As soon as Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S8 and the S8 Plus, news immediately spread of the development of the next Samsung Galaxy flagship, the S9. It is about time that rumours and speculation should rise as the current generation is already six months old and considering that Samsung is one of the first companies to release their flagships in the year, it seems only appropriate that plans on the new S9 and S9+ have begun taking fruition.
File photo of Galaxy S8
Considering that the current generation Galaxies offer the best software and hardware package on a smartphone to date, the anticipation of the next big Galaxy smartphone would make for an exciting prospect, which is why the rumour mills are rife with new information regarding what we can expect from Samsung’s next great flagship.
One of the features that is almost certain will appear on the new smartphones is the Bixby button that fans have been lamenting over, ever since its first appearance. The most unwelcome addition to the new Galaxy smartphones is here to stay, unfortunately. Having said that, while other smartphone manufacturers have already left the headphone jack, the S9 will be one of the last few flagships faithful to the analogue mode of audio compatibility. All this, with the same reliable water resistant IP68 certified body. Perhaps the only thing that Samsung could have improved over the shining S8 and S8+, is to finally including stereo speakers, hopefully implemented the same way as the Pixel 2 did.
When the S8 first came out, it was initially thought that it would feature an embedded fingerprint sensor under the screen of the phone, but Qualcomm, who had already made the technology, could not have it ready on time to feature it on the smartphone. So, it is likely that we will see it on the Galaxy S9 and S9+. Of course, Samsung will also be in a better position to either remove the awkwardly placed fingerprint sensor from the back with this solution in place.
Forbes has found a patent by Samsung that shows the inclusion of a notch in the screen assembly where the fingerprint sensor will be placed. While the patent was made back in 2016, it seems that production and design decisions will finally be able to accommodate that embedded fingerprint sensor that we have been waiting for. This could also mean that the S9’s screen could be all-encompassing, much like that the iPhone X and considering that the company has drawn many similarities to its biggest competitor, Apple, it would not be too farfetched to think that Samsung would head in this design direction as well, since the original Samsung Galaxy S was based off the iPhone as well, in terms of design.
GSM Arena states in its investigation of the patent, that the new fingerprint sensor will feature in the same manner as Essential’s camera module does – as a space that invades into the screen real estate. As far as internals go, we will most likely get to see the Snapdragon 845 debut on the next Galaxy flagship that will be built on a 10nm manufacturing process with 5G LTE speeds. As is usually the case, we can also expect the Exynos variant of the smartphone to be featured in global markets as well.
While this is all speculation and rumours as of now, we will need to take it with a pinch of salt. But if even half of these rumours end up becoming true, the S9 will already be the best smartphone package to look forward to in 2018.
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