Galaxy S9 Design Confirmed As Secret Feature Leaks

Despite a solid spec bump, an enhanced display and potentially game-changing camera, excitement about the Galaxy S9 has been mixed due to its conservative design and battery stagnation. The good news is new leaks reveal the smartphone does have surprises up its sleeve, though the design is not one of them…

Let’s start with the bad news.

Galaxy smartphone concept - this is what users wanted to see

A Very Familiar Design

Thanks to my friends at MobileFun, I can confirm the Galaxy S9 will be the equivalent of an ‘iPhone S’ year. The popular accessories retailer has attained the first official Samsung Galaxy S9 cases and they show the core design is so similar to its predecessor that a Galaxy S8 fits inside them almost perfectly (video below).

I say “almost” because you’ll notice the case cutouts on the back are different because Samsung is (sensibly) relocating the fingerprint sensor centrally beneath the camera. The Galaxy S9 Plus will also feature a dual camera this year, the first time Samsung has equipped the larger model with a superior shooter.

Both the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus also appear to be slightly thicker than the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus. Something confirmed by another good buddy of mine, OnLeaks, last week.

Intelligent Scan Vs Face ID

While the debate rages over Apple’s decision to replace Touch ID with Face ID on the iPhone X (my two cents: it should have had both with Touch ID either on the back or in the power button), Samsung appears to have its own Face ID alternative ready.

It is called ‘Intelligent Scan’ and it combines both facial recognition and iris scanning in an attempt to create something as fast and accurate as Face ID (if not more so). Last week code hidden in Samsung’s Android Oreo beta software uncovered the feature for the first time and now LetsGoDigital has discovered more information about this in a newly filed Samsung patent(PDF link).

amsung Intelligent Scan patent

Filed in English (usually Samsung patents are in Korean), it explains how the system will combine an iris camera, a light source module (IR LED) and proximity sensor. As LetsGoDigital explains:

“Once a user is located at a certain distance from the device (measured by the proximity sensor), the infrared light source module and the iris camera will be switched on to take a picture of the iris. The camera is able to register both eyes, as well as a part of the face.”

Interestingly, Samsung says this technology can be integrated not just into smartphones but also cameras, e-readers, tablets, PCs and TVs. Consequently, the company may treat it like ‘Samsung Pay’: a form of universal functionality across Samsung devices designed to lock users into the company’s ecosystem.

Will it be enough to tackle Face ID? Only time will tell, but Samsung may yet get its biggest sales boost thanks to Apple as 2018 iPhones are expected to cost as much as $1,400...

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