The year 2017 was pretty good for smartphone enthusiasts, who witnessed some of the best innovations around. Apple iPhone X, Google Pixel 2, Samsung Galaxy Note 8, Essential Phone and others enjoyed their fair share of stardom.
As we bid farewell to what has been an exciting year, new challenges appear in front of OEMs and industry leaders to outperform themselves and others in 2018.
We've already come across some crazy predictions for next year's flagships, but there's one particular device that's making an appearance online more frequently than others. If you haven't guessed already, it's Samsung Galaxy S9, and it's mainly because of an early Q1 2018 launch.
From a Geekbench leak to high-resolution renders, we've seen it all. But there are several contradictions to what the South Korean tech giant might or might not bring to the device. The mysterious case of Samsung Galaxy S9 does not rest until the official unveiling of the flagship.
If 2017 has taught us anything, it's that a flagship must need an extraordinary camera setup to compliment other, premium features. Samsung Galaxy S8 missed the mark, but the South Korean tech titan filled the void with the Galaxy Note 8. Does it mean the Galaxy S9 is going to be a home run? Let's find out.
There have been several indications of a dual-camera setup in the Galaxy S9, which will match the industry standard set by most brands. The company is also gunning for an advanced FaceID-like solution on the front camera to enhance security on the device. Sounds exciting, right? We thought so too until this render popped up on Ghostek.
A mobile accessories manufacturer listed a waterproof and a rugged phone cover for the Galaxy S9, which gave away a lot more than one expected. But the highlight of the listing was the single-lens camera on the back and a fingerprint scanner below it.
This led to two conclusions: No fingerprint scanner under the display and Samsung's decision to go the Google way to boost photography. But the lack of evidence supporting any software advancement to create depth-of-field shots or bokeh in the Galaxy S9 is certainly a disappointment.
Since Samsung has already used a dual camera in the Galaxy Note 8, this leak was largely open for debate. The bezel-less screen is certainly welcome, and a bunch of sensors on the front top bezel looks promising.
But it doesn't make sense for Samsung to keep holding on to the 2017 innovations. It would be great if Samsung could combine dual cameras with some sort of AI-powered software to boost mobile photography on its upcoming flagship (fingers crossed).
But the single-lens camera rumour was shortlived as the world's largest e-commerce giant Amazon listed a phone case by a retailer named iBetter. The front design of the latest leak was on the same lines as the Ghostek, but the rear portion argued the former leak.
The iBetter phone case for the Galaxy S9 Plus showed the phone's render with dual cameras on the back. The vertically-aligned camera module was extended to add a fingerprint sensor.
This leak certainly rekindled fans' hopes for a mobile photography marvel, but not so much on the rear-mounted biometric sensor, which is not as widely accepted as the front-facing sensor.
Besides this debate, Samsung Galaxy S9 and Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus are expected to come with the Snapdragon 845 chipset, ample RAM and storage configurations, larger batteries to make sure users don't run out of juice mid-day, and support for Google's Project Treble for faster updates.
Are you excited about Samsung Galaxy S9? Stay tuned for more updates.
