Both Samsung and Nokia unveiled new smartphones at the 2018 World Mobile Congress in Madrid this weekend.
Nokia
Nokia introduced fives new phones at the event: Nokia 8 Sirocco, Nokia 7 Plus, Nokia 6, Nokia 1, and Nokia 8110.
The big news is that three of these phones—the Nokia 8 Sirocco, Nokia 7 Plus, and Nokia 6—will ship with the Android One version of Android, which meets Google’s requirements for performance and comes pre-loaded with Google’s apps and services.
An unusual offering from Nokia is the 8110, which is a blast from the past. The model was first introduced in 1996 and was featured in ‘The Matrix’ film. It is a curved phone with a slide-out keyboard. While it won’t have the modern operating system of most new smartphones, it will come loaded with the game Snake, Google Maps, Facebook and Twitter. It will cost $97 and work on 4G networks.
Samsung
After details were leaked last week, Samsung officially announced the specs of its Galaxy S9 and S9+. The company is stressing improvements made to the cameras, which feature:
- Dual Aperture with f/1.5 – f/2.4 capability, which means pictures will look great, even in low light.
- Dual lens and dual optical image stabilization (OIS) which will offer clearer pictures and less blur when the photographer zooms in on objects.
- Object recognition, which will allow users to translate foreign languages, take pictures of food and get calorie readouts, get location detection, and virtually try on make-up, just to name a few.
- The ability to shoot in slow-mo.
- AR emojis, which will work like Apple’s Animojis.
The Samsung S9 and S9+ will also feature an improved display, enterprise security, and 30% increased CPU performance. Both phones will be available for preorder on March 2 and appear in stores on March 16. The 64GB unlocked Galaxy S9 will start at $719.99, while the Galaxy S9+ will start at $839.99.