Android Circuit: Galaxy S9 Plus vs Pixel 2XL, Samsung’s Secret S9 Feature, New OnePlus 6 Leak
Taking a look back at seven days of news and headlines across the world of Android, this week’s Android Circuit includes the secret strength inside the Galaxy S9, Samsung’s ambitious sales target, a review of Nokia’s current Android handsets, the leaked OnePlus 6 design, Pixel 2XL vs Galaxy S9 Plus camera review, the Amazfit Cor is launched, and Android Wear gets a new name.
Android Circuit is here to remind you of a few of the many things that have happened around Android in the last week (and you can find the weekly Apple news digest here).
The Secret Strength Of The Galaxy S9
It might to be a sexy digital assistant, a new UI tweak, or smoother biometric security , but the Galaxy S9 has a hidden feature that everyone will be thankful for that isn’t readily apparent. It’s really, really strong. Forbes’ Gordon Kelly reports.
The Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus may have glass front and rear panels, but Samsung hasn’t skimped on any part of the phone’s construction. The buttons, grills and fingerprint sensor are all metal when the paint is scratched away. Furthermore, even when heavily scratched with a blade the fingerprint sensor still works perfectly.
Samsung switched from AL 6013 to stiffer AL 7003 aluminium with the Galaxy S9 and it pays off. Even under extreme pressure there is no flex to the Galaxy S9 and this means it should last extremely well, even if you keep your phone in your back pocket (Don’t). I’ve seen very few phones down the years withstand Zach’s bend test so well (some have snapped in half), and so Samsung’s results are doubly impressive given the Galaxy S9’s all-glass back.
South Korean’s Ambitious Sales Target
That said, Samsung has set an ambitious sales target for the Galaxy S9 family. According to reports this week the goal is 43 million handsets. That would represent a year-on-year increase over the Galaxy S8 family:
That’s 2 million more than the sales for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus, and would reward Samsung with something that not even the iPhone has been able to achieve in recent years… rising year-on-year sales of the flagship handsets.
Samsung’s target is ambitious, but achievable. Assuming that it reaches the 43 million mark, that will show a year-on-year rise over the S8 sales, and reverse the trend that saw the Galaxy S8 sales fall compared to the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge (from 55 million to 41 million). Reversing that trend is vital for the South Korean company.
All The Nokia Details You Need
Although HMD Global announced number of new Nokia branded handsets at MWC last month, the existing portfolio of Android-powered handsets continue to offer a huge amount of value at the mid-range markets. Henry Burrell has summarised the existing handsets, starting with the Nokia 8:
With a Snapdragon 835, attractive hardware and decent display, the Nokia 8 is a cheaper but high end alternative to more expensive Android smartphones.
While its RRP is £499, at the time of writing it is available for £349 in the UK with Carphone Warehouse. Expandable storage, dual cameras and now Android Oreo means this is an excellent way to get a high end phone for less than the £700+ of most other flagships.
Source:-https://www.forbes.com/sites/ewanspence/2018/03/16/android-google-headlines-samsung-galaxys9-oneplus6-nokia8-pixel2xl/#19cf66401f5c
