Samsung may be ditching the 64GB storage configuration from its high-end products with the Galaxy Note 9 series as one established industry insider close to the company’s Chinese suppliers recently claimed the base model of the upcoming Android phablet will feature 128GB of flash memory. The notion goes against a wide variety of previous leaks and rumors about the device, with several sources already alleging the South Korean tech giant is working on four variants of the handset offering 6GB/64GB, 6GB/128GB, 8GB/256GB, and 8GB/512GB memory configurations. The latest report on the matter suggests the foremost model won’t be commercialized but even if that claim is accurate, it remains unclear whether that was the plan all along or if Samsung only recently scrapped the idea of releasing yet another Android flagship with 64GB of storage space.
The company embraced the 64GB base almost two years back with the release of the ill-fated Galaxy Note 7 and while it gradually started equipping the higher-end members of its flagship families with more memory, the base models remained unchanged across four last major mobile releases from the company – the Galaxy Note 7, Galaxy S8, Galaxy Note 8, and the Galaxy S9 lineups. If the firm truly opted to increase the base memory volume offered with its devices, it’s likely that the Galaxy Note 9 will be sold in both 128GB and 256GB variants in the West, as the firm’s premium Android devices are traditionally offered in two configurations outside of Asia. The top model still isn’t expected to be officially released outside of China and South Korea.
The Galaxy Note 9 is scheduled to be unveiled at an “Unpacked” event in New York City taking place on August 9, with the device being likely to hit the store shelves around the world some two weeks later. The handset should share many similarities with the Galaxy S9 Plus but offer an even larger screen, better dual-camera setup, numerous Bixby improvements, and the next generation of Samsung‘s S Pen stylus offering Bluetooth-based remote control capabilities.