Everything we know about the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+

Phillip Tracy 2017-11-18 05:30 am

3D model via HIDDENTECH SAGE/3dwarehouse (Fair Use) Remix by Jason Reed

Heres the latest on the upcoming flagships specs, price, and release date.

Its time to start getting excited about the Samsung Galaxy S9.

The Samsung Galaxy S8 enjoyed months of uninterrupted attention following its April 2017 release, but
it could only hold the spotlight for so long. The immensely popular device has been overshadowed in
recent months by the release of the Pixel 2 XL, iPhone X, and its own bigger sibling, the Galaxy Note 8.

Samsung will try to inject some life back into its flagship smartphone line when it releases new models in
early 2018.

Heres everything we know about the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+.

Samsung Galaxy S9 design

The S9 will likely be made of aluminum and glass and feature Samsungs signature curved edges. We
suspect there will be subtle differences to the S8, similar to the evolution from the S6 to the S7.

The one glaring design flaw of the S8 is its poorly placed fingerprint sensor. Theres a lot of speculation
about where Samsung will move it. If not under the display (more on that below), it could find its place
below the camera, like most current configurations.
Apart from the fingerprint sensor and design changes needed to accommodate new features (display
and camera), the S9 will likely look identical to its predecessor, which means another year with the
cursed Bixby button.

Samsung Galaxy S9 display

While we dont know for sure, its a safe bet to assume the S9 and S9+ will retain the beautiful Infinity
display. It was a standout feature on the S8 and Note 8 and is now a defining element of the Galaxy line.

Its more likely Samsung will stretch the screen even further to the devices top and bottom edges. Which
brings us to Galaxy loyalists biggest fear: an iPhone X-like notch. If it does show up, its more likely to be
on the bottom of the display, not around the front-facing camera.

Samsung Galaxy S9 specs

GSMArena

A Samsung patent application surfaced in October, revealing a Galaxy device with a fingerprint sensor
cutout on the bottom of its screen. Keep in mind, of the hundreds of patents large hardware companies
like Samsung file, very few see the light of day. KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says the embedded
fingerprint sensor will first debut in late 2018 on the Galaxy Note 9, not the S9 lineup.

The Galaxy S9 and S9+ will reportedly feature 5.8-inch and 6.2-inch displays, the same size as their
predecessors. That shouldnt come as a surprise considering the larger of the two is just .1-inches
smaller than the Note 8a device that will likely remain the largest in the group. Not a fan of the trend
toward hulking, unwieldy phablets? Weve got good news for you. November reports claim Samsung will
unveil three new S9 devices, including a 5-inch Galaxy S9 Mini.

Were holding out hope for a model with a display that sits somewhere between the two current
offerings, but thats looking unlikely.
Samsung Galaxy S9 camera

If its anything like the S8, we should expect nothing less than some of the best smartphone image
quality out of the S9. Rumors and leaks on the rear-facing camera are surprisingly thin. However, analysts
agree it will get a dual-lens camera upgrade.

Park Hyug-woo, an analyst at Shinhan Investment, told South Korean business publication the Investor
that he expects the S9 will come with standard wide-angle and secondary zoom lenses. The Galaxy S9
and Note 9 will likely be fitted with a dual-lens camera and some of the firms divisions, including the
inductance capacitance resistance unit, will post improved profits, he said.

Samsung Galaxy S9 camera

Phillip Tracy

There are also reports claiming the S9 and S9+ will sport 16-megapixel sensors, a slight increase in
resolution from the 12MP camera on the S8 and S8+.

Shifting to the front-facing camera, an intriguing face-off between Samsungs facial-recognition

authentication method and Apples controversial Face ID is brewing. Ice Universe, a well-known leaker
from China, posted on Twitter that the S9 will come with a 3D sensor front camera. That sounds a lot
like the technology Apple uses on the iPhone X. Lets just hope its more secure than Samsungs previous
embarrassing attempts.

Korean news site ETNews wrote in September that Samsung is mass producing an image sensor that can
take 1,000 images per second. Thats not as unlikely as it may sound. The Sony Xperia XZ Premium can
shoot at 960FPS, which enables super-slow-motion video capture.

Samsung Galaxy S9 processor

For the second year in a row, Samsung could have a processing advantage over its Android competitors.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 (expected to be unveiled in December) could be exclusive to the S9 and
S9+, according to Russian blogger Eldar Murtazin. That would be bad news for fellow South Korean rival
LG and its G6 follow-up. The new processors should be more powerful and energy efficient and come
with many other benefits, like better video and image processing, a more powerful modem, and
improved security.

While its likely the S9 will come with a new, upgraded Qualcomm chip, its still unclear how much RAM
Samsung will include. The Galaxy S8 and S8+, like many other 2017 flagships, shipped with 4GB.
However, Samsung raised the stakes when it packed a whopping 6GB in the Note 8. There have been
reports of a prototype Galaxy S9+ on Geekbench that used 4GB of RAM, but extremely low benchmark
scores suggest it could be a hoax.

Samsung Galaxy S9 battery life

We wont know how long the S9s battery lasts until we get our hands on a review unit. Samsungs
flagships fared well last year, with both the S8+ and Note 8 easily lasting 1.5 days of normal use despite
their high-resolution OLED displays.

An ETNews report says Samsung is working on a new motherboard that packs more components into a
smaller area. This could allow for a larger capacity battery than the 3,000mAh found on the S8. However,
the new board will reportedly only work with the Exynos variant of the S9, not the Qualcomm versions it
ships in the U.S.

Samsung Galaxy S9 headphone jack and audio

There arent many rumors about the Galaxy S9s speakers. Since Samsung will likely keep the bezel-less
display around, we suspect they will sit on the bottom of the device, where theyve been positioned
since the S6.
The more pressing question is what will Samsung do to the headphone jack? Its unclear right now. There
are conflicting reports surrounding the controversial port. Ice Universe claims the S9 will come with a
traditional headphone jack. However, PhoneArena found a post on Chinese tech site TechDroider with
sketches that show the phones without one. Take both reports with a grain of salt.

Samsung Galaxy S9 software

The Galaxy S9 and S9+ will run on Android Oreo, the latest operating system from Google, according to
Samsung. That will make it the first Samsung flagship released with everything Oreo offers, including
Picture-to-Picture, Notification Dots, better overall performance, and, of course, new emoji.

Samsung also confirmed its Samsung Experience 9.0 skin (formerly TouchWiz) will be available on the
next Samsung Galaxy flagship devices. The company is already letting select users test a beta version of
the software so it can gather feedback and refine the user experience. Samsungs Android skin has been
polished in recent years and includes several useful features not found in stock Android. Its not clear
what new software will come to the S9, but expect more Bixby and edge display features.

Samsung Galaxy S9 release date

So, when will it be released? While we wont get a firm release date until 2018, we can make an
educated guess using past release dates and early rumors.

Heres the announcement date for all previous Galaxy S phones:

Galaxy S March 2010

Galaxy S II February 13

Galaxy S III May 3

Galaxy S4 March 14

Galaxy S5 February 24

Galaxy S6 March 1

Galaxy S7 February 21

Galaxy S8 March 29

As you can see, every Galaxy S phone since the S III has been announced in February or March. If the
alternating pattern continues, we should expect a late February release for the S9. That approximate
timeline is strengthened by a September report from BGR that claims the S9 will launch earlier than the
S8 and S8+ did in 2017.

Forbes contributor Ewan Spence wrote on Oct 11. that the model numbers for the phones will be SM-
G960 (Galaxy S9) and SM-G965 (Galaxy S9+). He suspects Samsung will either stick with a late March
release or go back to the old pattern and unveil the devices right before Mobile World Congress (MWC)
on Feb. 25. MWC will take place from Feb. 26 to March 1, 2018.

Samsung typically starts shipping devices the month after theyre announced, so expect the S9 and S9+
to arrive in March or April.

Samsung Galaxy S9 price

We probably wont know pricing until the official unveiling, but we can at least narrow things down. The
Galaxy S8 and S8+ launched at $725 and $825, respectively. With the price of phones increasing across
the board last year, wed be surprised if the Galaxy line gets a price decrease. We also dont expect it to
top the $950 Note 8. A conservative estimate for the price of both phones is between $700 and $900,
with the larger model costing an extra $100.