Early Galaxy Note 9 release report blames the Galaxy S9

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It's here, the first early Galaxy Note 9 release report. Whenever a new Samsung flagship in the pipeline we tend to hear reports that Samsung is going to release the handset earlier than its predecessor. There were similar reports for the Galaxy S9 which turned out to be true as the Galaxy S9 was announced on February 25, 2018 and released on March 16. The Galaxy S8 was announced on March 29, 2017 and released on April 21.

So it's not surprising to see a report out of South Korea claim that the Galaxy Note 9 release is likely going to take place earlier than expected. It blames less-than-steller performance of the Galaxy S9 for that.

Early Galaxy Note 9 release

According to the report, the Galaxy Note 9 is going to be released earlier than the Galaxy Note 8 to make up for the less-than-stellar sales of the Galaxy S9. Samsung apparently wants to outshine Apple's new iPhones as well which is why it may consider an early release. Apple's new iPhones aren't expected until September this year.

Samsung hasn't revealed the sales figures for its new flagship just yet but it expects Galaxy S9 sales to outperform the Galaxy S8. However, a recent report claimed that the Galaxy S9 is proving to be a tough sell in South Korea as customers aren't too enthusiastic about the handset. We also reported recently that 36 percent of Galaxy S8 owners don't feel the need to upgrade to the Galaxy S9. There could be some truth to reports that the Galaxy S9 sales are not up to the company's expectations.

Just in case you forgot, the Galaxy Note 8 was announced on August 23, 2017 and Samsung started taking pre-orders in key markets the very next day. It released the Galaxy Note 8 on September 15.

This report about an early Galaxy Note 9 release is based on predictions that Samsung Display is going to start producing the 6.38-inch OLED panel for the Galaxy Note 9 next month, two months before it normally does that for an upcoming flagship phablet. It is thus claimed that the next Note flagship could be released “as early as July or August.” Samsung Display declined to comment on the production schedule.

We did report last week that Samsung has started firmware development for the Galaxy Note 9 two weeks earlier than it did for the Galaxy Note 8 last year. It also started firmware development for the Galaxy S9 a fortnight before it did for the Galaxy S8.

While that's enough to form an assumption that the Galaxy Note 9 release could take place earlier than expected, it's far from confirmed at this point in time. Take this information with a grain of salt for now as we'll likely see conflicting reports about the Galaxy Note 9 release in the months to come.

Adnan Farooqui - Executive Editor

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First Samsung device: SGH-E900

Adnan Farooqui is a long-term writer at SamMobile. Based in Pakistan, his interests include technology, finance, Swiss watches and Formula 1. His tendency to write long posts betrays his inclination to being a man of few words.