Samsung launches smartphone which helps you diet and do your make-up

Mark Blunden @_MarkBlunden26 February 2018

A smartphone that scans and then calculates the calories on your dinner plate has been unveiled by Samsung.

The £739 S9 handset also has a “make-up mode” that lets the user take a selfie, virtually “try on” cosmetics and then provides links where they can buy the products.

The handset was unveiled last night at the South Korean tech giant’s Unpacked event in Barcelona ahead of today’s Mobile World Congress.

The Google Android-powered S9 and its big brother the £869 S9 Plus have dual-aperture telephoto and wide-angle cameras on the back with a low-light capability modelled on the human eye, allowing for a big f/1.5 aperture in dark conditions.

The device’s new Health feature uses the 12-megapixel camera to scan a plate of food and then give the user a calorie estimate, nutritional information and recipe suggestions.

Samsung marketing boss Erin Willis also said the camera can also “map your unique facial expressions to create emojis that actually look like you”.

Ms Willis said the animations will even be visible when sent across rival operating systems and are compatible with software including WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.

Another of the camera’s features is a slow-motion function far exceeding the 240 frames per second of the iPhone, with the S9 capturing high-speed video at 960FPS.

YouTube stars The Slow Mo Guys were shown at the launch testing out the phone, which has a 1400 x 2960 Amoled display.

Security features include iris and fingerprint scanning, and facial recognition, plus a feature for using different fingers to unlock specific folders inside the phone.

The S9 has the same battery life as the S8, which the makers claim can last a whole day even with regular usage and the phone’s 64GB memory is also expandable up to 400GB.

A new docking system, the separately sold DeX Pad, allows the phone to connect to a larger monitor.

The S9 and S9 Plus go on sale next month on networks including Three from £79 up front and £52 per month, and on O2 for £90 plus £49 monthly.

  • Mark Blunden flew as a guest of Vueling airlines, which flies daily from London Gatwick and Heathrow to Barcelona.

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