Android Circuit: Samsung's Risky Note 9 Gamble, Secret Galaxy S9 Revealed, OnePlus 6 Leak Confirmed
Samsung’s Magical Gamble For The Galaxy Note 9
The evidence swings between yes and no, but this week sees more evidence weighing on the ‘yes’ side. The question of course is ‘Will Samsung’s Galaxy Note 9 feature an under-screen fingerprint reader when it launches during Q3 this year?’ Gordon Kelly looks at the latest leaks:
…“we should expect” the Galaxy Note 9 to feature an in-screen fingerprint reader, after Samsung overcame manufacturing difficulties. This would make the Galaxy Note 9 the world’s first smartphone to integrate this tech and deliver a significant differentiator against Apple’s polarising Face ID-only approach moving forward.
And that’s not all. The Note 9 might finally push the boat out in terms of battery specifications:
Secondly, Ice Universe believes Samsung is going to go big on the Galaxy Note 9 battery. How big? A massive 3850 mAh. That's 20% larger than the 3300 mAh battery inside the Galaxy Note 8 and the largest Samsung has fitted into any mass-market smartphone.
A woman holds a new Samsung Galaxy S9 mobilephone during the Samsung Galaxy S9 Unpacked event on February 25, 2018 (Photo Lluis Gene/AFP/Getty Images)
Surprise As New Galaxy S9 Revealed
Following the general release of the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus, Samsung India has revealed a surprise addition to the portfolio. There two handsets now have a 128 GB model available… if you can find it. I covered the news earlier this week:
Launched with 64 GB or 256 GB variants, the Galaxy S9 shipped with 4 GB of RAM while the S9 Plus shipped with 6 GB of Ram. Now comes a new intermediate model to the range… The new storage configuration is set to appear in India, reports SamMobile. The model is currently available in offline channels in India, and does not appear to have a major online presence in retail stores or websites. But it is out there.
More details on the new handset here.
Latest OnePlus 6 Leaks
Lots of details coming out this week about the presumptively named OnePlus 6. CEO Carl Pei has confirmed the existence of the handset (but not the name) and that it will come with a notch in the screen - similar to the iPhone X and the Essential Phone:
Pei believes that OnePlus’ notch is different, implemented with more thought and care. His opening remark about the choices a company makes was a bit of a dig at the Essential notch, which is the narrowest one we’ve seen so far. Pei says OnePlus couldn’t have gone that small without compromising the quality of the device’s earpiece and front-facing camera or omitting the proximity and ambient light sensors or the user-requested LED notification light. At the same time, argues Pei, “we don’t feel the need to have structured light on our phones” akin to Apple’s Face ID, so OnePlus’ notch is appreciably smaller than Apple’s. “Our notch, it will be there,” sums up Pei, and “it’ll be bigger than the Essential Phone, smaller than the iPhone.” OnePlus provided the precise measurements for its upcoming notch as 19.616mm x 7.687mm.
Leaked images of the OnePlus 6 have also confirmed some more details. The dual-lens camera does remain, but it now appears to be mounted on the center-line and not in the top corner. There are also smaller antenna cut-outs, allowing much more metal to be used in the styling. And one classic but well-loved feature that will remain:
">The speaker grille, 3.5mm headphone jack (which is always welcome) and USB-C port match the form factor used by previous OnePlus handsets, as does the placement of the logo and the side-mounted volume buttons. What has changed is above the logo. It appears to be a square fingerprint sensor along the central spine of the handset, with a camera housing directly above the sensor.
This would be a radical departure for OnePlus from the design of the OnePlus 5 and 5T mounted the dual-lens camera in the top left of the back plate. The new design is not totally clear, but the housing looks elongated enough to be a dual-lens camera, and I would expect this feature to continue to the new handset.
Taking a look back at seven days of news and headlines across the world of Android, this week’s Android Circuit includes the latest Galaxy Note 9 details, a surprise Galaxy S9 appears in India, OnePlus 6 leaks confirmed, Huawei P20 vs Galaxy S9, Xiaomi’s Mi Mix 2S, and Microsoft’s new Edge browser for Android.
Android Circuit is here to remind you of a few of the many things that have happened around Android in the last week (and you can find the weekly Apple news digest here).
Samsung’s Magical Gamble For The Galaxy Note 9
The evidence swings between yes and no, but this week sees more evidence weighing on the ‘yes’ side. The question of course is ‘Will Samsung’s Galaxy Note 9 feature an under-screen fingerprint reader when it launches during Q3 this year?’ Gordon Kelly looks at the latest leaks:
…“we should expect” the Galaxy Note 9 to feature an in-screen fingerprint reader, after Samsung overcame manufacturing difficulties. This would make the Galaxy Note 9 the world’s first smartphone to integrate this tech and deliver a significant differentiator against Apple’s polarising Face ID-only approach moving forward.
And that’s not all. The Note 9 might finally push the boat out in terms of battery specifications:
Secondly, Ice Universe believes Samsung is going to go big on the Galaxy Note 9 battery. How big? A massive 3850 mAh. That's 20% larger than the 3300 mAh battery inside the Galaxy Note 8 and the largest Samsung has fitted into any mass-market smartphone.
A woman holds a new Samsung Galaxy S9 mobilephone during the Samsung Galaxy S9 Unpacked event on February 25, 2018 (Photo Lluis Gene/AFP/Getty Images)
Surprise As New Galaxy S9 Revealed
Following the general release of the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus, Samsung India has revealed a surprise addition to the portfolio. There two handsets now have a 128 GB model available… if you can find it. I covered the news earlier this week:
Launched with 64 GB or 256 GB variants, the Galaxy S9 shipped with 4 GB of RAM while the S9 Plus shipped with 6 GB of Ram. Now comes a new intermediate model to the range… The new storage configuration is set to appear in India, reports SamMobile. The model is currently available in offline channels in India, and does not appear to have a major online presence in retail stores or websites. But it is out there.
More details on the new handset here.
Latest OnePlus 6 Leaks
Lots of details coming out this week about the presumptively named OnePlus 6. CEO Carl Pei has confirmed the existence of the handset (but not the name) and that it will come with a notch in the screen - similar to the iPhone X and the Essential Phone:
Pei believes that OnePlus’ notch is different, implemented with more thought and care. His opening remark about the choices a company makes was a bit of a dig at the Essential notch, which is the narrowest one we’ve seen so far. Pei says OnePlus couldn’t have gone that small without compromising the quality of the device’s earpiece and front-facing camera or omitting the proximity and ambient light sensors or the user-requested LED notification light. At the same time, argues Pei, “we don’t feel the need to have structured light on our phones” akin to Apple’s Face ID, so OnePlus’ notch is appreciably smaller than Apple’s. “Our notch, it will be there,” sums up Pei, and “it’ll be bigger than the Essential Phone, smaller than the iPhone.” OnePlus provided the precise measurements for its upcoming notch as 19.616mm x 7.687mm.
Leaked images of the OnePlus 6 have also confirmed some more details. The dual-lens camera does remain, but it now appears to be mounted on the center-line and not in the top corner. There are also smaller antenna cut-outs, allowing much more metal to be used in the styling. And one classic but well-loved feature that will remain:
The speaker grille, 3.5mm headphone jack (which is always welcome) and USB-C port match the form factor used by previous OnePlus handsets, as does the placement of the logo and the side-mounted volume buttons. What has changed is above the logo. It appears to be a square fingerprint sensor along the central spine of the handset, with a camera housing directly above the sensor.
This would be a radical departure for OnePlus from the design of the OnePlus 5 and 5T mounted the dual-lens camera in the top left of the back plate. The new design is not totally clear, but the housing looks elongated enough to be a dual-lens camera, and I would expect this feature to continue to the new handset.
Post a Comment