Samsung’s next flagship phone is still a long ways off, but that hasn’t stopped a steady drip of news about the Galaxy S9 from trickling in. The latest report reaffirms features we’ve heard before and adds a few interesting details of its own.
A source acquainted with an early prototype of the Galaxy S9 told XDA Developers that Samsung is sticking to the same basic design as the Galaxy S8. The brand probably isn’t going to abandon its QHD+ 18.5:9 Infinity Display anytime soon, a let-down for fans hoping for a redesign.
It’s not clear whether the Galaxy S9 will have rounded corners like its previous variant or more squared-off ones like the Galaxy Note 8. The former design is more likely since the company would prefer to have some degree of differentiation between its flagship offerings.
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Samsung has apparently bestowed the device with the internal designation of SM-G960, a natural progression after SM-G950 (S8) and SM-G955 (S8+). It’s set to run on Android 8.0 Oreo with a healthy dosage of the firm’s own Experience UI which should hit version 9.0 by the time the handset gets ready for launch.
A Snapdragon 845 processor may run at the Galaxy S9’s heart. It’s safe to assume that the firm will be looking to repeat this year’s pattern in which it managed to cannibalize all available units of the SoC, leaving other manufacturers out in the cold.
The Galaxy S9 will probably catch itself a pair of dual cameras, similar to the Galaxy Note 8’s 12MP duo. It might also maintain the same 64GB/4GB memory options, IP68 certification, and expandable storage.
Finally, the source claims that Samsung is sticking to a rear-facing rectangular cutout to house the fingerprint scanner, effectively killing all hopes that the brand will come up with an under-display solution before the Galaxy Note 9. There’s still time though, so the company might just pull off a miracle between now and early 2018.