The Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ are tipped to debut in mid-February, which is months away from today. In spite of that, the leaks have continued to pour in from all across the internet. Alleged details relating to panel designs, components, and benchmark scores have cropped up recently.
SEE ALSO: Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018) and Galaxy A8+ (2018) are official
Today, we’re taking a look at the well-founded rumors and reports surrounding Sammy’s next-gen mainstream flagships to give you a preview, more or less, of what to expect in two months.
Design
It’s been said that the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ will look a lot like their predecessors, bearing a glass-and-metal construction that have rounded edges and front and back panels that bend toward the sides.
All the credible leaks we’ve come across so far confirm those details, while purported photos of the phones’ front and back glass covers reveal smaller screen bezels and rear-mounted fingerprint sensors that sit below the main camera hardware.
Alleged front panels of the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ (via Weibo)
Samsung’s backplate designs seem to differ slightly this time around. The biometric sensors have been moved under the cameras, instead of beside them. Eye scanners will allegedly also be built into the S9 and S9+. This is expected considering this year’s Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and Galaxy Note FE both have iris-scanning tech.
Supposed backplates of Samsung’s upcoming flagship phones (via Techtastic)
The headphone jack should stay put — thankfully — if only for another year, and it would be a huge call to remove water and dust resistance from the specs sheet. The dedicated Bixby button on the side should remain as well, to no one’s surprise.
Samsung Galaxy S9 360-degree render
Samsung Galaxy S9+ 360-degree render
Cameras
It’s been speculated that Samsung wants a three-tier flagship lineup next year. That is to say it wants three high-end devices that appeal to different interests, as opposed to the status quo, in which the standard and Plus versions only vary in size and the Note phone is distinguishable by its stylus and productivity apps.
Several case renders of the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ posted on UK retailer MobileFun’s website support that claim. In the images, the S9 is shown to have a single rear camera. The S9+, on the other hand, has two cameras round the back, indicating a departure from previous generations of Galaxy S series with identical imaging units.
Rendered cases for the two Galaxy phones (via MobileFun)
Whether the second camera is there to provide depth information is unclear, but it would make sense given the Note 8’s ability to pull off portrait-style shots with its dual-camera setup.
Chipset and benchmark scores
It should surprise no one that the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ are rumored to launch with the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset. The chip is expected to feature in many of 2018’s premium smartphones, with Samsung almost certainly getting in on the action, likely ahead of most other phone makers.
This speculation is backed by the purported Geekbench scores of the Galaxy S9+, which appeared recently. It’s believed the model number in the Geekbench listing corresponds to the bigger S9 unit.
Alleged Geekbench benchmark scores of the Samsung Galaxy S9+ (via GSMArena)
The good news is that the phone’s single-core and multi-core numbers are much higher than those of devices carrying a Snapdragon 835 processor. However, they still lag behind the Apple iPhone X, which had scored 4,204 single-core points and 10,110 points on Geekbench. But whatever. The only thing that matters is real-world performance, right?
Obviously, there’s no way we can actually verify any of these details. That means we’ll just have to wait until Samsung makes an official announcement. Expect it to come before or during the Mobile World Congress technology trade show or simply MWC 2018.
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