MWC 2018: Samsung Galaxy S9 Press Event Live Blog (5pm UTC, Noon ET)

11:55AM EST - This is it. The biggest unkept secret in recent tech media, now coming to Mobile World Congress. Samsung's show is busy, and we're sitting as far forward as we were able to get, after queuing for two hours. This is Samsung, let us be your guides.

11:56AM EST - You've got all three of us here for the Samsung event - Ian on text, Anton on images, and Andrei working on secret projects :)

11:56AM EST - Samsung is in a different venue this year, using Fira Hall 1 from the old venue. Samsung used to be at a different venue across town, now taken by Huawei

11:57AM EST - But there seems to be nearly 5000 people here for the press event. It's huuuge

11:57AM EST - Three minutes to go. We think

11:57AM EST - For the show Samsung is using AR, based on the badges we have

12:02PM EST - Here we go

12:02PM EST - Andrei's article just went live: https://www.anandtech.com/show/12460/samsung-announces-the-galaxy-s9

12:02PM EST - Or follow the live blog here to get witty commentary of the announcement

12:02PM EST - Video time

12:03PM EST - I just saw a washing machine and a smartwatch

12:03PM EST - 'Do What You Can't'

12:04PM EST - Lots of people saying can't

12:04PM EST - Then lots of people doing the thinks they were told they can't do

12:05PM EST - President, Head of IT comms division, DJ Koh

12:05PM EST - The odd venue means he is difficult to see directly

12:05PM EST - It's an exciting time to be at MWC - incredible advances in technology have created the perfect conditions for innocation and change

12:06PM EST - Virtual Reality, AI, powerful processors, IoT

12:06PM EST - Now Hardware AI

12:06PM EST - The Intelligence of Things - the new IoT

12:06PM EST - Companies from our industry how they plan to change the world

12:06PM EST - but Samsung has a different view

12:06PM EST - Samsung believes the impact is overestimated - it is people that change the world, not technology

12:07PM EST - The world is only changed when the technology is in peoples hands, and our lives are transformed

12:07PM EST - Creators and innovators

12:07PM EST - New possibility that opens the door to a universe of new experiences

12:07PM EST - There is no better proof than the mobile phone

12:08PM EST - When we saw what the smartphone could do, we wondered what else was possible

12:08PM EST - Taking pictures, watching videos, listening to music

12:08PM EST - Samsung is inspired by questions that customers ask

12:08PM EST - A company of innovators, designers, engineers, committed to listening to customers

12:08PM EST - Take the challenge to work harder to get tomorrows essential capabilities

12:09PM EST - Samsung built the first MP3 player, first phone with a camera - we created the phablet, and pioneered the infinity display

12:09PM EST - For all the progress we have made, there is lot of work still to do

12:10PM EST - Technology is still too complicated - too many features are still left unused

12:10PM EST - Committed to open innovation, so all smart devices work seemlessly across a connected life

12:10PM EST - Today unveiling a new Galaxy smartphone with software and services to manage every facet of your connected life

12:10PM EST - The smartphone learns from you, to simplify

12:10PM EST - New SmartThings App

12:11PM EST - To congrol all your smarthings devices

12:11PM EST - across SmartTV to refridgerator

12:11PM EST - Help you live better

12:11PM EST - and healthier

12:11PM EST - Smartphone with a built-in heart-rate monitor. Now an optic sensor to show how hard your heart is beating

12:11PM EST - UCSF first program to use this sensor

12:12PM EST - Tracking health and fitness

12:12PM EST - But for all the changes we have seen, nothing is more important than images replacing words

12:12PM EST - Images convey who we are

12:12PM EST - The most important function of a phone is no longer making calls

12:13PM EST - It is all about visual communication

12:13PM EST - Sharing videos and emoji

12:13PM EST - Transform the way we use the phones

12:14PM EST - We still squeeze a camera into a device based for talking

12:14PM EST - Low-light and action shots are difficult problems to solve

12:14PM EST - At Samsung it is time for a new smartphone that takes great pictures

12:14PM EST - Built around an amazing smartphone

12:14PM EST - Inspired to take us to places we would never imagine to go

12:14PM EST - First smartphone built for how people use their phone today

12:15PM EST - All about how to experience the world tomorrow

12:15PM EST - I give you: Galaxy S9 and S9+

12:15PM EST - Video time

12:16PM EST - There seems to be a rose colored phone on the video

12:17PM EST - S9 and S9+

12:18PM EST - SVP Product Marketing, Justin Denison, to the stage

12:18PM EST - The way we use smartphones is changing

12:19PM EST - We use our phones in front of our face, not held up our ear

12:19PM EST - The most personal devices we own

12:19PM EST - Committed to making phones that reflect our users

12:19PM EST - For the social and visual generation

12:20PM EST - Infinity Display

12:20PM EST - More screen in less space

12:20PM EST - Built on this foundation, refining it

12:20PM EST - Uninterrupted display

12:20PM EST - There's no notch

12:20PM EST - Refined the back of the phone

12:20PM EST - We still have it

12:21PM EST - Moved the fingerprint to underneath the camera

12:21PM EST - Giving users more choice by introducing Intelligence Scan

12:21PM EST - key elements of face recognition and iris scanning

12:21PM EST - Feedback extends to colors

12:21PM EST - Four colors - midnight black, titanium grey, coral blue, and lilac purple

12:22PM EST - Using AR to simulate what an S9 is like

12:23PM EST - Can check out the phone

12:23PM EST - a sleek refined the display

12:23PM EST - 'Looks great in your hand'

12:24PM EST - >I guess that's a cheap way of showing off a phone that isn't mass produced yet...

12:24PM EST - Device is designed for the social and visual generation

12:24PM EST - Extends to the camera

12:24PM EST - Create the phone around the camera

12:25PM EST - Make the camera adapt to the environment

12:25PM EST - Jon Wong to the stage, Director Product Marketing

12:26PM EST - Taking a dark group photo

12:26PM EST - Samsung has always been committed to leading the industry with camera technology

12:26PM EST - Taking brilliant photos at any time of day

12:26PM EST - Modeled on the human eye

12:27PM EST - adjusting the aperture size based on light levels

12:27PM EST - S9 has a dual aperture smartphone camera, designed to work like the human eye

12:27PM EST - If it is bright, the camera will use the smaller aperture

12:27PM EST - In the dark, it uses the widest ever aperture in a smartphone

12:27PM EST - F/1.5 and F/2.4

12:27PM EST - S9 has a DRAM chip directly into the camera

12:28PM EST - new SuperSpeed Dual Pixel Image Sensor

12:28PM EST - Can process 4x data than before

12:28PM EST - Result: taking incredible shots in super bright or super dark

12:28PM EST - The S9 camera adjusts instantly, quicker than the human eye

12:29PM EST - Everyone loves slomo

12:29PM EST - It makes everything look epic

12:29PM EST - Make everyday moments epic

12:29PM EST - Taking slomo to even more epic

12:29PM EST - The DRAM powers the new Slomo experience

12:30PM EST - Record videos up to 960 FPS (at 720p)

12:30PM EST - Invited the Slo Mo Guys to do a demo on stage

12:30PM EST - Not on stage, just a video

12:31PM EST - One of the Slo Mo Guys will be doing demos after the press event

12:32PM EST - Typical SloMo is 240 FPS, S9 is 960 FPS

12:32PM EST - Multi-take allows up to 20 different SloMo scenes in a single take

12:33PM EST - Auto-capture enables slo-mo when anything happens in a certain area

12:33PM EST - Also create gifs

12:33PM EST - Live Demo

12:33PM EST - >It only records slomo for 0.2s

12:33PM EST - demo on stage of water in a glass

12:34PM EST - Automatic background music can be added

12:34PM EST - Set slomo video as the lock screen

12:35PM EST - Partnering with The Dodo and Buzzfeed to make videos

12:35PM EST - microSD up to 400 GB

12:35PM EST - >Does Samsung even make a 400GB microSD yet?

12:36PM EST - S9+ gets a dual camera wide-angle and telephoto lens. OIS in both

12:36PM EST - take clear focus shots

12:36PM EST - Capture more of the action

12:36PM EST - Live Focus enabled bokeh portraits during and after the shot

12:36PM EST - IP68 rating

12:36PM EST - 'Do not recommend using in a swimming pool'

12:37PM EST - This is what it means to reimagine the camera

12:37PM EST - Also visual intelligence

12:37PM EST - Erin Willis to the stage, Senior Manager for Channel Marketing

12:38PM EST - People are always looking to personalize the way they communicate

12:38PM EST - S9 is using augmented reality to map your features and expressions

12:38PM EST - create emojis that look like you

12:38PM EST - AR emoji

12:38PM EST - Easy to create and personalize

12:39PM EST - As simple as taking a selfie

12:39PM EST - Takes about 15 seconds to create

12:40PM EST - Post personalization to adjust hair color, hair amount, accessories, skin color etc

12:40PM EST - Can also add voice message

12:40PM EST - Create 18 personalized emoji

12:40PM EST - Share AR emoji with any other smartphone

12:41PM EST - Can be used with third party apps

12:42PM EST - >Now doing emoji demos

12:43PM EST - Can also use familiar faces - Mickey Mouse

12:43PM EST - partnership with Disney

12:43PM EST - Now Bixby

12:43PM EST - Introduced last year

12:43PM EST - Bixby uses AI to translate and show search results

12:44PM EST - Now using Google Translate via Bixby to translate a menu

12:45PM EST - Also use Bixby AI to detect what food you have, and logs food info into Samsung Health

12:45PM EST - Can also use the AI for shopping

12:45PM EST - Bixby Makeup Mode

12:46PM EST - Try on makeup in a virtual context, and use Bixby to buy it through the camera

12:46PM EST - At launch, available in US/Canada/China

12:46PM EST - Compatible with AR Core

12:47PM EST - Mark Notton, Director Product Portfolio, to the stage

12:47PM EST - Talking about the rest of the phone

12:47PM EST - The S9 and S9+ displays are totally immersive

12:48PM EST - 5.8-inch and 6.2-inch

12:48PM EST - 18.5:9 display

12:48PM EST - Boosted the brightness in the screen - vivid viewing day or night

12:49PM EST - S9 has speakers on both ends of the device. Loudest ever in a Galaxy device

12:49PM EST - Tuned by AKG, partnered with Dolby Atmos

12:49PM EST - Moves sound all around in three dimensions

12:50PM EST - Now making jokes about 3.5mm jack. These phones have them

12:50PM EST - Aiming for a better experience

12:50PM EST - Using the most advanced chipsets on the market

12:50PM EST - Fastest downloading speeds available on a smartphone

12:51PM EST - Improving the multitasking experience

12:51PM EST - Suitable apps can open notifications in a small window without interrupting what you are doing

12:51PM EST - Seemlessly switching between tasks

12:51PM EST - Homescreen supports horizontal orientation

12:52PM EST - Fast wireless charging

12:52PM EST - Quick convenient charge without cords

12:52PM EST - An experience that is more intune with how you live your life

12:52PM EST - It revolutionizes how a generation things what smartphones can be

12:52PM EST - S9 is Samsung's vision for the future of mobile phones

12:53PM EST - EVP Head of Software and AI, ES Chung, to the stage

12:53PM EST - Using the power of technology to make life easier

12:54PM EST - From feature phones to smartphones

12:54PM EST - new frontiers of VR, AR, AI, and ML

12:54PM EST - Provide the best possible experience between hardware and software

12:54PM EST - Having a profound impact

12:54PM EST - Becoming a global leader in chips and sensors, and software and services

12:54PM EST - The mobile device at the center of your connected life

12:55PM EST - Getting the most out of the phone - making the experience faster, better, and more intuitive

12:55PM EST - Samsung Pay

12:55PM EST - Now available in 20 market

12:55PM EST - Still expanding

12:56PM EST - Samsung Health

12:56PM EST - Experience is as simple as touching a sensor, taking a photo of food, or wearing a watch

12:56PM EST - Also controlling devices in the home

12:56PM EST - Bixby is the intelligence platform that makes it easier to use the phone how you want

12:56PM EST - Understanding the world around you

12:57PM EST - Just the tip of the iceburg

12:57PM EST - Companies need to handle sensitive data with care and responsibility

12:57PM EST - Samsung Knox

12:57PM EST - Knox has recieved more security approvals from governments and businesses than any other platform

12:57PM EST - Knox is enterprise ready

12:58PM EST - Full suite of services for corporate management

12:58PM EST - Knox works for business, even when businesses change rapidly

12:58PM EST - Creating productive workspaces with DeX

12:58PM EST - Enterprise Mobility

12:59PM EST - New DeX pad and Knox integration

12:59PM EST - this is an exciting frontier for technology

12:59PM EST - Multi-layered approach to software

12:59PM EST - Intelligence is now embedded over everything

01:00PM EST - The goal for Bixby is: Ubiquitous, Personal, Everywhere, and Open

01:00PM EST - Engineers are pushing the boundaries for mobile intelligence to the next level

01:00PM EST - Bixby 2.0 coming later in the year

01:00PM EST - 'I'll be back'

01:00PM EST - DJ Koh back to the stage

01:01PM EST - Very excited about the S9

01:01PM EST - Coming March 16th

01:01PM EST - Pre-order at Samsung.com and partners

01:01PM EST - also Trade-Up and Save

01:02PM EST - S9 Enterprise Edition for enterprise customers also available on March 16th

01:02PM EST - S9 will make your life more fun

01:03PM EST - And that is a wrap. Time for final video and hands on.

01:04PM EST - .