Update: Several hours after the images first appeared online, SamMobile discovered several hands-on shots of the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus that can be seen below and appear to have been used as a basis for faking the leaks, thus effectively debunking them. The photographs in question can be seen immediately below, whereas the original story follows beneath them.
First real-life images depicting what’s said to be Samsung’s Galaxy Note 9 appeared online earlier this week, having been shared by Iranian tech blog SamArena. One of the photographs seen in the gallery below shows the supposed Galaxy Note 9 next to the Galaxy S9, with the former lacking a visible fingerprint reader and the implication being that it sports an in-screen one. The handset isn’t believed to be a prototype of the Galaxy S9 Plus because of several major design differences between the two; besides the lack of a visible fingerprint sensor, the alleged Galaxy Note 9 has a significantly wider earpiece than Samsung’s most recently released Android flagship, whereas its dual-LED (dual-tone) flash unit also appears to be larger and is circular instead of having the shape of a squircle.
The leaked device seems to feature a metal-and-glass build similar to the one Samsung has been using for its high-end smartphones for several years now, with its color being of the Meteor Gray variety which the company already unveiled in late February as one of the official variants of the Galaxy S9 lineup. A physical Bixby button sitting beneath a volume rocker still appears to be part of the package, as does an 18.5:9 Infinity Display panel that curves around the long edges of the device in a relatively subtle manner, being less aggressive than the curve seen on the Galaxy S8 and older Edge Display-equipped flagships from the company.
The source also shared an image of the supposed S Pen meant to ship with the Galaxy Note 9, with the stylus being relatively similar to its predecessors, save for its physical button that now appears to be more rectangular and positioned somewhat higher up the digital pencil. The size of the phablet relative to the Galaxy S9 suggests the Galaxy Note 9 will ship with a 6.3-inch screen and thus be slightly larger than the Galaxy S9 Plus. The phablet is expected to debut no later than August, with recent reports indicating Samsung may unveil it as early as July due to weaker-than-expected sales of the Galaxy S9 series. The device is rumored to ship with the Snapdragon 845 or Exynos 9810, depending on the market, as well as 6GB of RAM, a base of 64GB of internal flash memory, and a 3,850mAh non-removable battery. Bixby 2.0 may also debut alongside the new Android smartphone, Samsung’s mobile chief DJ Koh suggested earlier this year.
