File photo - A hostess shows up Samsung's new S9 (R) and S9 Plus devices after a presentation ceremony at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain Feb. 25, 2018. (REUTERS/Sergio Perez)
Samsung’s new Galaxy S9 smartphone introduced on Sunday adds more bells and whistles than ever — but experts wonder if they’ll be enough to kick-start sales.
The new device plays to the social media set by introducing augmented reality emojis, a camera capable of translating restaurant menus and an artificial intelligence-powered voice tool.
“It’s an iteration with tremendous visual innovations,” tech consultant Shelly Palmer told The Post.
“But should you swap out a 1-year-old phone to get it? Hmm. A 3-year-old phone? Yep. Do it.”
Indeed, the S9 so closely resembles the S8 — edge-to-edge display on a thinly designed handset that retains a headphone jack — CCS Insight analyst Ben Wood called the new model “a potentially tough sell.”
Blogging from Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, where Samsung launched the S9, Wood noted the new release underscores challenges confronting the entire industry.
“Innovation in smartphones has plateaued and now it is all about marginal gains, be that screen technology, camera features and processing power,” he said.
The device, set to hit retail shelves on March 16, almost two years after Samsung’s Note 7 blowup -phone fiasco, is expected to have prices similar to last year’s versions — $720 for the base model and $840 for a larger version.
Whether the release of what Palmer called “the best Android phone ever made” can reverse Galaxy’s fourth-quarter upset will largely depend on consumer demand for such photographic advances as low-light shooting.
“It’s certainly got some tricks up its sleeve,” the tech consultant said.
“But I’m not sure how they’ll appeal to a normal person who doesn’t do social media every day.”
This story originally appeared in the New York Post.
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