The Galaxy Note 9 is set to be another disappointment

The Note 9 is said to have the same design as the Note 8. This is in line with Samsung’s trend of minor cosmetic changes in its latest flagships. Just look at the Galaxy S9 and S9+. Both these phones are strikingly similar to their predecessors, the S8 and S8+ respectively. This trend has definitely not turned out well for Samsung, which can be judged by the fact that the S9 sold a lower amount of units than the S7. This lead to Samsung reporting a 4% decrease in revenue quarter by quarter.

A leaked press render of the Note 9 has revealed what the next flagship phablet from Samsung might look like. As can be seen in the image above, the Note 9’s front will be similar to that of the Note 8, with minimal changes to the bezels on the bottom of the phone, which have been slightly reduced relative to the bezels present on the bottom of the Note 8.

Bigger changes are expected on the phone’s back. Below the horizontal dual-lens camera setup sits the fingerprint sensor, which was placed on the side of the Note 8. Previous leaks showed a triple-lens camera setup on the Note 8 but that rumor got shut down when another leak of the Note 9 emerged showcasing the dual-lens setup.

The Note 9 has been dubbed to have “bigger everything” by numerous industry experts. The maximum storage is said to be 512 GB while the display has been upsized to 6.4-inches, a meager upgrade of 0.1-inch from the screen of the Note 8. Additionally, the Note 9 is also said to have 8 GB RAM, which will be the highest amount of RAM offered by Samsung in their phones.

Another notable upgrade to the Note 9 will be to its stylus, which is said to come with Bluetooth support that enables the stylus to derive power from the Bluetooth connection instead of relying on wireless power transfer from the phone’s display. Last but not the least, the Note 9 is rumored to have a 4000 mAh battery, which is probably meant to counter consumer complaints of short battery life on Note devices. However, considering the fact that the Note 9 is not expected to have fast charge support, consumers might get agitated by the time it takes the 4000 mAh battery to top up.

Overall though, the Note 9 is expected to be similar to the Note 8. In this time of despair in the smartphone industry wherein demand is fading away and innovation is direly needed, do you think Samsung’s policy of offering minor upgrades in all its flagships will help pave the way to success?