Samsung is expected to kick off 2018 with the unveiling of its most anticipated smartphones – the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ at CES 2018, which is slated to begin on January 9.
The phones will have a possible launch later at MWC 2018 in late February. The phones have already managed to gather enough hype ever since the iPhone X launch in September last year.
In the last three months we've seen quite a lot of renders of the two flagship devices, most of which suggest the phones will not have a revolutionary change in terms of the design, but rather a more evolutionary one.
And now, newly leaked photos have emerged showing what could be the first official look at the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+.
We have already come across a lot of rumours about the Galaxy S9 and S9+, which give us a rough idea about the phones' design and specifications. However, the new renders do not reveal any new information about the phones, and seem to simply confirm what the previous leaks and renders had to show.
The newly-leaked renders, originally posted on Chinese social network Weibo, show both phones placed side by side, with the rear and front panels on display.
And just like the previous leaks, the images reveal a pretty much unaltered design from the Galaxy S8 and S8+, with the only noticeable change being the fingerprint sensor position, which has now been shifted to below the camera lens.
The new vertical positioning of the fingerprint sensor would not only help differentiate the S9 from the S8 (given that the front looks almost the same), but it is also a more practical position.
The fingerprint sensor in the Galaxy S8 and S8+ was aligned horizontally right next to the camera lens — a design choice which has been criticised as it makes the camera more prone to smudges every time the user unlocks it that way.
The vertically-aligned fingerprint sensor on the Galaxy S9 and S9+ might help avoid unintentional smudging of the camera lens to quite some extent.
Although it is not possible to see the back of the bigger Galaxy S9+, the back of the Galaxy S9 (pictured on the left) in the above render does seem to confirm previous rumours and leaks that it will come with just a single rear camera lens.
While, on the other hand, the Galaxy S9+ will not only house a bigger display but may also come with a dual-camera setup at the back, meaning consumers will have more than just a difference in the display size to decide between when choosing to buy the phones.
Moreover, the smaller Galaxy S9, which is also supposed to be the cheaper variant looks identical to its predecessor the Galaxy S8, complete with the single-camera setup, which suggests that Samsung may not trying to bring much of a difference in terms of the design on the S9 lineup. However, there may be slight differences in terms of the specs.
Moving aside to the front, the Galaxy S9 and S9+ renders reveal a familiar looking Galaxy S8-like bezel-less design housing the Samsung's trademark Infinity Display, but there seems to be a slight change here as well. Although it may go unnoticed but the bottom bezel looks slightly thinner than that on the Galaxy S8's. Samsung seems to have shaved-off at least 10 percent of the bottom bezel on the Galaxy S9 and S9+.
That said, previous leaks showed an even smaller bezel at the bottom. The images below raised speculations that a Samsung Galaxy S9 with zero bottom bezel could be Samsung's take on the iPhone X's design.
The earlier leaked images of Samsung galaxy S9 and S9 showed an almost non-existent bottom bezel.Twitter/Benjamin Geskin 
Another past render of the Galaxy S9Twitter/Benjamin Geskin 
This leaked image gives a closer look at the purported Galaxy S9 or S9 bottom bezel.Twitter/Benjamin Geskin 
Here's another render that gives a good look at the rear panels of tha Galaxy S9 (on left and Galaxy S9 (on right)Twitter/Benjamin Geskin
The front also showcases dual front-facing camera sensors on each model, so this in particular will be the same on both phones, suggesting that Samsung is looking to put some focus into the capabilities of each device to take better selfie pictures.
Having said that, the latest renders may look official with the Samsung branding on the top-left corner and all, but it's also worth noting that Samsung hasn't made an official statement yet on the launch of the Galaxy S9 lineup.
So we might as well take all these renders and leaks with a pinch of salt, but it seems highly unlikely that the actual phones will be any different than what the leaks suggest.
