Samsung may offer a $350 trade-in deal on the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus in the United States, according to one Reddit user who claims to work in the stateside retail industry and was briefed on the matter. The source said no official pricing details have yet been provided by Samsung but the offer in question should apply to both phablets and be relatively liberal in terms of accepted devices consumers will be able to put toward the purchase of their next Android flagship from Samsung. The $350 figure is still likely to be the maximum discount one will be able to get from the company in exchange for an older and relatively capable handset that’s still in a good condition, as is usually the case with such deals.
The South Korean phone vendor has been running a similar promotion last year when it accepted handsets as old as the Galaxy Note 5 in exchange for a $350 trade-in discount on the purchase of a new Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8 Plus. The deal presumably won’t apply to pre-orders which will likely be incentivized with freebies instead of direct discounts, as has been the case with other Samsung-made flagships in recent times. The units used by Samsung for retail training were powered by the Exynos 9810 but the ones that will be sold to consumers will feature Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845, the source said. The 5.8-inch Galaxy S9 will have a 3,000mAh battery, whereas the 6.2-inch Galaxy S9 Plus will be fueled by a 3,500mAh cell, according to the same insider.
AKG is said to have once again optimized the audio performance of the upcoming devices which now feature two stereo speakers, one on the bottom, and another one that’s part of the earpiece. The setup itself is understood to be similar to the one of Apple’s iPhone X, whereas the rumored Animoji-inspired feature is supposedly called “AR Emoji.” The source wasn’t briefed on any kind of a new messaging app or social network that Samsung may be launching alongside its new high-end mobile offerings, according to recent reports. The Galaxy S9 lineup is scheduled to be officially announced on Sunday and is expected to be released on a global level come March 16.