Samsung Galaxy S9, S9 Plus release date, specs rumors: Possible launch in spring 2018 plus faster connection and better fingerprint sensors?

The Samsung Galaxy S8Samsung/galaxy-8

The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus are the latest in the company's line of S-devices. People are already buzzing, however, about the models that are next in line, namely the S9 and the S9 Plus, which might be released in spring of 2018. The upcoming phones just might be the fastest smartphones in the world to date, too. 

Many avid Samsung users are speculating what features the S9 and the S9 Plus could possibly have, particularly regarding the connectivity speed of the upcoming models. Could the S9 become the fastest smartphone in the world? It certainly seems so. 

The company recently announced that it is developing a new kind of LTE modem for its new Exynos chipsets, which could support up to six carrier aggregation. This is an upgrade from the current Exynos chipsets in the Galaxy S8 models, which support up to five carrier aggregation.

This new LTE modem also means that download speeds could reach a maximum of 1.2 gigabits per second. Users can download a two-hour, high-definition movie in just a few minutes. Videos that are streamed will have little to no buffering time, as well. This improvement also means faster data transfers for users.

As for the S9's possible other features, a new and improved fingerprint sensor may be included. The S9 might not necessarily be incredibly different in appearance from the S8, but Samsung might fix the faulty fingerprint sensors this time. How?

The S9 and S9 plus may be ditching the physical fingerprint sensor to make room for an infinity display. Instead of having a physical button, Qualcomm has developed new technology that could allow Samsung to embed the fingerprint sensor directly into the OLED screen. This tech will likely be already available by next year, which means the Samsung Galaxy S9 might be one of, if not the first, smartphone in the market to have such a feature. 

The release date has not yet been determined, but if there is anything to learn from the reveals and launches of the S9's predecessors, an announcement may probably be made by February 2018, with a launch somewhere between March and April.