Some people out there might still be hyped about their Galaxy S8. Some of us are looking ahead to the launch of the Galaxy Note 8. And some people are already looking past that launch and craving information about the Galaxy S9. If you fall in that latter group then we have some news that made satisfy your need for leaks. According to a user on Weibo, a Chinese social networking site, Samsung has secured the initial run of Snapdragon 845’s for their Galaxy S9 chips. If true, this news means that Samsung will be the first manufacturer to launch a device with the new Snapdragon 845 chipset. Of course, the Snapdragon 835 is incredibly popular and you will see it in a lot of flagships this fall including the Galaxy Note 8 and the Pixel XL 2.
Don’t get your hopes up about an early Galaxy S9 release, however. There is no indication that Samsung is pushing the launch of the Galaxy S9 ahead. Due to the likelihood of high demand for the Snapdragon 845, Samsung is simply ensuring that they will have enough stock of Galaxy S9 chips once launch time does finally roll around sometime in 2018. Now that Samsung knows they have the chips ordered for the Galaxy S9, they can continue designing the device around that chipset. This is basically one of the first steps in the manufacturing process for smartphone companies. An actual Galaxy S9 may not hit production until months from now.
Since manufacturing is still so far away and the tech news cycle is being dominated by the iPhone 8, Galaxy Note 8, and Pixel XL 2; we likely won’t get a lot of Galaxy S9 leaks until later down the road. Once manufacturers start bringing in more and more partners as the launch window nears, the leaks really begin to pick up. More cooks in the kitchen means more chances for information to get out. For now, details about the Galaxy S9 are concentrated among Samsung employees. No casemakers have had a chance to get their hands on a CAD file and release a render for the world to see.
With all of that said, there are some things we can predict about the device other than just the Galaxy S9 chips. With the Galaxy Note 8 now sporting a dual camera sensor and the iPhone 8 expected to launch with one as well; you have to imagine the Galaxy S9 will also have a dual camera sensor. It will be interesting to see if Samsung goes with a similar setup as we will see on the Galaxy Note 8 or if they go with a vertically aligned dual camera sensor like the iPhone 8. Of course, the camera on the iPhone 8 is supposed to be optimized for augmented reality. If consumers really gravitate to that feature then Samsung may see the way the market is going and follow suit.
It’s unlikely we will see any major design changes with the Galaxy S9. The Galaxy S8 and S8+ were pretty major changes from previous designs. There may be a few tweaks here and there but we have to imagine Samsung wants to keep some design consistency and improve upon it rather than do a complete overhaul. This should be welcome news – the Galaxy S8 is a beautiful looking device with the Infinity Display and nearly bezel-less design.
If you’re a fan of HTC or LG then this news about the Galaxy S9 chips may be bad news. This past spring, Samsung was able to secure the initial batch of Snapdragon 835 chips which forced HTC and LG to use older chipsets for their flagship devices. It looks like the same situation may happen again in early 2018. Perhaps Qualcomm has increased manufacturing capability in order to make everyone happy but it’s hard to imagine that they would be able to increase production that much over a single year. Never say never, though.
This is the first bit in what is sure to be several months full of Galaxy S9 rumors. Once the iPhone 8, Pixel XL 2, and Galaxy Note 8 are all launched; people will look ahead to the next big thing. The Galaxy S9 chips are secure but that’s really all we know about the device. Stay tuned: there’s lots more to come.
