Samsung Galaxy S9, S9+ set to launch on February 25: Here’s everything we know so far

Samsung’s Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ will come with improved photography and performance.

Samsung Galaxy S9, S9+ set to launch on February 25 ahead of MWC 2018 (AFP)

Samsung's latest flagship smartphones Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ are set to be unveiled on February 25 ahead of the Mobile World Conference (MWC) in Barcelona.

The Korean giant has posted a teaser on its website announcing a 'Samsung Galaxy Unpacked' event. The teaser image features a '9' hinting at Galaxy S9-series along with a caption "The Camera. Reimagined'.

"IF A PICTURE IS WORTH a thousand words, the latest member of the Galaxy family has a lot to say. On February 25, Samsung Electronics will showcase the next generation of Galaxy devices that reimagines the camera and redefines the way you share your moments," said Samsung on its website.

"Samsung will mark the launch of the upcoming device with the Galaxy Unpacked celebration at 12 pm EST on February 25, 2018 (6 pm CET) during Mobile World Congress."

With its MWC event, Samsung has resumed its older launch cycles for its flagship products. The company has tweaked the product launch cycle after the Galaxy Note 7 debacle. It launched its Galaxy S8 in March last year, a month later than its usual unveiling of the flagship phones.

Samsung Galaxy S9: Specifications, features

Ahead of the official launch, Samsung's upcoming phone has been subjected to multiple leaks, giving us a fair idea on what to expect from the device.

Samsung Galaxy S9 series is expected to be an incremental upgrade over the predecessor but with some exceptions. For instance, Galaxy S9 will most likely run on the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor and its in-house Exynos 9810 processor.

Traditionally, Samsung launches Exynos-powered flagship smartphones in India. Unveiled in November last year, Samsung's Exynos 9810 succeeded Exynos 8895 SoC which runs on the current flagship lineup including the Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+ and Galaxy Note 8.

Exynos 9810 is believed to be a major upgrade as it brings peak download speeds of up to 1.2 Gbps through its hexa-band LTE band carrier aggregation technology. Based on advanced 2nd-generation 10 nanometer (nm) process technology, the processor has 3rd-generation custom CPU cores, upgraded GPU, and gigabit LTE modem.

Apart from performance upgrade, you can expect improved imaging capabilities from Samsung's latest flagship smartphones. The company earlier this week introduced new ISOCELL Camera sensors.

"ISOCELL Bright's Tetracell technology noticeably improves light sensitivity in low-light conditions by merging four neighbouring pixels to work as one big pixel. The Smart WDR feature permits multiple exposures in a single shot, resulting in greater detail for both bright and dark areas," Samsung said on its website.

The module also includes 3-stack FRS (Fast Readout Sensor) for high-speed capture at Full HD resolution, optical zoom, better light sensitivity, and DSLR-like depth effects. Just recently an alleged leaked retail box of Samsung Galaxy S9 revealed dual 12-megapixel rear cameras.

There are also rumours of Samsung launching a 512GB storage variant of the phone, making it one of the first phones to have such a massive storage on-board.

Apart from the camera and performance upgrades, Samsung Galaxy S9 is likely to retain the older features such as 18:5:9 screen ratio, facial recognition and similar form factor.