everything we know (or think we know) just over a month after its presentation.
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After CES 2018, the next great technological event will be at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, which Samsung has confirmed will be where it will present its next flagship mobile phones. We refer to the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus, which are called to follow the path of their predecessors to be crowned as two of the best mobiles of the year.
As usual, in recent months we have had all kinds of rumors, leaks and information, and today we are going to collect them all to tell you everything we know or think we know about the next star mobiles of the Koreans.
But before we start we have to make one thing clear. As reliable as the sources of some of these leaks are, it is still information that has not yet been confirmed by the manufacturer. This means that we cannot take anything for granted, and that although some characteristics seem to be clear there is still time for Samsung to make some changes and there are surprises with its Galaxy S9.
A continuous, but improved design
Some more, just for your pleasure … Cheers! #Samsung # GalaxyS9 #EyeCandy #LeakPorn pic.twitter.com/HTRn30PwY3
– Steve H. (@OnLeaks) December 17, 2017
Already in November, the first rumors about the Galaxy S9 began to point to a continuity design. As happened between the S6 and the S7, the Galaxy S9 would use the same design lines as the S8, but improving them in aspects such as reducing the frames. In fact, it has been rumored that could become the mobile with the fewest frames on the market taking the place of the Essential Phone.
The popular leaker OnLeaks also published one of his popular mockups based on the information his sources gave him about the S9. This was heading in the same direction, showing us the continuity in a mobile whose most notable change seemed to be the reduction of the frames, especially the lower ones.
And in case there were any doubts, at the end of December came the leak that we were all waiting for. As usual, a mobile phone case company missed an image in which revealed some key aspects of its front and rear. It left us good surprises, such as the expected change in the position of the fingerprint reader, which seems to be under the rear camera lens instead of to the side, making it more accessible.
But it also left bad news, such as the possibility that Samsung decides to create a slightly decaffeinated “normal” version prioritizing the maximum novelties in the “Plus” version. At least when it comes to the camera: the leaks point to a single camera for the S9 and dual cameras for the S9 Plus.
Rumors have also suggested that both will equip 5.8 and 6.2-inch Super AMOLED panels respectively for the S9 and S9 Plus, which Yes they will continue to bet on the 3.5 mm headphone jack, and that they will equip a double stereo speaker system signed by AKG.
Giving it all in the photographic factor
This year we have had an interesting battle in the photographic aspect of high-end smartphones, and it seems that this will continue for another year. We said that the Galaxy S9 would have a single lens, but recent leaks have reassured us pointing out that this will have double opening, thus ensuring that your photographic capabilities are at the height of the high-end.
In the filtration we can see the back of the box in which the “normal” Galaxy S9 will be sold, and it shows data like that it will have double aperture f / 1.5 and f / 2.4. This could give it the possibility of offering outstanding photographic results with a single lens like Google’s Pixel 2, but it will also make it the first mobile with aperture f / 1.5, surpassing the f / 1.6 of the LG V30.
Samsung will go for Sony including in the S9 a super slow motion.
Other very interesting data are also mentioned, such as the possibility of make super slow motion recordings. According to rumors, this super slow camera could exceed the 960 fps of the Sony Xperia XZ1, but to confirm it we will have to wait for the official presentation and test them in first person in a contact.
About the “Plus” model camera we don’t have so much dataAlthough the leaks so far point to a dual lens, so we can expect a portrait mode with background blurring and an optical zoom as we’ve already seen on the Note 8. Beyond that, we should also expect it to have all the features. and slow cameras from its younger brother, but perhaps somewhat enhanced by the dual lens. It remains to be seen how far the differences grow.
Great power, and various memory configurations
We move on to talk about what the mobile is expected to bring under the hood. The logical thing is that the Galaxy S9 imitates the strategy of its predecessors, and has models with both Exynos and Qualcomm Snapdragon processors. Well, the Snapdragon 845 and Exynos 9810 are already official, so we already have all the details about the two processors that it is expected to equip.
The great protagonist in both processors is artificial intelligence, following the steps of the iPhone X and its A11 processor. From this AI we can expect to improve the efficiency of the chip, a higher power, and of course better results with the cameras offering more realistic colors and bokeh without the need for a double lens. They also offer improvements in facial recognition on par with Apple’s with its FaceID. We will have to wait for the analysis to see what Samsung does with them.
The leak of the rear face of the S9 case that its camera revealed to us, has also given us clues about the memory configuration. In it you could see 64 GB of internal storage with 4 GB of RAM memoryAlthough the latest leaks suggest that both memory configurations will vary between the S9 and S9 Plus.
The S9 and S9 Plus will also differ in their RAM and storage configurations.
According to information leaked on the Chinese social network Weibo, the Samsung Galaxy S9 will hit the market in two versions: 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of capacity or 4 GB of RAM and 128 GB of capacity. For its part, the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus would arrive in variants of 64, 128 or 256 GB, all of them with 6 GB of RAM. There is also talk of a possible limited edition of the Galaxy S9 Plus that would reach no less than 512 GB of internal memory.
According to the leak of the box, the mobiles would also include an eight megapixel front camera, iris scanner as an alternative method of recognition and wireless charging. It would again have IP68 resistance to water and dust, and would include a headset signed by AKG. Although with all this we get an idea of what components it seems will be inside, it always remains to be seen what Samsung is capable of doing with them.
DeX and Bixby keep growing
Last year Samsung released the DeX Station, a base with which we can connect the mobile to a screen, keyboard and mouse for a more ‘desktop’ experience. Earlier this month we learned that the Koreans had patented an evolution of this concept that could perhaps become the flagship accessory for the S9.
This is the ‘DeX Pad’, which will include new features such as being able to work wirelessly without needing a physical connection to the terminal, or that the mobile could be used as a touchpad while connected to the computer. It must be made clear that although the patent seems real, it remains to be seen if it materializes in time to accompany the Galaxy S9.
And on the other hand we have Bixby, the voice assistant with which Samsung is trying to compete with Alexa, Assistant, Cortana, and Siri. A few months ago Samsung introduced version 2.0 of its assistant, so we have practically assured its presence in the Galaxy S9. Especially now that it will soon be integrated into the first smart speaker.
Bixby 2.0 improved their understanding of natural language, and implemented deep linking capabilities to better recognize each individual user who uses it. Therefore, these are two characteristics that we will almost certainly have, although with the time that has passed since its presentation Samsung may show new features taking advantage of the launch of your mobile.
Presentation on February 26, and arrival in March
According to a C-level executive at a major casemaker, the go-to-market schedule for Galaxy S9 / S9 + is as follows:
Launch – 2/26
Pre-orders – 3/1
Ships / releases – 3/16
– Evan Blass (@evleaks) January 16, 2018
Last year, Samsung decided not to present its new mobile phone at the Mobile World Congress, making an exclusive subsequent presentation. However, the company itself has already confirmed that The Galaxy S9 will be unveiled again in Barcelona, which will make its sale also ahead of what we saw with last year’s model.
As leaker Evan Blass revealed this week, the specific date of the presentation of the Galaxy S9 would be February 26, the reserves would open on March 1, and the shipments of the reserves would begin to be delivered on March 16. Evan is usually right with his leaks, but as we have been saying from the beginning, we cannot confirm any of this information.
In Engadget | The Galaxy S9 will be announced at MWC 2018: Samsung and its high-end return to the Barcelona fair
