If you are still confused between buying an iPhone X and a Galaxy S9/S9 Plus, or any other alternatives, the latest Consumer Reports smartphone ratings will give you some helpful insights. Apple fans would unlikely be happy with this as Samsung’s latest flagship devices Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus have tied for the top spot in smartphone ratings based on durability, speed and sound.
Bree Fowler, from Consumer Reports, believes that although Galaxy S9 and S9+ are only a modest leap forward for Samsung’s lineup, the upgrade is worth a look. The two phones sit atop CR’s smartphone rankings with 81 points. Samsung Galaxy S8 follows with 80 points, while Galaxy S8 Active and S8 Plus come in next with 79 points. Surprisingly, the Apple’s tenth-anniversary device iPhone X is placed at the 8th position with 78 points, while iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone 8 are ranked 6th and 7th, respectively on CR’s ratings.
The first day sales of Galaxy S9 were lower than expected and its preorders couldn’t match that of the older Galaxy S8. Despite lukewarm reviews, the Galaxy S9 (and S9+) has shown some incremental improvements apart from the iteration which has helped it to edge out the previously top-rated Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus. Prior to the release of Galaxy S9, Consumer Reports has released the top smartphone camera rankings, in which Apple iPhone X stood first, followed by iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. However, the South Korean Giant defeated Apple with the camera performance of its latest Galaxy devices, according to DxO Mark.
“It really comes down to personal preference when you’re talking about high-end phones these days,” says Richard Fisco, Head of Smartphone testing – Consumer Reports.
Samsung Galaxy S9: Best Smartphones With Few Cavities
The ratings don’t mean that Samsung’s both new phones are perfect. But in both smartphones, the good far outweighs the bad. According to CR, Galaxy devices won for a few important reasons. In durability, S9 phones performed much better than their predecessors when subjected to drop tests. Both the handsets survived 50 drops without a problem, and S9 made it through 100 drops with just ‘minor scratches’.
Another strength of S9 phones is the faster Snapdragon 845 processor which clocked an impressive overall speed during testing. Also, according to CR, the Galaxy S9 and S9+ have well-designed stereo speakers. In addition, its retention of the 3.5 mm headphone jack and convenient security features gave Samsung an added advantage in CR’s smartphone ratings.
Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+, though proved to be groundbreaking in durability and stereo, still lags behind Apple in processor speed. While the new processor Snapdragon 845 closed the speed gap with the A11 Bionic chip, Apple’s blazing mobile processor is still faster. Yet Snapdragon 845 does better than iPhone X when it comes to graphics performance. Apparently, an anti-Apple bias might be suspected in CR’s product rating.
After the launch of Galaxy S9/S9+, it was initially underappreciated, some customers complained about problems with its touchscreen and some glitches in the lens. CR didn’t fail to acknowledge the drawbacks of the devices. They observed issues like over-sharpening of images and an underwhelming battery life.
All said and done, Samsung’s latest Galaxy devices are more resistant to breaking, more pleasing to the ear, and pretty fast. Samsung has managed to take the lead in the race of best smartphones of 2018, even as Apple is working on improvising on the next-gen iPhones.
