Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ debut at CES 2018

We all get used to manufacturer’s cycles. Apple fans know when to expect the revised iPhones, iPads and such, just as the Sammy faithful can tell you when the next Galaxy S-class device will land. However, this is set to change next year.

Usually, Samsung announces its new Galaxy S flagship variants at either MWC, or at a dedicated event held later. This year they announced the Galaxy S8 and S8+ at an event held on March 29th, and the phones were available for purchase three weeks later.

However, the schedule seems to have been changed for the successors of the Galaxy S8 and S8+.

Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+

Evan Blass, chatting to VentureBeat, says that Samsung is planning to reveal the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ earlier than usual.

He goes on to add that the phones are actually scheduled to make their first public appearance at CES, which will be held in January 2018.

However, we’re not sure just how much of the S9 and S9+ will be revealed.

This could actually be just a flavour of what’s to come later as Samsung is still planning to hold an official launch event in March, just as it did this year for the Galaxy S8 and S8+.

What we know

The Galaxy S9 and S9+ are said to have a nearly identical appearance to their predecessors, according to the report.

It added that 2018 will be a “tock” model year for Samsung, with no major external design changes. This would follow the “tick” year of 2017’s Galaxy S8. The last “tock” year was 2016, as the Galaxy S7 had a similar appearance to the Galaxy S6.

A simialar cycle used by Apple for its ‘S’ iterations.

Stars

The Galaxy S9 and S9+ are codenamed Star 1 and Star 2, and their model numbers are SM-G960 and SM-G965 respectively.

[amazon_link asins=’B06XYMCMHD’ template=’ProductAd’ store=’gadgnews-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=”]The phones will feature the same 5.8-inch and 6.2-inch curved-edge Super AMOLED Infinity displays.
 
The report stated that the new processors to be used in the 2018 Samsung flagship phones would likely point to the Snapdragon 845 and a new Exynos chip (the Exynos 9810?) being used for the US and international variants respectively.
 
One change for next year will be that the differences between the S9 and S9+ will go beyond just screen size.
 

More than size

The S9+ will not only have a bigger display, but it will also offer more RAM than the S9 (6GB versus 4GB).

It will also have a second rear camera, like the Note 8.

Both phones are said to pack 64GB of internal storage, and will support expandable storage with a microSD slot. Both phones will retain the 3.5mm headphone jack.

Furthermore, the rears of the new phones will also look different to this year’s models.

Both phones will vertically orient the elements on the back of the device. So, the fingerprint sensor will be placed below the camera.

This will fix the off-centered fingerprint sensor placement on Samsung’s 2017 flagship phones. This also confirms that Samsung will not use an in-display fingerprint sensor on the phones.

The Galaxy S9 and S9+ will also have AKG stereo speakers.

Flat DeX

Finally, it also sounds like a new DeX docking station will appear. This will be “backward-compatible” and allows the phones to dock flat. This way you are able to use the phone screens as either a touchpad or a virtual keyboard.

Samsung introduced the DeX docking station this year alongside the launch of the S8 and S8+.

Naturally, there was no mention of pricing for the phones.