Samsung’s upcoming flagship smartphones — Galaxy S9
and Galaxy S9 Plus, which are expected to launch a month earlier than their
predecessors, have passed an important milestone. Both the devices have been
certified by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the US, clearing a
major hurdle for the company to officially launch them.
The FCC has certified the international unlocked
models, which carries the model number SM-G960F and SM-G965F for the Galaxy S9
and Galaxy S9 Plus respectively. While the international variants have been
listed, there is no sign of the carrier-specific models as well the models for
the Asian market.
Although the phones have cleared the FCC
certification, the listing does not reveal specifications. Strangely, it
doesn’t even have the design sketch of the phone which is usually present in
the listing. This could be because Samsung applied for the clearance
certificate in mid-November and the design may not have been finalized then.
The phone’s certification at this point could be an
indication that the reports regarding the early announcement of the Galaxy S9
and Galaxy S9 Plus are indeed true. Several reports have suggested that South
Korean giant’s next-generation flagship smartphones will be officially
announced at Mobile World Congress 2018 in February.
According to the rumours, the Galaxy S9 series will
not be a significant upgrade to the Galaxy S8 series and will instead be
focusing on providing a more refined user experience. The phone’s design will
be almost similar to that of the Galaxy S8 series. The Galaxy S9 is expected to
feature a 5.8-inch display whereas the Galaxy S9 Plus is expected to come with
a 6.2-inch display. Both will flaunt a bezel-less Infinity Display.
The rumour mill suggests that the Galaxy S9 will
feature a single camera on the back panel while the S9 Plus will feature a dual
camera setup, stacked vertically. The Galaxy S9 will have an integrated
front-facing camera setup that will include two cameras — one for Iris scanning
while the other one for photography.
While there is a possibility of the Samsung Galaxy
S9 series devices getting announced at MWC, the phone’s are not expected to go
on sale immediately after the announcement. It may take a couple of weeks to
make the devices available in the market. The availability of the devices is
expected to be in early March.
