An unannounced Vivo V9 was just spotted on a big billboard in Indonesia, sporting an interesting design. Apple’s iPhone X made waves with its display notch and it seems to have started a trend. ASUS unveiled its new ZenFone 5 and ZenFone 5Z at the Mobile World Congress 2018, and both feature iPhone X-like display notches, and it looks like the Vivo V9 will have such a notch as well. More Android smartphones with display notches could launch this year, as Google is reportedly overhauling its next-generation Android P to support such gimmicks. Display notches are designed to house the front camera and other sensors while accommodating large screens with slim bezels.
The billboard featuring the Vivo V9 was spotted above a Vivo store in Pangkal Pinang City in the Bangka Island of Indonesia. The smartphone appears to have a tall design with minimal bezels, a large screen-to-body ratio, rounded corners, and a display notch housing the front camera. The billboard also touts that the Vivo V9 will have a 24-megapixel front camera, which indicates that it will be a selfie-focused handset. Its predecessor, the Vivo V7, had a 24-megapixel selfie cam as well, but the billboard mentions a “new” 24-megapixel front camera, so it may not be the same sensor. The wallpaper of the smartphone stars Indonesian actress, singer and songwriter Agnez Mo, who is the company’s V series brand ambassador in Indonesia.
The billboard does not reveal any other details, so the rest of the specifications such as processor, RAM, rear camera, storage, and more, remain unclear at this point. Previous rumors indicated that the Vivo V9 would come with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor and a dual rear camera setup, but these specs have not been confirmed. The rumored release time frame is March, but it’s also unconfirmed. Considering that Vivo has already put up a billboard for the smartphone in at least one market, however, it’s safe to presume that the Vivo V9 will make its debut soon enough. The smartphone should come with an affordable price tag and compete in the upper-mid-range segment of the smartphone market, but nothing is certain until the company makes a formal announcement.