New Samsung phone: Nicer camera, static design, higher price

Samsung unveiled new smartphones with largely unchanged designs and incremental improvements such as a better camera — accompanied by a second annual price increase for many customers.

This Wednesday Feb, 21, 2018, photo shows the camera lens of a Samsung Galaxy S9 mobile phone during a product preview in New York. The Galaxy S9 phones were unveiled Sunday, Feb. 25, in Barcelona, Spain, and will be available March 16.  (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

The static design of the new Galaxy S9 underscores both the slowing pace of smartphone innovation and the extent to which other manufacturers, particularly Apple, have caught up with Samsung features that once stood out. That includes everything from edge-to-edge screens to facial recognition to a water-resistant body.

The new phone's biggest selling point is a collection of minor improvements to its camera, which is already among the best in the smartphone business . The S9 promises even better low-light shots, while offering a video mode that appears to freeze fast-moving objects, matching a feature in some Sony phones. The S9 can automatically detect when there's high-speed motion to record, such as a cork popping off a bottle of champagne. A fifth of a second of video gets stretched out into six seconds.

This Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018, photo shows the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus, left, and back of a Galaxy S9 mobile phone, during a product preview in New York.  (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

While single features like this aren't likely to drive buying decisions, the slow-motion effect could be "the kind of thing that will get a lot of attention," said Bob O'Donnell of the research firm Technalysis.

For the first time in a major phone, the S9 will let you change the camera's aperture to let in more light, making for better images in dark settings.

This Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018, photo shows the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus, left, and Galaxy S9 mobile phones are shown in this photo during a product preview in New York. The Galaxy S9 phones were unveiled Sunday, Feb. 25, in Barcelona, Spain, and will be available March 16. Advance orders begin this Friday. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

But analyst Carolina Milanesi of Creative Strategies warns that despite the improvements, the new camera is competing with already good cameras in earlier Samsung phones.

Nonetheless, you may have to pay more, though nothing quite at the level of last year's $100 price hikes for the Galaxy S8. In the U.S., Verizon, AT&T and Sprint are raising prices from what the S8 cost at launch — to nearly $800 for the regular-size S9 and more than $900 for the larger S9 Plus. As people hold onto phones longer before upgrading, price hikes let manufacturers and carriers make up for lost revenue.

In this Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018, photo the Bixby virtual assistant software of a Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus mobile phone identifies food and displays its calorie content during a product preview in New York. The Galaxy S9 phones were unveiled Sunday, Feb. 25, in Barcelona, Spain, and will be available March 16. Advance orders begin this Friday. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Some of the increases will be offset with promotions. And T-Mobile will cut prices from last year's models. You can also buy unlocked versions more cheaply directly from Samsung — $720 for the S9 and $840 for the S9 Plus — though most people in the U.S. buy through their carriers.

The new phones were unveiled Sunday in Barcelona, Spain, and will be available March 16. Advance orders begin this Friday.

This Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018, photo shows an Apple iPhone X, left, and a Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus mobile phone during a preview in New York. The Galaxy S9 phones were unveiled Sunday, Feb. 25, in Barcelona, Spain, and will be available March 16. Advance orders begin this Friday. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Here are some additional things to know:

— UNCHANGED: The S9 features the same screen, same virtual home button and same battery capacity as the S8. Samsung did move the fingerprint sensor on the back to reduce smears on the camera lens.

In this Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018, photo, the Bixby virtual assistant software of a Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus mobile phone translates a foreign language sign during a product preview in New York. The Galaxy S9 phones were unveiled Sunday, Feb. 25, in Barcelona, Spain, and will be available March 16. Advance orders begin this Friday. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

— A SECOND LENS: The camera on the Plus model now has a second lens with twice the magnification, a feature already available in Samsung's Galaxy Note 8 and some iPhones. This means sharper close-ups.

— FUN WITH SELFIES: Snap a selfie, and Samsung's software will turn that into an emoji version of you for sharing. It's usually a static image, though you can produce an animated version — much like the iPhone X's Animoji feature.

In this Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018, photo, Samsung's Aaron Baker demonstrates the AR Emoji feature on a Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus mobile phone during a product preview in New York. The Galaxy S9 phones were unveiled Sunday, Feb. 25, in Barcelona, Spain, and will be available March 16. Advance orders begin this Friday. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

— VISUAL ASSISTANT: Samsung's Bixby digital assistant mimics a similar Google feature that pulls up information on landmarks or other items you've just photographed. New Bixby capabilities let it instantly translate signs (point the camera, and the phone replaces the sign's text in a matching color and font) and provide nutritional info for that restaurant meal you're splurging on.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a petition by MyPillow founder and election denier Mike Lindell to consider his challenge to the legality of the FBI's seizure of his cellphone at a restaurant drive-through.

The high court, without comment Monday, declined to reconsider three lower court rulings that went against Lindell, a prominent promoter of false claims that voting machines were manipulated to steal the 2020 presidential election from President Donald Trump.

FBI agents seized the cellphone from him at a Hardee's fast-food restaurant in the southern Minnesota city of Mankato in 2022 as part of an investigation into an alleged scheme to breach voting system technology in Mesa County, Colorado. Lindell alleged the confiscation violated his constitutional rights against unlawful search and seizure and was an attempt by the government to chill his freedom of speech.

The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed.

“While he has at times attempted to assert otherwise, Lindell’s objective in this action is apparent — this litigation is a tactic to, at a minimum, interfere with and, at most, enjoin a criminal investigation and ultimately hamper any potential federal prosecution," a three-judge appeals panel wrote last September.

In February, when Lindell turned to the Supreme Court, his attorneys said Lindell had still not gotten his phone back.

Monday's decision was the latest in a run of legal and financial setbacks for Lindell, who is being sued for defamation by two voting machine companies. Lawyers who were originally defending him in those cases quit over unpaid bills.

A credit crunch last year disrupted cash flow at MyPillow after it lost Fox News as one of its major advertising platforms and was dropped by several national retailers. A judge in February affirmed a $5 million arbitration award to a software engineer who challenged data Lindell said proves China interfered in the 2020 election.

FILE - Mike Lindell, CEO of My Pillow, looks down at his phone before taking the stage during the Michigan Republican Convention at Devos Place in Grand Rapids, Mich., April 23, 2022. On Monday, April 15, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition by the MyPillow founder and election denier to consider his challenge to legality of the FBI's seizure of his cell phone at a restaurant drive-through. (Daniel Shular/The Grand Rapids Press via AP, File)

FILE - MyPillow chief executive Mike Lindell speaks to reporters outside federal court in Washington, June 24, 2021. On Monday, April 15, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition by the MyPillow founder and election denier to consider his challenge to legality of the FBI's seizure of his cell phone at a restaurant drive-through. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)