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New Samsung phone hits TENAA: a Galaxy S9 Plus Lite with high-res cameras?
- A new Samsung phone, seemingly inspired by the Galaxy S9 Plus, has surfaced in China.
- The phone packs a similarly large screen but delivers higher resolution cameras and a lower CPU clock speed.
- It joins a Galaxy S9-inspired phone that was spotted on the TENAA website earlier this year.
A few months ago, we spotted a rather interesting Galaxy S9 variant on China’s TENAA telecoms website. The phone (model number SM-G8850) was near-identical to the flagship but offered a vertical, iPhone X-style dual camera housing.
Now, another flagship-inspired Samsung phone has appeared on TENAA, and it looks a lot like a larger version of the device we spotted back in April. The phone (model number SM-G8855) offers a similar dual camera housing compared to the previous device with a 24MP and 16MP lens pairing. On the front, the Galaxy S9 Plus‘s 8MP camera has been swapped out for a 24MP selfie shooter.
Of course, megapixels aren’t everything (especially in low light), so we wonder what the company is planning. Samsung could be using pixel-binning to deliver better quality photos at a lower resolution or harnessing the higher resolution rear cameras to deliver better zoom.
A Galaxy S9 Plus Lite?
The TENAA listing also shows a few more details, such as an octa-core processor (either 2.2Ghz or 1.8Ghz), 64GB of expandable storage, and 4GB of RAM. The lower clock speed (the Exynos 9810 flagship chip tops out at 2.8Ghz) suggests we’re looking at a mid-range phone rather than a top-end handset.
Other noteworthy features include a 6.28-inch 2,280 x 1,080 AMOLED screen (down from the flagship resolution of 2,960 x 1,440), a 3,700mAh battery (slightly larger than the Galaxy S9 Plus), a headphone jack, and rear fingerprint scanner. Best of all, the scanner is far away from the dual camera setup, so you shouldn’t accidentally touch the lenses.
There’s no word on availability and pricing, but it’s not uncommon for Samsung to launch China-specific variants of its main flagships. More recently, the company launched the Galaxy S Light Luxury in China, which is essentially a Galaxy S8 Lite in all but name.