Alleged Galaxy Note 9 codename has Samsung reclaiming its 'Crown'

Samsung will kick off development of the Galaxy Note 9 “soon”. That’s the word coming out of South Korea at least, with supposed inside sources claiming that Samsung’s 2018 flagship phablet will enter into pilot production in the first quarter under the codename “Crown”.

The temporary moniker, leaked by South Korean local news publication The Bell, is intended to signal Samsung’s ambition to defend its position as the leading smartphone maker in the large-screen sector.

Samsung’s previous Note device, the Galaxy Note 8, was developed under the codename “Baikal”, named after one of the largest freshwater lakes in world located in southern Siberia in Russia. The codename also hinted at the Note 8’s Infinity Display which it inherited from the Galaxy S8 – a flowing screen design inspired by infinity swimming pools.

Considering the Note 8 was widely heralded as the comeback king after the Note 7 debacle, “Crown” feels like a fitting temporary tag for Samsung’s stylus-packing smartphone family.

Don’t get too excited by that first quarter pilot though, as Samsung won’t be debuting the Note 9 in public anytime soon. After all, it has the small matter of the Galaxy S9 to deal with first.

The Bell also recently reported that the Galaxy S9 could be revealed in January and go on sale in February, which would be two months earlier than current Galaxy S range’s debut earlier this year. This could bump the Note 9’s release date up too, or Samsung could stick with its traditional August release window.

At this stage, almost everything about the Note 9 – be it specs, release date, price, design – is a complete guessing game, although we’ll know a little more when the S9 breaks cover as the two have historically shared design elements.

We can only hope that one of those possible features is the relocation of the Note 8’s fingerprint sensor (please, Samsung). Let us know what you’d like to see from the Note 9 in the comments.