Home » Specs Comparison: Samsung Galaxy S9+ vs Google Pixel 2 XL

Specs Comparison: Samsung Galaxy S9+ vs Google Pixel 2 XL

Written By Vaughn Chua
Published • February 26th, 2018
ComparisonsMobile
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In this episode of specs comparison, we’ll be putting Samsung’s newest flagship smartphone — the Galaxy S9+ side-by-side with the Google Pixel 2 XL to see which one is the better pick in key aspects. Let’s start!

The Samsung Galaxy S9+ is the big brother of the Galaxy s9 that offers better specs. It has a 6.2″ 18.5:9 WQHD+ Super AMOLED display with 2960 x 1440 resolution, an Exynos 9810 processor, 6GB RAM, 64GB/128GB/256GB UFS 2.1 internal storage, 12MP + 12MP dual rear cameras with dual-tone LED flash, 8MP front camera, and 4,000mAh battery with fast charging and wireless charging.

The Google Pixel 2 XL is literally the big brother of the Pixel 2. It has a 6″ 18:9 QHD+ P-OLED display with 2880 x 1440 resolution, a Snapdragon 835 processor, 4GB RAM, 64GB/128GB internal storage, 12.2MP rear camera, 8MP front camera, and 3,500mAh battery with rapid charging.

Here are their detailed specs:

Samsung Galaxy S9	Google Pixel 2
6.2-inch WQHD+ (2960 x 1440) 18.5:9 Super AMOLED display, 531ppi	6-inch 18:9 QHD+ display @ 2880 x 1440, 538ppi
Gorilla Glass 5 (front and back)	Gorilla Glass 5
Samsung Exynos 9810 octa-core CPU (4 x 2.7GHz Custom CPU + 4 x 1.8GHz ARM Cortex A55)	2.45GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 octa-core
Mali G72-MP18	Adreno 540
6GB LPDDR4 RAM	4GB RAM
64GB, 128GB, 256GB UFS 2.1 internal storage	64GB / 128GB internal storage
microSD card slot (uses SIM card 2)	-
12MP f/1.5-f/2.4 Dual Pixel, OIS, 2x optical zoom + 12MP f/2.4 dual pixel, OIS, wide-angle, dual-tone LED flash	12.2MP rear camera with OIS, EIS, PDAF, LDAF
2160p @ 30fps video recording, Slow-mo 960fps @ 720p (0.2 secs)	2160p@30fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps, 720p@240fps video recording
8MP f/1.7 front-facing camera	8MP front camera
Dual-SIM (nano, hybrid)	Nano-SIM card & e-SIM
WiFi 802.11ac	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX	Bluetooth 5.0
GPS with aGPS, GLONASS, BeiDou	GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO
4G LTE Cat. 18 6CA 1.2Gbps	4G LTE
NFC	NFC
Iris scanner	-
Heart rate scanner	-
Fingerprint scanner	Fingerprint scanner
IP68 dust and water-resistance	IP67 dust water resistance
USB Type-C	USB Type-C
-	Active Edge sides
Samsung Bixby, Bixby Vision 2.0	-
Android 8.0 with Samsung Experience 9	Android 8.0 Oreo
3,500 Li-Po battery, Fast Charging, Wireless Charging	3,520mAh battery with rapid charging
Wireless Charging	-
158.1 x 73.8 x 8.5 mm	157.9 x 76.7 x 7.9 mm
189 g	175 g
Midnight Black, Lilac Purple	Blue, Black, White

Here are the advantages of each smartphone:

Samsung Galaxy S9+

+ Slightly higher screen size

+ Slightly higher horizontal screen resolution

+ Slightly higher screen aspect ratio

+ Larger RAM

+ Iris Scanner

+ Heart rate scanner

+ Higher resistance rating

+ 3.5mm audio port

+ microSD card slot

+ Wireless charging

Google Pixel 2 XL

+ Slightly higher pixel density

+ Free unlimited Google cloud storage

+ Active Edge sides

+ e-SIM

+ Slimmer

+ Lighter mass

+ Slightly larger battery capacity

Compared with the S9 vs Pixel 2 that we made, the display specs for the Galaxy S9+ and Pixel 2 XL are close to each other. Both smartphones provide good viewing experience with the former having a slight advantage.

Based on the clock speed of the processors, the Galaxy S9’s Exynos 9810 has the upper-hand with its 2.7GHz custom CPU as compared with Pixel 2 XL’s Snapdragon 835. However, it’s not all about clock speeds so we’ll have to wait for the result of the AnTuTu benchmarking test scores and real-life usage to see which one really has a better performing CPU.

The GPUs of both devices provide excellent gaming potential in which users won’t need to worry about playing light-to-heavy graphic-intensive games at the highest settings. We’ll know who has a better performing GPU once we get the benchmark scores of the S9 in the coming days.

The Galaxy S9+ has a dual camera setup as compared with the Pixel 2 XL but that does not mean that we should count the latter out. We can’t say much about this aspect for now but we will be releasing our sample shots for the S9+ in the coming days so stay tuned.

The Pixel 2 XL to has a slightly larger battery capacity as compared with the Galaxy S9+ but it lacks the wireless charging that the latter has. As of this moment, we still don’t know who has a better battery life since we have yet to test out the former’s battery performance on PC Mark’s battery test. We will be updating this comparison in the coming days.

The Samsung Galaxy S9+ is priced at Php52,990USD 903INR 76,549EUR 860CNY 6,576/Php55,990USD 954INR 80,883EUR 909CNY 6,948/Php60,990USD 1,039INR 88,106EUR 990CNY 7,569 (64GB/128GB/256GB) while the Google Pixel 2 XL is priced at Php45,500USD 775INR 65,729EUR 738CNY 5,647 in online stores.

What do you guys think? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Check out more stories from our Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ coverage:
Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ now official
Samsung Galaxy S9, S9+ price and pre-order in the Philippines
Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ in-depth Hands-On
Samsung Galaxy S9 Review
7 Best Features of the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+
WATCH: Samsung Galaxy S9 vs Samsung Galaxy S8 Comparison
WATCH: Samsung Galaxy S9 vs iPhone X Comparison
INFOGRAPHIC: Evolution of the Samsung Galaxy S series
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