Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus vs Google Pixel 2 XL: which is best on paper?

The Pixel 2 XL is Google’s ultimate vision of an Android phone, and it’s a pretty fantastic one at that. But second best might be all it can muster: the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus was just announced – and seems poised to supplant its predecessor as the must-have flagship. The Galaxy S9 Plus and the Pixel 2 XL are very comparable in a lot of ways, but each has its perks. Here’s how things look based on early specs and our hands-on impression of the S9 Plus.

DESIGN: A FAMILIAR BATTLE

The Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus is a dead ringer for the Galaxy S8 Plus, with the same screen-centric front, alluring curves, and light bezel. It’s a glass-and-aluminum stunner, and the only obvious difference this time around is better placement for the fingerprint sensor on the back. As for the Pixel 2 XL, it’s still a bit drab by comparison. The front lacks any kind of wow factor – and it has far too much bezel, making the phone feel larger than it needs to. It’s fine, but the Galaxy has a clear aesthetic edge here.

SCREENS: SLIGHTLY MORE POP

The Galaxy S9 Plus’ display looks largely unchanged from the one before it. And once more, that’s no complaint. It’s a 6.2in Quad HD Super AMOLED stunner at an 18.5:9 aspect ratio, which means it’s super tall and has plenty of extra room for your apps, games, and media. What about the Pixel 2 XL then? Well, it’s also pretty great – it’s a 6in OLED panel at 18:9 that’s just as sharp as either Galaxy screen, but doesn’t have quite the same colourful pop. There’s also a bit of discolouration at sharp angles that you don’t see on Samsung’s handsets.

CAMERA: ADJUSTABLE, YOU SAY?

For our money, the Pixel 2 XL has the absolute best smartphone camera on the market today. Google delivered a monster of a 12MP (f/1.8) sensor. Phase-detect and laser-assisted autofocus helped deliver killer shots, but it’s really the image processing algorithms that set the Pixel 2 camera apart. On paper, the Galaxy S9 Plus seems to have some advantages: it does has a secondary back sensor for bokeh and other effects, and the wider f/1.5 aperture on the 12MP main sensor should let in loads of light. More crucially, the S9 Plus packs in adjustable aperture, automatically swapping between f/1.5 and f/2.4 for better exposure and more detail when you have plenty of light.

PERFORMANCE: PURE MUSCLE

When it comes to raw, benchmark-pushing ability, this one’s an easy win for the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus. The Plus packs in Samsung’s Exynos 9810 chip in the UK and some other territories, or the slightly weaker Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 elsewhere. And both of those come out ahead of the year-old Snapdragon 835 seen in the Pixel 2 XL. We can’t imagine there’s a huge difference in everyday usage, but it’s there on the stat sheet.

BATTERY AND PERKS: SAMSUNG HAS PERKS

Both handsets have nearly identical battery capacity: 3,500mAh on the Galaxy S9 Plus and 3,520mAh on the Pixel 2 XL. The Galaxy S9 Plus does have an edge over the Pixel 2 XL with wireless charging capabilities, however. Both handsets also come with 64GB of internal storage as standard, but only the S9 Plus offers expandable storage via microSD. You’ll similarly find a mobile VR headset for both, but only the S9 Plus has Samsung’s DeX station, which lets you plug in an external monitor and use your phone like a PC.

INITIAL VERDICT: THE S9 LOOKS FINE

We’re big fans of Google’s Pixel 2 XL – in fact, it’s our second favourite phone in the world as of this writing. But our first favourite is the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus. And honestly, we’re not seeing anything that’ll sink the Galaxy S9’s status at this point. Maybe the Pixel 3 XL will ultimately do the trick later this year, but Samsung has some key edges here: more alluring design, a slightly better screen, more power, wireless charging, expandable storage support, and even the better VR headset.