For the last few months rumours had suggested that the new fingerprint tech would feature on the South Korean giant’s next phablet, but IceUniverse — who has a solid track record of breaking Samsung news — is claiming that this feature will be held back for now.
There is more bad news for those hoping for excitement from the Note 9, too. The same source claims that not only will it not have a in-display fingerprint sensor, it has very few new features full stop and is only a small upgrade on the Galaxy Note 8.
This would fit a recent Samsung pattern, with the Galaxy S9 and S9+ only incrementally tweaked versions of the S8 series.
Apparently the only obvious change present on the Note 9 will be a minuscule 2mm reduction in size, thought to be down to Samsung minimising the size of their screen’s bezel.
It is also expected to utilise the much stronger build materials we saw on last year’s Galaxy S9 and S9+ phones.
Similarly, the Note 9 should have stereo speakers and the impressive sound quality we saw on the S9, as this was a huge step forward.
Previous spec leaks have suggested that the new model will have big improvements to processing power and an updated stylus.
However, a lack of changes to the body could suggest that we won’t be getting the significantly better battery life that had been expected on the Note 9.
The Note 8 was also thought to come with a larger sAMOLED QHD+ screen, but now it appears this will not be the case, and that we are likely to see the same 6.3 inch screen that featured on the Note 8, but packed more tightly onto a slightly smaller body.
If the latest leak is correct, the in-screen fingerprint detection feature will have to wait for the release of the Samsung Galaxy S10 at least.
Instead, expect the Note 9 to feature the same kind of fingerprint technology that we’ve got used to on Samsung’s high-end phones — a rear-mounted sensor.
If Samsung sticks to its tried and tested launch schedule, we can expect the Galaxy Note 9 to be launched at the summer IFA conference, although it has been rumoured it may be released earlier in order to beat the next generation of the iPhone X to shelves.
Yesterday an image purporting to be the Note 9 leaked, and the image appears to support the idea that changes from the Note 8 are minimal.
