A video has been revealed on Weibo that apparently showcases a dummy unit of the upcoming Galaxy S9. In spite of it not being the original thing, many are of the opinion that this is indeed what the Galaxy S9 will look like when it comes out next month at the MWC 2018 in Barcelona. If that turns out to be true then Samsung could indeed be following Apple in making the S9 a less premium unit by giving it just one rear camera, instead of the dual rear camera setup on the S9+. Check out the video for more details on this.

One must admit that this year has been exceptionally quite as far as pre-release leaks of the Galaxy S9 and S9+ are concerned. By this time last year, we had seen multiple unofficial leaks that had revealed the Galaxy S8 and S8+ to us. While that is a bit disappointing in terms of leaked news, it is good for Samsung as for a change, there is still a bit of mystery surrounding the Galaxy S9 this time around. Not that we do not more or less know what to expect mind you.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

Earlier reports in regard to market share in India had shown that Xiaomi and Samsung were tied at the number one spot last quarter and now the unthinkable has happened; Samsung has been dethroned as the market leader of the smartphone business in India by the Chinese manufacturer! Not that it was unexpected though, given how rapidly Xiaomi has grown in India, especially after launching their own manufacturing and assembling plants in the country to reduce the expenses.

According to the data published by Canalys, Samsung's shipment of 7.4 million smartphones in Q4 2017 paled in comparison to Xiaomi's 8.2 million shipments in the country. This essentially puts Samsung in the second spot with 25% of the total market share and Xiaomi at the top spot with 27%. Vivo, Oppo and Lenovo took the following spots with significantly lower market shares. It should be noted that Samsung India's smartphone sector did show a 17% rise in growth, but it was just not enough to topple Xiaomi's meteoric rise to the top spot, all thanks to its superb range of budget and mid-range smartphones that offer better specs than any Samsung smartphone in the same price range.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

Samsung is about to come out with two new flagship handsets next month, namely the Galaxy S9 and S9+, but it's going to be a while before we see the Galaxy Note 9. As of now, the Note 8 is the king of Samsung smartphones and therefore, it is only fitting that we take a look at how good the smartphone really is when it comes to playing games. We will be judging the Note 8 on three gaming categories; performance, display and battery life.

Performance

Both the Exynos 8895 chip powering the international variant and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC powering the US and Chinese versions are two of the most powerful Android chips of 2017; which means that you are not going to have to compromise on performance, irrespective of the variant you have in your country. Supported by 6 gigs of RAM, the Note 8's CPU and GPU runs through even the most demanding of Android games like hot knife through butter.

Display

The 6.3-inch, QHD+, Super AMOLED, HDR display in its 18.5:9 borderless form factor is without a shadow of doubt, the most beautiful smartphone display in existence at the moment and it is quite possibly the best when it comes to gaming as well. In fact, we found the 521 ppi screen density, alongside the reliable battery life and serious horsepower under the hood to be excellent for long sessions of playing live casino games, as well as the most demanding 3D games available on the Play Store. The bottom-line is, the Galaxy Note 8's display is unmatched in every possible way when it comes to gaming or watching high-quality content.

Battery Life

Now, the battery inside the Note 8 is actually smaller than that of the S8+ (3,500mAh) at only 3,300mAh, but that doesn't affect battery life too much to be honest. Sure, we could have used a larger battery, but unless you are looking to compare it with a Xiaomi device that's sporting a smaller display and a bigger battery at the same time, the Note 8 will not leave you high and dry in the middle of gaming. Even if you start to run out of juice by the end of a busy day, the ridiculously fast charging tech will recharge your smartphone from 0 - 100% in roughly 100-minutes!

As you have probably realized by now, the Galaxy Note 8 is the perfect gaming machine on the go and the in-built Samsung Game Launcher basically turns it into a portable console. So yes, the Galaxy Note 8 is as good as it gets when it comes to gaming or any other form of mobile entertainment for that matter.

The Galaxy S9 and S9+ will be launched in roughly a month, but are you ready for it? Well, aside from oodles of cash which the phones will surely demand, here is everything you need to know to about the S9 and S9+.

• It will be launched during the last week of February, at the Mobile World Congress 2018 in Barcelona
• There will be a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 variant and a Exynos 980 variant, just like always
• Both versions will sport 4GB of RAM as well
• The 18.5:9 form factor will be retained at the same 5.8-inch and 6.2-inch sizes as the S8 and S8+ respectively
• The displays won't be 4K as Samsung will stick to the beautiful HD+ AMOLED displays
• The fingerprint scanner will remain at the S9's back, but it will be moved to a more comfortable position in the middle and below the camera
• Basic storage will begin at 64GB
• Dual camera setup is expected on both the devices (contrary to previous rumors)
• One of the two cameras will sport a revolutionary f/1.5 aperture size for incredible lowlight photography
• Improved face scanning with a 3D lens is rumored
• Better battery life is expected, but Samsung may not give these handsets a bigger battery.

This, in a nutshell is what we know about the Galaxy S9 and S9+ till now, but feel free to fill in the gaps as you see fit.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

While the Galaxy S9 and S9+ are still more than a month away from being revealed at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next month, it must be admitted that by this time last year, we were already seeing a lot of leaked S8/S8+ images. Nevertheless, we have the second best thing for you and that's... err... a leaked image of the official Galaxy S9 box. It may sound a little disappointing at first, but the image does reveal some interesting and exciting new details.

Aside from confirming some of the previously rumored details, the highlight of this leak are the camera details, which are as follows.

Super Speed Dual Pixel 12MP OIS (F1.5/F2.4)

Super Slow-mo

8MP AF Selfie Cam

Stereo Speaker Tuned by AKG

IP68 Water and Dust Resistant

64GB Memory/4GB RAM

Wireless Charging

Earphones Tuned by AKG

Personally, I really hope this leak is true because of a different reason; if this is indeed an authentic image of the upcoming Galaxy S9's box, then it means that Samsung has not taken the Apple route and both the S9 and the S9+ will have the same set of dual cameras.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)