Galaxy S9 Release Date May Be Much Sooner Than Expected
It was only a few days ago that Samsung started sending out invitations to its Galaxy S9 reveal event. After months of rumors, we finally have confirmation that Samsung will reveal the phone during an Unpacked event at MWC 2018. It's great that Samsung finally made that official, but now we shift our attention to when the company's new flagship might actually launch.
Many rumors and reports claim that the phone and its big brother, the Galaxy S9+, will launch sometime in March, with some disagreement on when exactly that will be. We're getting a better idea of when Samsung plans to the launch the Galaxy S9 today, at least as far as its domestic release is concerned.
A new report from ETNews claims that Samsung will fast-track the launch of the Galaxy S9 after revealing it in Barcelona on February 26 (or February 25 for those of us here in the US). Just a few days later – on March 2 – it will open up pre-orders in South Korea. That pre-order period will last one week, ending on March 8 with the phone presumably launching shortly after that. While this information only applies to South Korea, we can probably expect something similar for the rest of the world in this age of global launches.
This shortened pre-sale period suggests that Samsung is looking to get the Galaxy S9 in the hands of consumers quickly. ETNews points out that other major Android manufacturers like Huawei and LG won't have big reveals scheduled for MWC, so in launching the Galaxy S9 earlier than usual, Samsung could get a leg up on the competition when it comes to spring flagship season. It would also give Samsung a chance to capitalize on slow iPhone X sales, assuming a rumor we heard today is accurate.
The report from ETNews also gives us an idea of how much the Galaxy S9 will cost when it does eventually arrive. We're told that the the Galaxy S9 will cost 950,000 to 999,000 KRW ($886 to $932 USD), representing a slight increase over the cost of the Galaxy S8, which clocked in at 935,000 KRW ($871). We'll see if any of these rumors hold true soon enough, so stay tuned.