The Galaxy Note 9 will debut major improvements in terms of heat dissipation compared to its predecessor, one industry insider said on Twitter earlier today, claiming that Samsung’s upcoming Android flagship will have “almost half” of its right side covered by copper tubes. If accurate, such a design would mark a major hardware change on Samsung’s part as the company’s recent high-end devices lacked traditional heat pipes and instead featured thinner layers of copper strategically laid out over areas that were most at risk of becoming hot, as evidenced by numerous teardowns.
The inclusion of more traditional copper tubes may allow the Galaxy Note 9 to outperform the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus despite the fact that it’s expected to debut with the same processors, with the international variant being likely to use Samsung’s Exynos 9810, whereas the models sold in North America and China should be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845. While none of the company’s recently released high-end handsets had issues with becoming too hot during regular use, a more efficient heat dissipation setup would still likely allow the Galaxy Note 9’s SoC to sustain its maximum operating frequency over longer periods, which could be particularly beneficial in gaming scenarios.
Gaming is one entertainment category that the upcoming Android flagship is expected to be focused on, with Samsung’s mobile chief DJ Koh recently confirming the new S Pen stylus will boast a number of features catering to gamers, whereas the Android version of Epic Games’ battle royale hit Fortnite is now rumored to be a 30-day Galaxy Note 9 exclusive before making its way to other handsets and tablets in early fall. Samsung will be unveiling its next ultra-premium mobile device on August 9, with recent rumors pointing to August 24 as its global release date. The base model of the handset should feature 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage space, as well as a price tag in the ballpark of $960.