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Galaxy Note 9 leaks, but it looks more like a Galaxy Note 8.1
- A Galaxy Note 9 render has reportedly been leaked, showing the front of the phablet.
- Don’t expect a radical departure from the Note 8, though, as the image shows a near-identical design to the 2017 device.
- We can’t quite make out a stylus slot, but we know a Bluetooth S Pen is coming thanks to an FCC filing.
The Galaxy Note 9 is a few weeks away from its August 9 reveal date, but we may have received an early look at the device via Android Headlines.
The outlet says it obtained a Galaxy Note 9 render from “a reliable source,” showing off the front of the device. It looks almost identical to the 2017 model, even down to the placement of sensors on the top bezel.
It also looks like the power key is staying on the right-hand side, while the volume keys are still on the left. And yes, the Bixby button is in the same position below the volume keys. Will Samsung relent and allow users to map the button to other apps? Probably not.
There isn’t much else to note (heh), but we hope the company retains the headphone jack. The Galaxy S9 is one of the few flagship phones to keep the feature, joining the likes of the LG G7 ThinQ, vivo Nex, and ASUS ROG Phone.
What about the S Pen?
We can’t make out the S Pen slot in the leaked image, presumably at the bottom of the device. But we know the stylus is coming thanks to an FCC filing earlier this month. The filing confirms the S Pen will have Bluetooth connectivity, which suggests it could be used for gestures, digital signatures, and/or media controls.
A Bluetooth-enabled stylus would undoubtedly need charging, but the regulatory filing mentions that it will charge via the phone. We’re hoping Samsung’s S Pen has the Apple Pencil’s endurance and fast charging, which delivers 30 minutes of juice from 15 seconds of charging.
We’re expecting Samsung’s new device to pack an Exynos 9810 chipset, 6GB of RAM, and a dual-camera setup (complete with super slow-motion and dual aperture technology). The new flagship will need to fare better than the Galaxy S9, after reports that the earlier flagship saw lower sales than the Galaxy S8.
What do you make of the Galaxy Note 9? Do you think it will do big business for the company? Let us know in the comments section.