November 21, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics’ new flagship smartphone Galaxy S9 and its larger-screen variant Galaxy S9 Plus is expected to hit global market shelves on March 16, according to sources on Feb. 21.

In Korea, the tech giant will start receiving preorders for the pair through mobile carriers SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus from Feb. 28 after the Feb. 25 launch event -- which is a day before the beginning of the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona. Those who preorder the Galaxy smartphones can get their hands on the devices between March 9 to 15.

 

Samsung devices are on display.

“Samsung recently sent out the preorder and release schedules to mobile carriers,” an official from the local telecom industry said.

Some of the common features predicted for the two latest smartphone models are the 5.8-inch display for the S9 and a 6.2-inch display for the S9 Plus, iris recognition solutions, facial recognition technology, Samsung Pay and an upgraded Bixby.

Both the S9 and S9 Plus are forecast to feature an 8 megapixel front-facing camera and a 12MP rear-facing camera, but the larger variant’s rear-facing camera will likely have dual lenses. The fingerprint scanner, which is placed next to the rear camera lens in the S8, is to be repositioned under the rear camera lens.

Samsung is also expected to have a new location-based social media solution, called Uhssup, embedded in the new flagship phones. The company has applied for a trademark at the Korean patent office.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)