Samsung Galaxy Note 9 release date, specs rumors: Concept render sports an almost all-screen display with thin notch on top

Teaser image for the Samsung Galaxy Note 8YouTube/Samsung

The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is the grandest and most expensive handset released by the South Korean tech giant to date. The premium phablet received positive reviews from critics and regular phone users alike. With this, the expectations are high that its successor, the Galaxy Note 9, will create a bigger impact upon its launch next year, although Samsung has not yet confirmed any details about the device. Nevertheless, people have come up with their own concept renders to visualize what the Galaxy Note 9 could look like.

The latest concept image for the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 was created by visual artists at Science and Knowledge YouTube channel. The device was shown to have a body made of metal and glass, the same with the previous Samsung flagship devices. Looking at the rear side, the Galaxy Note 9 resembles its predecessor with a dual camera module positioned right beside the fingerprint scanner. These features look somewhat small compared to the over-all size of the phabelt, although the concept render might not have used exact dimensions.

Speaking of the rear-positioned fingerprint sensor, there were rumors that the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 will feature an in-display biometric scanner to answer the users' complaints regarding the awkward placement of the reader. Given that the Galaxy Note 9 concept image is just the artist's own interpretation of the future device, Samsung may still reveal a different design.

Perhaps the most noticeable element from the latest Samsung Galaxy Note 9 concept render is the thin notch at the top of the front display. To note, the Galaxy Note 8 is known for its immersive Infinity display with really thin bezels. As per the concept image, the Galaxy Note 9 still has the almost non-existent bezels, although the full view display is quite affected by the notch. Apple's 2017 flagship, the iPhone X, also has a similar notch feature which is used for the facial recognition scanner. The concept designer did not indicate the function of the notch in his Galaxy Note 9 design.

Meanwhile, a Chinese tech tipster has released a list of 2018 flagship handsets powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chip. The chipset maker recently announced the successor to Snapdragon 835 processor, which is powering most of the flagship devices launched this year. The list includes the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, as well as the OnePlus 6 and Google Pixel 3. It is expected that the Galaxy Note 9 will receive significant boost in performance and battery power efficiency due to this chip upgrade.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 will likely be unveiled in August 2018, the same month when the Galaxy Note 8 was officially announced this year.