Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Specs, Pricing, Release Date And The Rebirth Of Bixby

Samsung's mainline Galaxy S series of smartphones is without question one of the strongest selling smartphone brands on the planet, but the company's Galaxy Note line is also extremely popular. The Galaxy Note is truly a mobile productivity powerhouse and includes a handy stylus for whenever you need to take notes. It has in fact cultivated a dedicated following in its own right. 

Interestingly enough, the Galaxy Note 9 has succumbed to not one, but two Geekbench leaks, with the second giving us a hint that Samsung will be able to eke a little bit more out of the single-threaded performance. Earlier this week, we also learned that Bixby 2.0 would make an introduction on the device. Though details are scarce, Samsung is upping its AI game and is planning to expand its AI workforce to up to 1,000 employees, and wants to create AI centers in different parts of the world.

While last year's Galaxy Note 8 was released in the August - September time frame, it appears that Samsung may be interested in pulling the schedule ahead a little bit, possibly releasing the Galaxy Note 9 in July according to the latest rumors. The new phone is also said to be a bit larger, with a 6.38-inch display vs. 6.32-inches for the Galaxy Note 8, and it's allegedly going to be the first Samsung phone with a fingerprint reader built into the screen. That would make it one of the exceptionally rare phones on the market to include that design (an obscure phone in Asia debuted the feature months ago), but it'd definitely be the first to offer a phone with the global reach of Samsung.

As for pricing, that of course is still up-in-the-air as well, although it's widely expected that not much will change from one generation to the next, so the Galaxy Note 9 will likely cost around $900 for the base model. However, given Samsung's past tendencies, you should expect to see some attractive trade-in offers along with freebie accessories that will be bundled in to make customers feel like they're getting a bargain.