Samsung is looking to shake things up next year. According to a well-known Android phone leaker, the manufacturer will release not two, but three handsets next year.
While that lineup would, presumably, include the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ flagship, the company is also rumored to revive its “mini” line with a 5-inch Galaxy S9 Mini that sports the same edge-to-edge and curved screen design as its larger stablemates, according to leaker Ice Universe, who has a pretty consistent track record of posting reliable leaks to Twitter and Weibo.
Of course, other than the size and the fact that it would feature Samsung’s curved Infinity Display, Ice Universe didn’t provide any other details or specifications about the rumored device. From what we know currently, the Galaxy S9 lineup is likely to be released in the first quarter of 2018.
It’s worth noting, at this point, that there were previous rumors of Samsung releasing both a Galaxy S7 Mini and a Galaxy S8 Mini. Neither of those turned out to be true. Samsung hasn’t commented on the matter, though with the leaker’s track record, there’s a good chance that the OEM is at least exploring the option for 2018.
On the other hand, consumers seem to be moving in the other direction. Larger model phones, like Apple’s iPhone Plus devices, are gaining popularity across several markets. That’s one of the reasons why smartphone manufacturers have shied away from releasing flagship devices that are smaller (and it’s probably the reason why we haven’t seen an iPhone SE refresh yet).
Then again, the iPhone SE proved to be a surprising breakthrough success. And a recent Reddit thread about a possible Galaxy S9 Mini has gotten a lot of positive response, too. So the demand for smaller devices might still be there.
Apple fans may note that the three-device lineup echoes rumors of Cupertino’s plans for next year. According to analysts and supply chain reports, Apple is also set to debut three devices next year: an OLED iPhone X successor, a possible OLED iPhone X Plus, and a lower-priced iPhone with an LCD display.
