Samsung’s Galaxy Watch wearable will lack Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) support, a source claiming to be close to one of the company’s national retail employee trainers said on Sunday, in addition to revealing a wide variety of details about the upcoming smartwatch, as well as the Galaxy Note 9 Android flagship. While the Gear S3 offered both MST and NFC, its rebranded successor will only feature the latter technology, with the change possibly being a result of a cost-saving effort on the company’s part. Samsung’s previously released gadgets with MST support only had the functionality enabled in select markets such as North America and South Korea, whereas the MST hardware was disabled in most international models, leaving Samsung Pay users with NFC as their only option for payments.
The overall physical footprint of the larger device version is said to be similar to that of the 2017 Gear Sport which was 44.6 x 42.9 x 11.6mm in size, with the Galaxy Watch being set to become available in 46mm and 42mm case sizes catering to both men and women. The new Rose Gold color variant will be part of the series as well, with that particular model already emerging online last month. The 46mm model will be capable of operating up to a week on a single charge, with both offering 40 workout modes, or four times as much as the Gear S3 did.
The same source reiterated previous rumors about the Galaxy Note 9 being code-named “Crown,” adding that the device will be available for stateside pre-orders alongside one of AKG’s high-end wireless headphones priced at $299 or a “Fortnite gaming package.” Consumers will also be able to get both by paying an extra $99 on top of the Galaxy Note 9’s price which is expected to start at around $960. Much like the recently announced Galaxy Tab S4, the Galaxy Note 9 will offer built-in support for DeX, meaning you’ll be able to get a desktop experience by simply connecting the handset to an external monitor via an HDMI cable, without having to buy the company’s DeX Pad or Dex Station, with that particular design choice likely signaling the end of Samsung’s phone-to-PC gadgets. The Galaxy Note 9 will also allow users to take notes on its screen while running in DeX mode, as per the same report.
The insider claims the display of the device is slightly larger compared to the 6.3-inch screen of its predecessor as it features a 6.4-inch diagonal, though its overall physical footprint is similar to the point of the new handset fitting inside Galaxy Note 8 cases. Samsung will also sell S Pens separately so that users are able to pick between different colors, with the color of their on-screen notes being identical to the color of their stylus of choice. The Bluetooth-enabled accessory will allow for 30 minutes of use after only 40 seconds of charging, though its maximum battery life remains unclear. Double-tapping the stylus’s shutter button will allow users to switch between the front- and rear-facing cameras, whereas new AI additions will allow the Galaxy Note 9 to perform better scene recognition and automatic shooting settings calibration, the source claims. Finally, the Camera app pre-installed on the device will warn users about imperfections such as blinking, shaky hands, and blurriness via on-screen speech bubbles. Samsung‘s Galaxy Note 9 will be officially announced on Thursday, August 9.