Samsung’s 2018 flagship Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus have been leaked once again in renders. Past leaks have already given us a fair idea of the phone’s design and specs. The new Galaxy S9 renders do not reveal anything new, but they do confirm the previous leaks. The Galaxy S9 renders were originally posted on Weibo and first spotted by Android Headlines.
Are these official Galaxy S9 renders?
Notably, the leaked Galaxy S9 renders look a lot like official press renders. The images suggest that the S9 and S9 Plus would look similar to last year’s Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus models, at least on the front. It has a curved OLED screen with slim bezels at the top and bottom. It’s difficult to say whether the size of bezels has changed, but they do look thinner than before.
SamMobile has reported earlier that the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus would have a screen-to-body ratio of above 90% compared to 84% on last year’s models. It means the bezels on the new phones would be slightly slimmer. The top bezel houses an array of lenses and sensors including an iris scanner, an ear speaker, and two camera lenses. Yes, the Galaxy S9 could feature dual cameras on the front.
Samsung isn’t ditching the headphone jack
The button layout on the Galaxy S9 renders appear the same as Galaxy S8’s. The power button sits on the right while the Bixby button and volume rockers are on the left. The Weibo post shows only smaller S9’s rear panel. The fingerprint sensor is still on the back, which means the phone wouldn’t feature an in-display fingerprint reader. However, the fingerprint sensor has been relocated to just below the camera lens. The fingerprint scanner will now be easier to reach than on the Galaxy S8.
The Galaxy S9 renders suggest Samsung isn’t yet ready to ditch the 3.5mm headphone jack, even though Apple, Google, and a few others have already removed the feature from their flagship phones. Though the Galaxy S9 has a single camera, Samsung will add a dual camera setup on the back of Galaxy S9 Plus. The Korean company is trying to differentiate the larger model from its smaller sibling, just like Apple has been doing for years. The S9 Plus would also feature a higher 6GB RAM compared to the S9’s 4GB.
Galaxy S9 Plus gets benchmarked
The Korean company would launch the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus with different chipsets depending on the market, as it has been doing for years. The US version of both the handsets would be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 SoC. The versions sold in the EMEA markets would run Samsung’s in-house Exynos 9810 processor. A while ago, the Galaxy S9 Plus running Snapdragon 845 was spotted on Geekbench.
The Galaxy S9 Plus’ Geekbench scores are impressive, but lag far behind the iPhone X. Samsung’s upcoming flagship with model number SM-G965U1 scored 2422 points in single-core and 8351 points in multi-core tests. The scores are much better than the Galaxy S8’s 1929 and 6084 points, respectively. Apple’s iPhone X running the A11 Bionic chipset had scored 4204 points in single-core and 10110 points in multi-core tests on Geekbench.
The Galaxy S9 Plus that appeared on Geekbench was running Android 8.0 Oreo. The consumer version of the handset would run the Korean company’s custom Samsung Experience UI on top of Android Oreo. Since the new phones would support Google’s Project Treble, they would receive software updates faster than before.
Galaxy S9 specs and release date
According to Korean media, the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus would feature an advanced iris scanner that would be faster, safer, and more secure than the one on Galaxy S8. The new iris scanner would sport a 3MP lens, up from 2MP on the S8, to recognize the phone’s owner more accurately. The feature is said to work even in poorly-lit conditions or when you are wearing sunglasses.
Leaks from China recently claimed that the S9 would offer a 3200mAh battery. Though the tipster didn’t mention the S9 Plus’s battery size, we expect it to be close to 3500mAh. The Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus are said to launch in blue, black, gold, and purple colors. SamMobile says Samsung could also bring them in Arctic Silver and Orchid gray colors. We expect the phones to have an IP68 rating for dust- and water-resistance and wireless charging support.
There have been confusing reports about the Galaxy S9 unveiling. Past rumors claimed that the phone would be showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show later this month. But Samsung said it was ‘unlikely’ to announce the flagship device at the CES. Korean media later reported that the S9 and S9 Plus would be announced at the Mobile World Congress in late February and hit the store shelves in early March. Samsung could still tease the phone at the CES, though.
