March 16, 2018. If you were looking for the short answer, there it is. That was the official Samsung S9+ release date when the phone actually hit shelves in about 70 countries, including the US, Korea, and most of Europe. But honestly? The story of how this phone landed is way more chaotic than just a date on a calendar.
Remember the hype? Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona was the stage. Samsung took the wraps off the device on February 25, 2018. It was a big deal. They were following up on the S8, which had basically redesigned what a "normal" phone looked like with those curved edges. The S9+ had a massive weight on its shoulders. It had to prove that Samsung wasn't just coasting.
The Pre-Order Madness
Technically, you didn't have to wait until mid-March to put your money down. Pre-orders kicked off on March 2, 2018. Carriers were fighting for customers like crazy. You've got to remember the climate back then—Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint were all overcharging compared to the unlocked price.
If you bought it straight from Samsung, the Samsung S9+ release date price was $839.99. But if you walked into a Verizon store? They were asking for $930. Yeah, a nearly $100 "convenience fee" just for buying it through a carrier. T-Mobile was the only one really playing nice, matching Samsung’s $840 price tag.
Why the S9+ Release Date Was a Turning Point
This phone was the "last of the Mohicans" in a few ways. It was the last flagship to keep the iris scanner. It was the last one to have a headphone jack before Samsung decided we all needed to buy Galaxy Buds. And it was the first time Samsung really separated the "Plus" model from the standard one by more than just screen size.
For the first time, if you wanted the dual-camera setup, you had to buy the bigger phone. The regular S9 only had one lens. This annoyed a lot of people with smaller hands. Basically, Samsung told the world: "If you want the best tech, you're going to have to deal with a 6.2-inch screen."
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The Mechanical Camera Breakthrough
The big "wow" factor at the Samsung S9+ release date was the Dual Aperture lens. It sounds like tech-babble, but it was actually cool hardware. The camera had physical blades. They moved.
In bright light, it clicked down to $f/2.4$ for sharpness. In the dark, it opened wide to $f/1.5$. It was trying to mimic the human eye. Most phones today do this with AI and software "Night Modes," but the S9+ did it with actual moving parts. It was mechanical. It was ambitious. And it was kinda loud—if you held the phone to your ear in a quiet room and switched modes, you could hear the click.
The Features We Forgot (And Some We Wish We Could)
- Super Slow-Mo: 960 frames per second. It was mind-blowing for about a week until everyone realized you needed the lighting of a thousand suns to make it look good.
- AR Emoji: Samsung's answer to Apple's Animoji. Honestly? It was creepy. The avatars looked like a weird, uncanny-valley version of yourself that blinked at the wrong time.
- The Fingerprint Scanner: They finally moved it! On the S8, it was next to the camera, so everyone just ended up smudging their lens. On the S9+, they put it under the camera. Simple. Smart.
What Really Happened with the Software
When the phone launched, it was running Android 8.0 Oreo. It was fast. The Snapdragon 845 (in the US) or the Exynos 9810 (everywhere else) felt like overkill at the time. But the software was always the Achilles' heel.
Samsung Experience 9.0 was better than the old "TouchWiz" days, but it was still heavy. And then there was the Bixby button. Oh, the Bixby button. A dedicated hardware key that you couldn't officially remap at launch. You’d try to turn your volume down and accidentally summon a digital assistant that didn't understand half of what you said. It was the ultimate "first-world problem" of 2018.
Is the S9+ Still Usable in 2026?
We’re years past the Samsung S9+ release date now. In 2026, using this as a daily driver is... brave. It’s stuck on Android 10. That means no security patches for years. Most banking apps or high-security work apps might not even let you log in anymore.
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But for a secondary device? It’s still got that gorgeous Super AMOLED screen. 529 pixels per inch. Even some modern "budget" flagships don't look this crisp. If you find one for $100 on a resale site, it's a great dedicated music player (thanks, headphone jack!) or a glorified remote control for a smart home.
Final Verdict on the Launch
The Samsung S9+ release date wasn't just about a new phone. It was the peak of "Classic Samsung." It was before the hole-punch cameras, before the folding screens, and before they started removing features to save space. It was a kitchen-sink phone.
If you're sitting on an old S9+ in a drawer, don't throw it out. It represents an era where hardware felt experimental.
Next Steps if You’re Still Using One:
- Check your battery health: If it's the original battery from 2018, it's probably at 60% capacity. A $50 replacement could give it a second life.
- Don't use it for banking: Since it lacks modern security updates, keep your sensitive data on a newer device.
- Appreciate the Jack: Plug in some high-end wired headphones and enjoy the fact that you don't need a dongle.
The S9+ was a refined beast. It didn't reinvent the wheel, but it made the wheel look really, really good for a long time.