Samsung Says It’s ‘Unlikely’ To Unveil Galaxy S9 At The CES

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Last week, the rumor mill claimed that Samsung was planning to showcase its next-gen Galaxy S9 at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) next month. The Korean giant is looking to launch an iPhone X rival as early as possible to defend its market share against Apple’s shiny new device. If you were expecting to get a glimpse of the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus at the CES in Las Vegas, you are going to be disappointed.

Galaxy S9 could be unveiled at the MWC

A Samsung spokesperson dismissed the rumors saying, “It is unlikely,” reports The Korea Herald. The choice of words suggests that Samsung hasn’t clearly made up its mind about whether to preview the Galaxy S9 at the CES, which is only a few weeks away. The Korea Herald added that the company would unveil the flagship smartphone either at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in late February or hold an independent event in March.

Earlier this year, Samsung wanted to unveil the Galaxy S8 at the MWC. But the company was forced to delay the S8 unveiling as it was still dealing with the consequences of the Galaxy Note 7 debacle. The Galaxy S7 and S6 were announced at the MWC event in previous years. So, Samsung is likely to show off the upcoming Galaxy S9 at the MWC in Barcelona.

How it will differ from the Galaxy S8

The Korea Herald added that the Galaxy S9 would only be a minor upgrade over the current Galaxy S8. It would look similar to the S8 with a bezel-less Infinity OLED display, though the bezels will be slimmer than before. Samsung will place the fingerprint sensor on the back of the S9 as it is still struggling with the in-display fingerprint reader. Fortunately, the fingerprint reader would sit in a more ergonomic location, right below the camera and the heart rate sensor.

Talking about the camera, VentureBeat contributor Evan Blass reports that Samsung will differentiate between the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus by keeping the dual camera exclusive to the larger S9 Plus. It means the regular Galaxy S9 would sport only a single camera lens on the back. Also, the S9 Plus would pack a bigger 6GB RAM compared to just 4GB RAM in the Galaxy S9.

Qualcomm announces the processor that would power the Galaxy S9

Qualcomm has officially announced the Snapdragon 845 SoC that would power most of the 2018 flagship Android phones, including the US version of the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus. The S9 is expected to be the first smartphone to feature the Snapdragon 845 because Samsung has already secured the initial supply of the new chipset. The Asian version of the S9 would be powered by Exynos 9810, which Samsung claims is 10% faster and 15% more energy efficient compared to its predecessor.

Qualcomm claims the Snapdragon 845 is 30% faster than its predecessor and boasts improvements in camera performance, battery efficiency, AI processing, security, and virtual reality. It is an octa-core processor consisting of four high-performance A75 cores and four power-efficient A55 cores. It will have a maximum clock speed of 2.8GHz.

The improved SD845 will allow Galaxy S9 users to capture true-to-life photos. The new chipset has a Spectra 280 image signal processor that allows you to record 4K videos. It can shoot 720p videos at 480fps and 16MP photos and 60fps. The processor is capable of handling seven cameras per device, so the dual camera isn’t a big deal.

The Snapdragon 845 will put the Galaxy S9 in a whole new league. It comes with the X20 modem built-in, which offers support for the 4×4 MIMO, License Assisted Access (LAA), and 3CA technologies. It will deliver 20% faster speed than the X16 modem used in the Snapdragon 835. The new chipset also supports the latest Bluetooth 5 and WiFi standards.

The SD845 supports the new Quick Charge 4+ technology for fast charging. Qualcomm claims the processor brings improved support for features like facial recognition, voice recognition, and augmented reality. It should allow Android vendors to catch up with Apple’s ARKit, Animoji, and the Face ID technology.

Will Galaxy S9 offer 512GB storage?

The Galaxy S9 is expected to come with up to 512GB of internal storage, double the maximum storage capacity of the iPhone X. Samsung has started mass production of the 512GB embedded Universal Flash Storage (eUFS) drives that will be used in 2018 smartphones and tablets. Given the timing of its production, the rumor mill speculates that the 512GB storage drives could be used in the Galaxy S9.

The current Galaxy S8 comes with 64GB of built-in storage and a microSD card slot for external memory. The 512GB memory could be an attractive option for media enthusiasts who store tons of movies, videos, music, and photos on their smartphones. The improving quality of photos and videos means they occupy more space than ever before.

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