The Galaxy Note 9 will ship with a new custom implementation of Google’s mobile operating system – Samsung Experience 9.5 based on Android 8.1 Oreo, one known industry insider from China said earlier today. The phablet will also introduce a new version of the company’s artificial intelligence assistant called Bixby 2.0, as per the same source. Samsung itself already hinted at Bixby 2.0 being in the works with the goal of being implemented into the Galaxy Note 9, with previous reports suggesting the new AI service will feature significantly faster response times and offer a widened set of features, many of which will be aimed at improving one’s IoT experience, i.e. geared toward turning the companion into a versatile smart home hub.
The Galaxy Note 9 is widely expected to debut at the firm’s next “Unpacked” event set to take place in New York City on August 9, possibly alongside the Gear S4 smartwatch lineup. The tech giant is likely to offer the handset on pre-order terms for several weeks before releasing it later that same month, as indicated by its established product practices. Samsung traditionally introduces new wearable products at IFA and while the same was often true for its Galaxy Note-series devices, an early Galaxy Note 9 launch would leave the company with a much weaker-than-usual lineup for the Berlin, Germany-based trade show where it historically had a major presence.
The smartphone is rumored to ship with a 6.3- or 6.4-inch Super AMOLED panel and retain the base memory configuration of its predecessor, i.e. sport 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. The same source that’s now claiming Samsung Experience 9.5 will be part of the package previously said the most premium variant of the Galaxy Note 9 may offer as much as 8GB of RAM and 512GB of flash memory. Samsung is also expected to improve its S Pen stylus and retain the variable-aperture camera from the Galaxy S9 series, with the Galaxy Note 9 being likely to debut as yet another Android flagship with a dual-lens imaging system.