Samsung will unveil the Galaxy Note 9 in early August, a recent report said, echoing previous rumors that claimed the South Korean giant is hurrying the new Note to market. Samsung wants to have the Note 9 in stores at least a month before the new iPhone X launches, and that’s perfectly understandable, considering that Apple is about to launch two devices that will be significant threats to Samsung: the cheaper iPhone X, and a Note-like iPhone X Plus.
With two months to go until the Note 9 hits stores, we’ve got the first leak that’s worth getting excited about — a purported case for the phone that may point to some interesting design changes.
As you can see in the image below, posted online by well-known Samsung leaker Ice Universe, the Galaxy Note 9 will have a dual-lens camera on the back placed horizontally, and a fingerprint sensor placed centrally, right under the camera module so it’s easier to reach:
Note9's protective case, we see its fingerprint sensor position. pic.twitter.com/acHwdYq64k
— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) June 9, 2018
Yes, that means Samsung has fixed one of the worst things about the Galaxy Note 8, making the rear-fingerprint sensor more accessible to human hands. But the fingerprint sensor’s location is not the exciting part of the leak. The same leaker revealed on Weibo why Samsung decided to go for a horizontal camera setup rather than a vertical one, as is the case of the Galaxy S9+’s dual-lens camera. Here it is:
That simple design change will allow Samsung to place a much bigger battery inside the Galaxy Note 9, compared with the Galaxy S9+. The Galaxy Note 8, which similarly featured a horizontal dual-camera setup, had a 3,300mAh battery. The Galaxy S9+, meanwhile, packs a 3,500 mAh battery. If these new leaks are accurate, then the Galaxy Note 9’s battery could have an even bigger capacity than the Galaxy S9+.
If this leak is accurate, then we’re looking at the most exciting Galaxy Note 9 leak so far, considering that the phone is expected to be pretty much a copy of last year’s Note 8 in terms of design. Finally, there’s one other detail hidden in Ice Universe’s leak: A new hardware button. Is it for the camera?
