“The Galaxy Note 9 might not be much different from its predecessor, at least in terms of the design”

With the first half of 2018 coming to an end, and the first lot of flagship smartphones from most brands already official, everyone’s attention has now shifted to the super-premium phones slated to launch later this year. Without a doubt, Samsung’s Galaxy Note 9 is one of the most awaited ones, with the rumour mill already working overtime to bring us all the juicy details about the eighth iteration of the Galaxy Note series. But if you were hoping to get some more concrete info about the Note 9, then you have come to the right place. We’ve partnered with noted leakster @Onleaks, who has not only provided us with the 3D renders and 360-degree video of the forthcoming flagship, but also its high-res 4K images.

As can be seen from the renders, the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 won’t be significantly different from its S series siblings in terms of the design language. The front of the Note 9 would be dominated by the Infinity Display, with thin bezels above and below. The placement of buttons and ports doesn’t seem to have changed either… with both the volume buttons and the power toggle present on the left spine. Towards the right, there’s the dedicated Bixby button. Thankfully, Samsung will continue with the good ol’ 3.5mm audio socket, which is located at the base alongside the USB Type-C port, a microphone and a speaker grille along with the silo for the ejectable S Pen. It’s the rear of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 that seems to be quite different from the last year’s Note 8 (review), as the fingerprint scanner has now moved below the camera module, which should make it easier to access. Sadly, that also means that the South Korean brand won’t be offering an under-display fingerprint scanner on the Note 9, which is something most rumours have been suggesting so far.

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We’ve also got the dimensions of the Galaxy Note 9, which measures 161.9 x 76.3 mm. However, the handset might be thicker than the Note 8 with a waistline of 8.8mm (vs 8.6mm on the predecessor). The screen size of the flagship will also remain roughly the same, at around 6.3-inches.

Let’s come to the expected specs. While we don’t have any new details, the rumours swirling around the interwebs do give away a lot. The screen is expected to have an 18.5:9 aspect ratio with QHD+ resolution. The performance department is said to be handled by the latest and greatest Samsung Exynos 9810 or upgraded Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC, depending upon the region. According to the leaks, the processor will be accompanied by 6 gigs of RAM and up to 256GB storage. The flagship is also expected to offer an upgraded camera system, though we believe that the phone will continue to offer the same dual-aperture primary camera, just like the Samsung Galaxy S9+ (review). As far as the software is concerned, some reports suggest that the phone will come with a redesigned interface dubbed Crown UX. The leaks also reveal that the phone will solve one of the biggest issues with its predecessor – the battery life – as the upcoming flagship will be fuelled by a larger battery rated at 3,850mAh.

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However, considering that we’re hearing reports about Samsung delaying the launch of the Galaxy Note 9 due to some last-minute design changes, the flagship might look slightly different from these CAD renders. However, they do give us a good idea of what to expect from the next-gen Note smartphone. We won’t have to wait till IFA either to see if this turns out to be true, as reports suggest that the brand will unveil the Note 9 earlier… as early as August 9th.