2017 has already seen the launch of the smartphone industry's biggest offerings such as Samsung's Galaxy S8 and Note 8, Apple's iPhone X, and Google's Pixel 2. Interestingly, there is already information even before the year ends regarding the flagship handsets arriving in 2018. For one, the Samsung Galaxy S9 release is rumored to happen sooner than expected, boasting a special camera that will mimic iPhone X's 3D facial recognition.

It looks like the iPhone X launch last September has set the bar higher for all the upcoming premium smartphones. As reported by WCCFTech, the Android lineup will follow the trend started by the Apple phone, specifically the facial biometric feature. The Samsung Galaxy S9 is expected to be the first Android-powered device to sport a 3D camera, which will allow a full facial recognition.

Reports claim that the South Korean tech giant is on its way to "reverse-engineer" the iPhone X's Face ID. After this, Samsung will finally have its own version of the Face ID feature for the Galaxy S9 smartphone. Specifically, the camera feature that Samsung is trying to replicate is the TrueDepth capability of the iPhone X image sensor. The TrueDepth feature allows an accurate 3D mapping of the user's face, which will be used by the Face ID for authentication.

For now, it is still uncertain if the Samsung Galaxy S9 will be keeping the fingerprint biometric or have it completely replaced by the 3D facial recognition. To note, Apple has not yet officially ditched the Touch ID fingerprint reader as it is still being used by the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus handsets. It is likely that Samsung will also remain committed to fingerprint scanning technology even with a Face ID-like feature around.

As for the release of Samsung Galaxy S9, rumor has it that the launch date can be as early as January 2018. The smartphone is expected to be released around two months earlier than usual, based on the Galaxy S8 and S8+ launch that happened in March this year.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 is said to have an earlier release date due to the organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display shipment for the device being shipped ahead of time. It is rumored that the shipping of the OLED screens will start as early as November. Looking at the production window of Galaxy S8 and S8+, the OLED displays were shipped in January, having a two-month space for production before they were unveiled in March. With the Galaxy S9, the estimated launch date will be January next year.