Huge Galaxy Note 9 Leak: First Impressions and Specs

We're still a few months away from Samsung unveiling the Galaxy Note 9, though various leaks have already given us some idea about what to expect from the hardware powering the next-generation phablet.

A new report on just what's inside the Note 9 comes from a Russian journalist who claims to have been shown the phone in advance of the August 9 press event where the phone will debut. As spotted by BGR, Eldar Murtazin of Mobile Review has dished the details on the Note 9's specs, including everything from the device's storage and RAM allotments to the upgraded camera.

Rumored Note 9 Specs

One of the biggest additions to the Note 9 appears to be a larger battery. According to Murtazin, the battery will see a sizable upgrade, from 3,300 mAh on last year's Note 8 to 4,000 mAh for the new phone. Samsung played it safe with the Note 8's battery after the Note 7 debacle, though it seems the company is feeling confident about its ability to produce a higher capacity battery while meeting its self-imposed standards for safety.

The Note 8's dual-lens camera system will also probably return in the Note 9, though its running gear will be more similar to that of the Galaxy S9+, according to the report. That means the Note 9 will benefit from Samsung's new variable aperture system, as well as sensors with memory built right in to enable super-slow motion video. Murtazin noted an improvement to optical image stabilization, which could greatly benefit both stills and recordings.

Samsung's Super AMOLED display technology is the standard bearer for displays in smartphones today, and based on the report, the Note 9 will see a slight increase in brightness. In all likelihood, this is probably akin to the improvement to luminosity we observed between the screens in the Galaxy S8 and S9.

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Murtazin says the Note 9 will be sold in three different configurations — a base model with 6GB of memory and 64GB of storage, as well as more expensive variants with 8GB of RAM and either 256GB or 512GB of storage. If true, this wouldn't be the first time Samsung sold high capacities of its flagship with more RAM — however, in the past not all of those models have made it to the U.S. Hopefully that changes if there are different Note 9 versions.

Finally, Samsung is expected to add Bluetooth support to the S Pen, a rumor we've heard previously. Murtazin doesn't elaborate as to how this could be used, nor does he shed light on what Bixby 2.0 has in store, as he says Samsung is still finalizing the software. In terms of design, the changes are even less pronounced — outside of the rear cameras being stacked horizontally, rather than vertically, the Note 9 should look almost exactly like its predecessor.

We'll find out for sure on August 9, when Samsung holds a press event to launch the Note 9.

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