There is no question whatsoever that the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ are the two most hotly anticipated new phones of the first half of 2018. Samsung’s upcoming new flagship smartphone duo is set to debut in just three weeks, and Android fans are in store for a mixed bag if recent rumors pan out.
We’re apparently looking at an upgrade in line with Apple’s iPhone “S” updates, with the Galaxy S9 getting more power and a significantly improved camera experience stuffed inside phones with designs that look almost identical to last year’s Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. There are some key design differences with the new Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+, however, and a new photo leak confirms them once again.
According to several recent rumors, Samsung plans to launch a Galaxy S9 and a Galaxy S9+ that look eerily similar to their predecessors, but with significant internal upgrades. In fact, Samsung apparently things those upgrades are so significant that the company plans to charge an extra $100 for each phone compared to the launch prices of last year’s Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+.
What will that rumored $100 price increase get you? Really, really good cameras. We’ve been told by trusted sources that Samsung has made significant strides with its camera hardware and software in 2018, and the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ will be the first beneficiaries. We’re told photo and video quality has increased dramatically compared to last year’s flagship Galaxy phones, which would be impressive considering how good Samsung’s smartphone cameras were in 2017.
The Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ will bring a few other changes as well, including next-generation processors that help improve performance and battery life. And while the front side of the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ are expected to look just like the S8 and S8+, there are said to be some design differences around back. Now, a new leaked photo confirms that will be the case.
The photo above was originally posted to Weibo before being reposted on Twitter. No link to the original source was provided, but our own sources can confirm that the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ cases pictured are a spitting image of the official OEM cases that Samsung plans to release alongside its new flagship phones next month. Why is this significant? Because it confirms the two design changes we’ve been expecting.
First, the off-center fingerprint sensor on the back of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ has been relocated. The back of a phone still isn’t an optimal place for a fingerprint sensor, but at least it’ll now be centered beneath the camera on the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+. Speaking of cameras, the second big change is a new dual-lens camera on the back of the larger Galaxy S9+. The additional space for the two lenses can be seen in all of the cases above, except for the case in the bottom-left corner — that case is for the smaller Galaxy S9, which will only have a single-lens rear camera.
Samsung will unveil the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ during a press conference in Barcelona, Spain on February 25th. The phone is then expected to be made available for preorder beginning March 1st ahead of its release on March 16th.
