Samsung Galaxy S9 Could Launch Sooner Than Expected

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The Italian tipster, Ricciolo, who usually gets things right when it comes to Samsung, has said that the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus could be announced as soon as February 2018, just ahead of the Mobile World Congress (MWC). Ricciolo also suggested that these devices would feature some of the iPhone X tricks too.

It’s not only Ricciolo who believes this, but a report from Ice Universe – another extremely reliable tipster – claimed that the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus could hit mass production as early as next month.

Many people believe the reason behind Samsung bringing the release date forward is due to the Apple iPhone X. By releasing the S9 and S9 Plus devices sooner, Samsung put themselves in a better position to compete with the iPhone X.

The iPhone X currently retails at $999 in the USA, and a staggering £999 in the UK, for the base model.

Ricciolo thinks that Samsung is hoping to attract potential Apple customers by offering some of the most appealing features available on the iPhone X – such as Face ID and Animoji, but at a significantly cheaper price.

Samsung had always unveiled their new Galaxy S smartphone devices ahead of the Mobile World Congress. But the Galaxy Note 7 debacle changed that, forcing the company to delay the Galaxy S8 release. Now, however, it seems that they are going back to their roots and unveiling the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus ahead of the Mobile World Congress.

What Do We Know About The Galaxy S9 So Far?

It’s still early days, we’ll likely learn more about the Galaxy S9 as we enter the New Year. At the moment, what we have are just speculations and rumours, which shouldn’t be taken as fact.

With that said, here’s what we think we know at the moment.

  • It may sport a 5.8″ edge-to-edge Infinity display
  • It will probably include the newly announced Exynos 9810 system-on-chip and possible a Snapdragon 845 chip
  • It may feature a pressure-sensitive Home button
  • It will more than likely feature a dual-camera setup to compete with the other smartphone devices which use a dual-camera function
  • It will probably include a 3D camera sensor for improved face recognition and to help it stand up against the iPhone X
  • There are rumours of two display sizes, as well as the 5.8″ display, we could also see a larger 6.2″ model with even better AMOLED displays

What Will The Galaxy S9 Look Like?

Recently there were several CAD images published on Slashleaks – a collection for rumours and leaked images. Slashleaks claim that the images are of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S9, but their are other reliable sources who say that this is probably not the case.

Samsung Galaxy S9 launch
Source: @OnLeaks – Twitter

The 3D renders show a very similar design to the Samsung Galaxy S8, with the edge-to-edge screen and curved edges on the front and back. They also show the dual camera system which has been rumoured for the S9 device.

If these renders are genuine, then it seems that Samsung will switch the cameras to a vertical arrangement, rather than the horizontal arrangement which we saw on the Note 8.

One benefit of this new camera arrangement would be the fact that the fingerprint sensor will be lower and easier to reach.

While the design looks good and improves practicality, one prolific phone tipster, Steve Hemmerstoffer AKA @OnLeaks, reached out on Twitter, claiming the leaked CAD images are likely to be fake.

Hemmerstoffer claimed that one his most reliable sources told him that the CAD is most likely fake, and at the very least, inaccurate. He also claimed that the CAD images had been sent to him a few days prior to the ‘leak’ on Slashleaks, from the same reliable source who told him they were fakes. To back this up, he posted a photo of one of the leaked CAD images, but in better quality and without the Weibo watermark.

So, for now, it’s hard to be sure if the leaks are real or not. There was a time when leaked information was reliable. But, with lots of lesser-known brands making smartphones which have very similar designs to the most popular ones, it’s hard to separate the real ones from the fake ones.

Conclusion

Right now, all we know for sure is that the Samsung Galaxy S9 launch is going to be next year, and that mass production for the device will probably be starting within the next few months.

If they are that close to starting mass production, then it is possible that the leaked images we have seen are genuine.

At the moment we will have to wait and see, i’m sure more information will start to surface as we enter the New Year.

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