SAMSUNG LAUNCHES GALAXY S9 SMARTPHONE

On the eve of the official start of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona Spain, Samsung unveiled the new Galaxy S9 smartphone. Samsung has the opportunity to be in the spotlight since there is no other handset company utilizing the annual event that is the world’s largest phone show.

The Galaxy S9 physical features are more or less similar to the S8 one that was launched last year. However It includes a faster processor, software that turns selfies into animated emojis and louder sound which will entice customers in to purchasing it. It also has a dual-lens camera which will improve low-light clips and enhance slow motion video, a feature that is very popular nowadays.

The S9 is services powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that allows users to point its camera to instantly translate a foreign language sign. “Despite these incremental innovations, Samsung will have smartly leverage its brand and marketing machine to correctly position the new smartphone to a target audience,” said Forrester analyst Thomas Husson.

Samsung suffered a demeaning recall of its Galaxy Note 7 back in 2016 after several devices exploded, but its Galaxy S8 was a consumer success. The South Korean company faces stiff competition from Chinese rivals like Huawei and Xiaomi that offer their handsets at a lower price but with equally high-end features. The company has however kept its lead ahead of Apple as the world’s biggest smartphone merchant in 2017.

The Galaxy S9 will trade for 859 Euros that equals to 1,055 US Dollars. That is a huge selling price that could turn off  many consumers. In as much as it may have high-end features, the pricing could negatively affect the sales of the newly launched device.

Huawei also unveiled a new laptop and tablet earlier on Sunday in Barcelona but will launch its latest smartphone the P20 on March 27 in Paris France. Thomas Husson said that this will give them time to calibrate its marketing message based on how the Galaxy S9 will be felt by consumers.