Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ are officially out in India at a starting price of Rs 57,900 and Rs 64,900 for the base 64GB storage variants. Here’s a comparison of Galaxy S9 Plus vs iPhone X vs Google Pixel 2 XL.
Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ are officially out in India at a starting price of Rs 57,900 and Rs 64,900 for the base 64GB storage variants. The Galaxy S9+ will compete with other flagships in the market, notably the Apple iPhone X and Google Pixel 2 XL. The Galaxy S9+ camera has already been crowned as the best by DxOMark in its ratings, putting it ahead of both phones. Here’s a look at specifications and other features of all three phones.

Samsung Galaxy S9+ vs Apple iPhone X vs Google Pixel 2 XL: Design, Display
The Galaxy S9+ comes with a 6.2-inch Super AMOLED display, which is curved on both sides and sports an 18.5:9 aspect ratio. The display resolution is 2960×1440 pixels, and Samsung has reduced the bezels on the top and bottom, though it is similar to the Infinity Display from last year. Still, the overall design is very similar to the Galaxy S8+ from 2017.

Samsung is sticking with the glass and metal body design with the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+. The phone is water and dust resistant with IP68 rating. Dimensions of the Galaxy S9+ are 158.1 mm x 73.8 mm x 8.5 mm and it will come in three colours: Black, Blue and Lilac Purple. The last colour on the list is a new addition to the series, and Samsung is hoping it will stand out compared to other devices. The smartphone continues to have a 3.5mm headphone jack as well, which the other two phones do not support.
Apple iPhone X has an edge-to-edge 5.8-inch OLED display with 2436 x 1125 pixels resolution. The display is compatible with HDR content. The iPhone X does not have a bottom bezel at all, unlike the Galaxy S9+, but it does have the controversial notch on top, which houses the TrueDepth front camera along with other sensors to support Facial Recognition.
The iPhone X does not have a fingerprint scanner, which the Galaxy S9+ and Google Pixel 2 XL both sport. Apple has also arranged the dual rear camera vertically on one side, and the phone comes in only two colour options, which are silver or space gray. The iPhone X has an IP67 water resistance rating and is water and dust resistant. Dimensions of the iPhone X are: 143.6 mm x 70.9 mm x 7.7 mm.

Google Pixel 2 XL has a 6.0-inch display, which is also bezel-less with curved edges, similar to the Samsung Galaxy S9+. The display aspect ratio is 18:9 and it comes with 2880 x 1440 pixels resolution. Google has gone for a pOLED display, which has faced a lot of criticism over how it is handling colour reproduction. However, Google has tried to fix some of the screen burn issues with new settings in Android Oreo updates.
Google’s flagship continues with the two-toned metal and glass design from the original series. The phone comes in a ‘Just Black’ and a ‘Black and White’ variant. The Pixel 2 XL does not have a headphone jack, but this has an IP67 rating for water and dust resistance. Google Pixel 2 XL also has a fingerprint scanner at the back. The biggest design difference is that unlike the other two phones, Google Pixel 2 XL does not have a dual rear camera, though it supports Portrait mode on the front and back. Dimensions of the Google Pixel 2 XL are 157.9 mm x 76.7 mm x 7.9 mm.

Samsung Galaxy S9+ vs Apple iPhone X vs Google Pixel 2 XL: Processor, Storage, RAM
Samsung Galaxy S9+ is powered by the company’s own Exynos 9810 octa-core processor, which is clocked at 2.7.Ghz coupled with 6GB RAM. Samsung Galaxy S9+ comes in three variants: 64GB, 128GB and 256GB. However, the company is only launching the 64BGB and 256GB versions in India. Galaxy S9+ also comes with 400GB expandable storage support.
The Apple iPhone X is powered by the A11 Bionic chip from the company, which it says is ready for Augmented Reality (AR) and designed to carry out tasks like Facial Recognition, boost the Animoji feature, and support AR-ready apps. Apple iPhone X has 3GB RAM on board, though the company never officially reveals this. The phone also comes in only two storage variants: 64GB and 256GB, but there is no support for a microSD card.

Google Pixel 2 XL is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, which was the flagship processor from 2017. The phone comes with 4GB RAM and 64GB and 128GB storage options. There is no microSD slot on the Pixel 2 XL as well. However, the company is offering unlimited lifetime storage for Google Photos at full quality resolution for users of the phone.

Samsung Galaxy S9+ vs Apple iPhone X vs Google Pixel 2 XL: Camera, Battery
Camera is really the highlight of the Samsung Galaxy S9+ as the company has been marketing it. The Galaxy S9+ has two big changes on the camera. First, the S9 Plus gets a dual rear camera, while the S9 has a single rear camera. Second, the 12MP wide-angle lens now has a dual variable aperture: ƒ/1.5 and ƒ/2.4, which Samsung claims will ensure great images even in low-light. The 12MP telephoto lens has ƒ/2.4 aperture and the S9+ comes with the Portrait mode option as well.

The phone has dual OIS and the option for 2X optical zoom as well. Samsung has also introduced a new super slow motion mode for recording videos at 960 frames per second at 720p resolution. The front camera on the Galaxy S9+ is 8MP with f/1.7 aperture. The Galaxy S9+ has a 3500 mAh battery with Type-C USB charger. The phone supports wireless charging.
Apple iPhone X’s also has a dual rear camera and a 7MP TrueDepth front camera. The rear camera’s 12MP wide angle lens has ƒ/1.8 aperture, while the 12MP telephoto lens has ƒ/2.4 aperture. Apple iPhone X also has dual OIS along with the ability to record 4K videos at 60 frames per second, which is also present on the Galaxy S9+. However, slow-motion video on iPhone X is limited to 240 frames per second. The iPhone X’s battery size has not been specified by the company and it relies on the company’s Lightning port for charging. This phone also supports wireless charging.

Pixel 2 XL sports a single 12.2MP rear camera with ƒ/1.8 aperture. Google has also added Portrait mode on the front and rear camera, but this is driven by software and machine learning. The Pixel 2 XL camera, despite its single lens, has been rated as one of the best for its low-light performance thanks to Google’s HDR mode, which is turned on by default. The Pixel 2 XL has an 8MP front camera. However, the phone can record 4K video at 30fps only. Google Pixel 2 XL has a 3520 mAh battery with Type-C USB fast charging support as well. There is no wireless charging support.

Samsung Galaxy S9+ vs Apple iPhone X vs Google Pixel 2 XL: Software, Extra features
The Galaxy S9+ is on Android Oreo 8.0 with TouchWiz UI. Samsung’s Bixby voice-assistant remains present on the phone, though it now comes with the option of live-translate built-into the camera. The Bixby live-translate works for Indian languages like Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali, etc as well. The Galaxy S9+ also comes with a new AR Emoji feature, which relies on a scanning the user’s face to create a cartoon figure of the user. These comes with 18 fixed expressions and can be shared as GIFs on SMS, and other third-party apps as well.
The Apple iPhone X runs iOS 11 and comes with new swiping gestures given there is no home button on the front. The front camera has the option for Face Recognition. Apple has also added a Backside illumination sensor to boost this particular feature. The front camera comes with an Animoji feature as well, where the iPhone creates these animated creatures capturing the user’s expressions. Animojis can be shared on iMessage and other third-party apps as well.
The Pixel 2 XL comes with Android Oreo 8.0, though it has now been upgraded to Android Oreo 8.1. The phone has all the latest Android Oreo features and comes with support for DayDream, the company’s VR platform. The phone’s camera also has AR Stickers, which are driven by augmented reality and can be dragged on to photos and videos. Currently Google Pixel 2 XL has stickers from Netflix’s popular show Stranger Things and stickers from Star Wars‘ latest film, The Last Jedi.

Samsung Galaxy S9+ vs Apple iPhone X vs Google Pixel 2 XL: Price in India
Samsung Galaxy S9+ price is priced at Rs 64,900 in India for the 64GB version, while the 256GB variant will cost Rs 72,900. In comparison, the Apple iPhone X seems much more expensive with a starting price of Rs 95,390 for 64GB and Rs 1,08,930 for the 256GB version.

However, online the iPhone X is retailing for lower at Rs 83,499 on Flipkart, which is the authorised online reseller. Meanwhile, Google Pixel 2 XL’s official price in India is Rs 73,000 for 64GB and Rs 82,000 (128GB). Currently, the phone is retailing at Rs 61,999 on Flipkart.