Samsung has confirmed that it will unveil its Galaxy S9 smartphone at MWC on Sunday 25 February at 6pm CET (9am PST, 12pm EST, 5pm GMT). Samsung revealed a teaser highlighting a ‘reimagined’ camera. Given Samsung’s clout in the Android market, rightly or wrongly, the event is likely to receive huge attention which will spill over into the days after.
Sony Mobile will be holding its press conference the morning after, at 08.30 CET on Monday 26 February 2018. Sony is expected to announce its new flagship Xperia device, but there is a real risk the event is overshadowed by Samsung’s reveal the night before.
From 02.25.2018. #Unpacked will change how you experience everything. pic.twitter.com/llrGt0Q6gF
— Samsung Mobile (@SamsungMobile) January 25, 2018
The Samsung Galaxy S9 is expected to see few design changes versus last year’s S8. Rumours so far point to a variable aperture camera (between f1.5 and f2.4), which has tiny aperture blades that open and close depending on light levels, much like a real camera. It is also rumoured to use Samsung’s new ISOCELL sensors for better low light pictures.
We don’t know how much of a departure design-wise Sony will be making with its new flagship. We have already seen rumours that the company will do away with the headphone jack, which could point to a more radical change than expected. So there’s a good chance that Sony’s new devices will hold their own. Whatever happens, we just hope that Sony’s new Xperia products are available to the market shortly after. Last year’s three month gap between Xperia XZ Premium announcement and release was painful.
