A purported image of the Samsung Galaxy S9 retail box could reveal critical features on the new device.
One of the worst-kept secrets in the smartphone market has been outed once again. A potential leak of the Samsung Galaxy S9's box could tell users everything they wanted to know about the upcoming phone's specs — and then some.
(Image credit: minhvn / Reddit)
A poster on a Reddit page has published an image of a person holding what might be the packaging for Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S9. To be clear, it's impossible to verify its legitimacy and accuracy, but the image appears to be from someone who has gained early access to the box, and shared it for the world to see.
The image, which Samsung news site SamMobile reported on earlier, shows a list of specs that could be coming to the smartphone, including a 5.8-inch Infinity Display featuring a quad-HD resolution. As has been rumored, the Galaxy S9 allegedly won't come with dual rear-facing cameras, but instead, a dual-pixel rear-facing camera with a 12-megapixel sensor, according to the box in the image.
Aside from that, the smartphone will come with a lot of what you'd expect, including an 8-megapixel front-facing "selfie" camera, stereo speakers, IP68 water- and dust-resistance, and 64 GB onboard storage. Samsung has also installed 4 GB RAM in the device, and says the phone will support wireless charging, according to the box.
All of the specs outlined on the box have been rumored for months, leaving few surprises, assuming it's the real deal. But perhaps the biggest feature of note is Samsung's iris scanner.
Rumors have been swirling for months over whether Samsung would offer a 3D face scanner in the Galaxy S9, like the Face ID you'd find in an iPhone X. The latest reports suggest that it will not. Although the box doesn't provide direct insight into what Samsung has planned, the company's decision to highlight an iris scanner instead of a full face scanner is perhaps telling.
For its part, Samsung has remained tight-lipped on its plans for the Galaxy S9. At CES earlier this week, the company would only say that it will unveil the Galaxy S9 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next month. From there, it's likely that Samsung will release the handset in March.
Until then, expect the leaks to keep flooding in — and for most of them to exceedingly accurate.
Don Reisinger is CEO and founder of D2 Tech Agency. A communications strategist, consultant, and copywriter, Don has also written for many leading technology and business publications including CNET, Fortune Magazine, The New York Times, Forbes, Computerworld, Digital Trends, TechCrunch and Slashgear. He has also written for Tom's Guide for many years, contributing hundreds of articles on everything from phones to games to streaming and smart home.
4GB RAM and 64GB storage doesn't seem a lot for a 2018 flagship smartphone. My OnePlus 5 (which probably costs only around 60% of what Samsung S9 willcost) has 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. And yes, I'm glad that I have 8GB RAM, as my average RAM usage is around 4.7GB, so 4GB would be a bit too little... IMHO
