Earlier this week, we came across alleged pictures of Samsung’s Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus in five different colors. Samsung fans are certain that the upcoming flagship would feature an Infinity display. Now folks at SlashLeaks have spotted the Galaxy S9 schematics that were originally posted on Chinese microblogging site Weibo. The leaked schematics confirm many of the rumored Galaxy S9 features.
Galaxy S9 schematics show only minor changes on the front panel
The Galaxy S9 schematics show a front panel that looks a lot like the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus. That was expected considering the Infinity display is almost flawless. The upcoming flagship will have slimmer top and bottom bezels than the S8. It means the S9 would pack the same 5.8-inch OLED display as the Galaxy S8 in a smaller form factor.
As TechRadar points out, the Galaxy S9 measures 147.63 x 58.63 x 8.41mm, slightly smaller and narrower than the Galaxy S8’s 148.9 x 68.1 x 8mm. The S9 is rumored to have a screen-to-body ratio of 90%, up from 84% on the Galaxy S8. The power button seems to be placed on the right while the volume rockers and the Bixby button are on the left, according to the Galaxy S9 schematics.
#Samsung – #GalaxyS9 – Yet more alleged Galaxy S9 schematics surfaces https://t.co/zadqhn3BbI pic.twitter.com/vBLWx1YkFR
— /LEAKS (@Slashleaks) December 12, 2017
The fingerprint sensor remains on the back panel
The pictures confirm that the Galaxy S9 would continue to have the fingerprint reader on the back panel. But its location will be changed to below the camera module rather than next to it. Many users hated the weird positioning of the fingerprint reader on the Galaxy S8 and Note 8, which made it difficult for users to authenticate using the fingerprint scanner.
The fingerprint sensor location on the Galaxy S9 schematics corroborates the screenshots of the S Health app shared by GSMArena. The heart rate sensor will be placed next to the camera, while the fingerprint scanner would sit below the camera lens. If these reports turn out to be true, the Galaxy S9 would not use Synaptics’ newly announced Clear ID FS9500 in-display fingerprint sensor.
The schematics also confirm that the Galaxy S9 would sport a single camera on the back. It may come as a surprise to many Samsung fans hoping to see a dual camera setup on the S9. Evan Blass was the first to report that Samsung would keep the dual camera and a higher 6GB RAM only for the larger Galaxy S9 Plus. The standard Galaxy S9 would feature a single camera and 4GB RAM, said Blass. It corroborates an earlier leak that showed a vertically arranged dual camera on the Galaxy S9 Plus.
An improved iris scanner
Besides the rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, the Galaxy S9 would have a facial recognition system and an iris scanner. Samsung doesn’t consider the facial recognition feature safe enough for mobile payments yet. The Korea Herald reported earlier this week that the upcoming flagship would feature an improved iris scanner to take on Apple’s Face ID.
The new iris scanner would be faster, safer, and more accurate than the Galaxy S8 and Note 8. It will be able to verify users even when they are moving their eyes, wearing sunglasses, or are in dark light conditions. Samsung will also increase the iris scanner’s megapixel count from 2MP on the Galaxy S8 to 3MP on the S9 to enhance the accuracy. The Korea Herald claims Samsung is also planning to bring iris scanning to its budget smartphones by the end of 2018.
Galaxy S9 will be a powerful smartphone
There is no prize for guessing that the Galaxy S9 would be powered by Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 845 chipset. The Korean company has the first dibs on Qualcomm’s new processor. The SD845 is 30% faster than its predecessor. It comes with Quick Charge 4+ technology, and improvements to AI processing, camera performance, security, and virtual reality. The international version of the Galaxy S8 will be powered by Exynos 9810, which is said to be 10% faster and 15% more energy efficient than the Exynos 8895.
The Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus would ship with Android Oreo out of the box. The upcoming flagship will retain the 3.5mm headphone jack. Other rumored features include 64GB storage and dual SIM support. According to the rumor mill, the S9 would be available in five different colors: Midnight Black, Maple Gold, Ocean Blue, Orchid Gray, and Silver Titanium.
Samsung is expected to unveil the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus at an Unpacked event around the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona. Recently, there were speculations that the new phones could be showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January. But Samsung has rejected those rumors. An MWC unveiling seems more likely because Samsung has traditionally announced the new Galaxy S handsets at the same trade show. This year’s Galaxy S8 was an exception as its release was delayed due to the Galaxy Note 7 debacle.
