The latest information on Samsung’s product range suggests that the Galaxy S9 release date may be sooner than expected. Typically, the flagship from the Korean corporation arrives at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, but it seems that the manufacturer may be tempted to push the date forward next year.
CES unveiling
Murmurings from close to the Samsung supply chain indicate that the smartphone may be unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, meaning that our first glimpse of the next generation Samsung smartphone may be only a couple of months away.
It is believed that the Galaxy S9 will be an ‘iterative’ device; essentially an upgrade of the existing Galaxy S8, rather than a fully-fledged reboot of the S range concept. Of course, Samsung will find some new features to include in this critical mobile product, and the S9 will still undoubtedly be one of the hardware highlights of the year.
Rather than representing the sort of radical departure that the iPhone X was for Apple, the Galaxy S9 will instead deliver extra polish and power. Considering the spec list already associated with the smartphone series, this points to a pretty impressive device, meaning that many Android fans will be eagerly awaiting the Galaxy S9 release date.
Internal codename
Previous leaks have indicated that the Galaxy S9 has been codenamed as “Star 1” and “Star 2” internally, with the feature set to be included in the smartphone having been finalized at the consumer electronics giant. Samsung will be attempting to build on the momentum that it accrued during 2017, with figures indicating that the Korean firm had a narrow lead over Apple in total mobile sales.
Possibly the most notable new feature in the Galaxy S9 generation will be the inclusion of a new processor. This is not unusual in and of itself, but the 10-nanometer manufacturing process associated with this new unit will ensure that it is massively more energy efficient.
The new processes utilized in the production of this processor suggest that it could be a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, which would certainly hand the S9 an advantage over even its Android rivals. The new Qualcomm unit has yet to appear in the public domain, and if the Galaxy S9 does feature the 845 then it will almost certainly be the first smartphone to do so.
One of the big debates ahead of the Galaxy S9 release date will be whether or not the Samsung product will embrace 4K resolution. The Samsung product range has been linked with this technology for some time, yet the manufacturer has yet to heed calls for its inclusion in any mobile release.
Note focus
However, Samsung has generally reserved its most impressive and significant technological upgrades for the Galaxy Note range, before later migrating them to the Galaxy S series. Whether this is likely or not with the Galaxy S9 remains to be seen, as Samsung may decide that it needs to be produce a revolutionary and ambitious product in order to respond to the stellar iPhone X.
With this in mind, the latest spec rumors related to the S9 are pretty encouraging. Firstly, Samsung will right what some will see as a wrong from the Galaxy S8 generation, by including more memory in the Galaxy S9. Rumors are rife that this smartphone will benefit from 6GB of RAM, in line with the existing Galaxy Note 8.
Despite the spec upgrades delivered by the Galaxy S9, Samsung will not increased the amount of storage included in the device, if Korean sources are to be believed. Once again, the smartphone will deliver a base unit featuring 64GB of storage, although it is not entirely clear at this juncture whether or not other version of the smartphone will be made available. Certainly 64GB is not an excessive amount of storage for a contemporary smartphone.
Many Android fans, and possibly even some Apple devotees, will be interested to hear, though, that Samsung will likely retain the 3.5mm headphone jack that Apple has already scrapped in the iPhone series. While the general consensus of opinion is that the port will disappear from the Galaxy range as well sooner rather than later, it will be retained for Samsung’s 2018 release, according to the latest available data.
Another notable improvement in the Galaxy S9 that is likely is the inclusion of a dual-camera for the first time. This is already a feature of the Galaxy Note series, of course, but Samsung is now ready to improve the photographic specs of its flagship as well.
Certainly dual-lens snappers are de rigueur in the smartphone niche, and it would be pretty disappointing were Samsung to refuse to go with the flow on this one. While the Google Pixel range has been praised for its photographic capabilities, the single-lens unit included in the recent Google Pixel 2 can be considered somewhat disappointing.
DeX highlight
Another treat to look forward to when the Galaxy S9 release date rolls around is the inclusion of DeX. Not perhaps the catchiest name in the history of mobile technology, but this nifty system will certainly turn a few heads.
Samsung’s DeX technology already enables the Galaxy S8 to function as a desktop workstation, via an attachable monitor and keyboard. It is rumored that Samsung has expanded this system still further with the Galaxy S9 series in mind, with new functionality included. It seems that a redesigned docking station will enable users to maintain the phone in a flat position, while it will apparently be possible to utilise the screen as either a touchpad or a virtual keyboard.
If the Galaxy S9 release date can be considered something of a surprise, then pricing will also be critical to the success or otherwise of the device. We have already seen the Galaxy Note 8 released at a pretty hefty price tag, so keen Samsung consumers will hope that the S9 can be price frozen compared to the S8 generation. Certainly the price tag of this device shouldn’t touch the $1,000 figure of the Note 8.
