Don’t Buy a New Samsung Phone Until the Galaxy S9 Is Out
If you’ve made it through the holiday season without buying a new smartphone (or receiving one as a gift), you may be anxious to upgrade. And if you’re an Apple fan, go crazy – we probably won’t see a new iPhone until late 2018 anyway, but if you’re an Android user, you should wait at least until the Galaxy S9 launches next month.
Samsung confirmed this week that its next flagship phone will be unveiled in February. We don’t give an exact date, but the company usually timed the announcement in conjunction with Mobile World Congress, an annual trade show that runs from February 26 to March 1. So you can expect the Galaxy S9 to debut around then.
Meanwhile, we already know quite a lot about Samsung’s next phone thanks to a mix of official announcements and promising leaks. Here’s a rundown of what to expect from the Galaxy S9 to help you decide whether to wait.
Familiar hardware
An alleged retail box for the Galaxy S9 was leaked this week on Reddit , revealing a long list of equipment included in the new phone. According to the leak (and it looks pretty official), the S9 isn’t going to be a big upgrade when it comes to specs. Expect the same high-resolution 5.8-inch display, the same internal storage options (64GB), the same storage (4GB RAM), the same dedicated earbuds, and the same waterproof design.
The Galaxy S9 also supports wireless charging, but that’s Samsung’s standby feature for years . All in all, it might not seem like a big upgrade, but Samsung can still surprise us with a key point: the camera.
New cameras
The Galaxy S9 may add several new photography features that make it a worthwhile upgrade. A Reddit leak mentions “super slow” video, and there are rumors that the phone will be able to shoot videos at 1000 frames per second. This is a nice step up from the Galaxy S8, which had a top speed of 240fps .
Another popular rumor is that the Galaxy S9 may offer a so-called “dual aperture” option. (Aperture refers to the size of the opening through which light passes.) Having two different apertures at f / 1.5 and f / 2.4 (as indicated by the leaked bezel) will allow for extra light in darker conditions. In better lighting conditions, a second aperture will provide a better depth of field, allowing more subjects to be in focus at the same time over a wider range of distances.
Samsung’s answer to Apple’s Face ID?
Finally, it looks like Samsung may offer an answer to Apple’s face scanning technology. Earlier this month, the company unveiled its latest processor chip Exynos 9810 , which provides the function of facial recognition, and probably will work at least some versions of the Galaxy S9. The Exynos 9810 could potentially match Face ID . It could also help Samsung copy Apple’s popular Animoji feature.
The only drawback is that this chip will probably not be used in US versions of the Galaxy S9 – Samsung usually opts for the Qualcomm Snapdragon processor instead. It is unclear if the company will be able to come up with a solution or if it will be forced to abandon this feature entirely. This may explain why it is not listed on the leak box, but there is an “iris scanner”.
Until then, we just have to wait to find out.