. However, Samsung’s upcoming flagship the Galaxy S9, S9+ is upon us, due to revealed in full on February 25, 2018. The Galaxy S9 is expected to an iterative update compared to the S8 but still will pack pretty solid upgrades.
So the question is how the Pixel 2 face up to the upcoming Galaxy S9?
Galaxy S9 vs Pixel 2 Design & Specs
The Galaxy S9 and S9+ will be identical to last year’s S8, S8+. The Infinity Display is heading to the S9 and this time with even more thin bezels at the top, just enough to house the front camera and sensors. This is in contrast to the Pixel 2 which has pretty thick bezels, and the larger Pixel 2 XL which sports slimmer bezels than its siblings but still doesn’t match the expected breadth of the S9 display.
As for the display itself, the Pixel 2 XL comes with a 6.0-inch Quad HD OLED display, the regular Pixel 2 still has a 5-inch 1080p display. In comparison, Galaxy S9 will sport Quad HD+ screens, a 5.8-inch for the standard and a 6.2-inch for the plus model. Though both phones use OLED, Samsung’s Super AMOLED technology brings the widest range of colours a set of eyeballs could ask for.
Being the flagship grade phones, the Pixel 2 and Galaxy S9 surely have powerful internals. The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL come with Snapdragon 835 along with 4GB of RAM. The Galaxy S9, however, will trump the Pixel 2 with more powerful Snapdragon 845 SoC. The S9+ will also ship a massive 6GB of RAM. In terms of performance, while Pixel 2 is certainly a good device, but Galaxy S9 will have even more firepower.
Galaxy S9 vs Pixel 2 Cameras
If Galaxy S9 is going to edge past Pixel 2, Samsung has to match the camera prowess of the Google’ device. The company's invitation to its MWC event features the tagline "Camera Reimagined," stressing just how much importance Samsung is placing on the camera with this update to the Galaxy lineup.
The standard S9 is expected to come with a 12MP single lens camera. The S9+ model will, however, ship with a two 12MP sensors and both will likely have optical zoom. The secondary lens will include a Live Focus mode for bringing objects into focus while blurring the background.
A big shakeup though is that Samsung has added adjustable aperture in S9’s camera. The device will be able to automatically switch from f/2.4 to f/1.5, the widest of any smartphone ever. Also, a new slow-motion video mode has been added which detects fast movement and slows it down to 480 frames per second.
As for the Pixel 2, it ships with 12MP single lens camera with OIS and a wider f/1.8 aperture, but Google relies on software for the portrait mode. However, Pixel 2 is still a top performing mobile device camera, with a record-setting overall score of 98 according to DxO Mark.
Conclusion
Based on the information so far, it seems Galaxy S9 with its faster processor and a sleeker design will beat the Google phone. However, it remains to be seen whether it will take the camera crown from the Pixel 2. Samsung’s overhauled camera system will surely go a long way toward making it a better rival for the Pixel 2. It is better to wait and watch when Samsung unwraps their new flagship in coming days.
