Galaxy S9 spec war gets serious for Apple

The sales war between Samsung and Apple rages on here in 2018, what with the Galaxy S9 and S9+ almost revealed and word of "lower than expected" sales on the iPhone X in the rumor mill. Over the past half-decade, Samsung's gotten into a groove with their 3-phone release year, including two Galaxy S devices and a single Note. This year won't be all that different – in fact it's a sort of "tock" year in the company's tick-tock pattern. And Apple's on deck for a new setup yet again, having just released three phones that skip a so-called iPhone 9 and go straight from 8 to X.

In the year 2018, we have some specs in all top-tier phones to look forward to that only a few years ago would've sounded absurd. The Galaxy S9 Plus and iPhone 8s Plus will almost certainly both have two cameras on their back. What on earth? What's the point of having two cameras on one side of a phone?

As it turns out, there's more to two lenses than bragging rights. Both the Galaxy S9 Plus and the already-released iPhone 8 Plus have camera abilities that only dual-camera devices are capable of. Like... bokeh effect. And... faster photos? Basically stuff that users don't really need, but certainly will want. What's the point of having a new device without new features you'll use once and forget about forevermore?

The standard model Galaxy S9 will have a single camera on its back, but it might well have a secret up its sleeve. Back in December of 2017 we first caught wind of the w2018 flip phone with dual-aperture setup. That device is able to flip back and forth between two aperture sizes without the aid of an additional lens. While it's still completely unconfirmed, there's a small possibility that the Galaxy S9 might employ something similar.

With unique features on both the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus, Apple may want to ramp up their game in the iPhone 8s and iPhone 8s Plus. For now, the iPhone 8 Plus holds sway over the iPhone 8 with a dual-camera setup and a larger display. The iPhone 8's only claim over the iPhone 8 Plus is a smaller screen – for those that want a smaller screen, as strange as that may seem.

If Samsung does indeed pack a dual-aperture setup in their Galaxy S9, they'll once again split their Galaxy S, Galaxy S, Galaxy Note lineup into three parts. What previously was branded "Galaxy S7 Edge" with the "Edge" emphasized may once again cut the pack up into three parts. Benefits for each phone, no matter what sort of device you prefer.

Meanwhile Apple has a standard phone, a phone with a bigger screen and a cooler camera setup, and a phone that's considerably more exciting and expensive (in the iPhone X). The split may need to be a little more evened out than this in order to stay in the "cool" category for millions of Apple-loving citizens around the world. If they don't they'll simply be... selling the same number of phones regardless. So who's counting?