Is Samsung working on a 5-inch Galaxy S9 Mini smartphone?
Forget the Samsung Galaxy S9 – the latest phone rumoured to be in development at Samsung HQ is a teeny Galaxy S9 Mini.
A prominent mobile tipster has suggested that Samsung is working on what he describes as “an ultra-small full-screen mobile phone”. This device would boast the same Infinity Display as the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8, but with a corner-to-corner display diameter of just five inches. For reference, the Galaxy S8 and S8+ have 5.8- and 6.2-inch screens respectively.
The information comes courtesy of well-known leaker Ice Universe, who posted the tip on China’s Weibo social media site. Given how close we are to Christmas, it seems unlikely that this device would be a Galaxy S8 spin-off, but could be a companion device to the Galaxy S9 – which we’re expecting in February or March next year.
It’s worth mentioning that there were rumours for a ‘Mini’ version of both the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Samsung Galaxy S8, but neither of those came to fruition.
Most companies have shied away from releasing smaller phones, with customers growing increasingly used to the prospect of having 5.5-inch to 6-inch displays. Sony is one of the few major phone makers that still consistently releases downsized models, but the Sony Mobile business has had middling financial success compared to the likes of Samsung and Apple in recent years.
However, Samsung – and Sony, perhaps – may be onto something here. A Reddit thread about the prospect of a Galaxy S9 Mini has shot to over 7,000 upvotes, and is brimming with users keen to get their hands on such a device.
“Galaxy S8/S9 in a compact body is my dream phone,” writes one Redditor, named BleedingPositivity. “I love my S8, but it’s still a little too big for comfortable one-handed use.”
Another user called notveryblack wrote: “This is a really great decision by Samsung to develop this as an alternative to [the] Xperia Compact series, which many people love because it’s small. People with small hands and people who want to use their phones single-handed will be thrilled.”
Of course, Samsung hasn’t officially confirmed any such plans to release a smaller version of the Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S9. As such, we’d recommend taking all leaks with due caution until we hear something through official Samsung channels.
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