Up to now, we’ve seen quite a lot about the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ handsets, but all of it is based on leaks and rumors.
In a new set of leaks, it appears that Samsung Galaxy S9 might not come with significant tweaks to the front panel as previously thought. The same person who has been giving us sneak previews of what to expect when the S9 twins show up has something new as well. According to Ice Universe, the initial design was abandoned after failing some internal tests and instead, fans will be getting something that is very close to the Galaxy S8 and S8+.
The original design was expected to include significantly reduced bezels on the front panel, but with the newly leaked images, the Galaxy S9 looks a lot more like the S8 with just about the same bezel sizes. To add more weight on this alleged change, renowned leaker OnLeaks has published a video showing off renders of the S9 based on known details.
In the video, it’s evident that Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ will still have sizeable bezels, which means the only major changes will be happening on the inside, much like Evan Blass, another famous leaker, had pointed out earlier. The CAD-based renders not only give us a look into the front panel of the S9, but also the back panel. As rumored, the fingerprint scanner will appear below the camera lens and not on the side as with the case of the Galaxy S8. The render also shows off a Galaxy S9 with a single-lens camera, which is what other rumors suggest. It’s only the bigger S9+ that is expected to come with a dual-lens setup on the back.
Looking at the renders, it’s also possible that Samsung Galaxy S9 will shift the heart rate sensor from the left to the right of the front-facing camera, but the rest will remain unchanged, including the locations of Bixby, power and volume buttons, USB-C port and the 3.5mm headphone jack. Specifically, many will be impressed that Samsung is still retaining the traditional audio jack on its 2018 flagships, especially since Google has already confirmed that USB-C is the way to go for Android devices.
One interesting development from the render, though, is that Samsung Galaxy S9 might get a new, smaller 5.65-inch display screen. Given that the bezels are looking a lot the same as the S8, it’s possible that the physical size of the S9 will be reduced compared to the S8. Whether this will impact the battery capacity is still unknown, but many will be praying that it remains at 3000mAh or maybe bigger, but the latter is unlikely.
Initially, it had been reported that Samsung Galaxy S9 may appear at the CES 2018. While there have been reports that this might not be the case, a recent development regarding Synaptics and in-display fingerprint scanners suggests that Sammy could be the one showing off this technology on a new device at the January event.