Samsung Galaxy Note 9 release date, price, news and leaks

Update: We've now had our first real look at what the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 might look like, thanks to leaked renders.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 launch date is likely two months away, according to a new leak that hints at a release date weeks sooner than previous years.

The Note 9 is always big news because it's an Android phone with a large screen and handy S Pen, although rumors of an in-screen fingerprint sensor may be premature.

Instead, we're likely to see Bixby 2.0 and an improved dual-lens camera, maybe one with the HDR video recording left out of the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus.

Today, we're sorting through the rumors and leaks (there are a lot of them), and to do that we've gotten out our trusty S Pen stylus ready to declare which are plausible, and which are just wishful thinking.

Here's everything we know about Samsung's extra-big Android phone.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 release date

• Earlier launch date expected: Thursday, August 9 at Samsung Unpacked
• Earlier release date expected: Before the next iPhone launch event

You may be able to get your hands on the Galaxy Note 9 sooner than anticipated, as the Samsung Unpacked launch event may be in early August.

Thursday, August 9 is the rumored launch date, with the announcement expected to happen in New York City. Last year's phone was announced on August 23.

There's been a lot of evidence backing this up. The Note 9, said to be codenamed 'Crown', supposedly had a prototype ready in the first quarter of 2018, noted The Investor. It cites market watchers who pinned the phone for early to mid August.

Samsung was also said to be testing firmware for the phone ahead of schedule, two weeks earlier than where it was with the software for the Note 8. And remember, the S9 firmware was tested earlier than the S8 and that went on to launch earlier, too.

Supply chain sources are also reporting that screen panels were being built for it two months earlier than normal, going as far as calling out a late July launch date. That's a little too ambitious. August 9 sounds like a much more likely date.

Why the earlier release date?

Samsung needs the Note 9 is be attention-grabbing enough to outlast the iPhone X2 and iPhone 9 phones that Apple is likely to unveil in early September.

Sure, the Note series is always announced first, but by the time Note phones actually comes out, the hype surrounding Apple's new iPhones is already at a fever-pitch.

That's the No. 1 reason why we expect Samsung to give us the Galaxy Note 9 earlier. It needs to get its phone in its first customers hands in August or early September at the very latest.

The dimensions of the Galaxy Note 9 have also been supplied, with the phone apparently coming in at 161.9 x 76.3 x 8.8mm, making it slightly shorter but marginally wider and thicker than the 162.5 x 74.8 x 8.6mm Galaxy Note 8. So the size is similar overall, which is no surprise, since the screen will apparently also stay at roughly 6.3 inches.

As there haven’t been any other images yet there’s nothing to compare these to, so take them with a grain of salt, but the source is solid and they look convincing enough.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 price

• It'll be an expensive whether or not it sees a price increase

The Note 9 price is unlikely to have the same good news that we're seeing from the early release date. Whenever it does arrive, it's bound to be expensive.

The Galaxy Note 8 retailed for $929 / £869 / AU$1,499 at launch and we can’t see Samsung lowering the price for the Note 9, especially now Apple has pushed smartphone prices even higher with its iPhone X.

Here's the Note 9 price wildcard: The S9 and S9 Plus saw a price increase in most countries. However, it was cheaper in the US. We may see another split decision, depending on where you buy the Note 9.

For now, you'll have to be satisfied with the Note 9's predecessor if you want a phone with a stylus on the cheap. Check out today's best Galaxy Note 8 deals.

Note 9 in-screen fingerprint sensor

The biggest Samsung Galaxy Note 9 rumor relates to its fingerprint scanner, which months of rumors have indicating could be built directly into the phone screen.

We've seen (and tested) in-screen fingerprint sensors in phones out of China, and A Samsung is testing multiple in-screen solutions and will probably use one of them, a move which could also apparently allow room for a larger battery in the Note 9.

That tallies with a source who's said the Note 9 will have both an in-screen scanner and a big 3,850mAh battery.

However, a slightly earlier rumor points to the in-screen fingerprint sensor skipping the Note 9, just like it did on the S9 and S9 Plus, Note 8 and S8 and S8 Plus before. There's more reason to believe it'll show up on the Galaxy X (Galaxy S10 next year).

Both Samsung and Apple have been rumored to be working on this but failed to achieve it in time for their most recent handsets, pushing Samsung to move the scanner to a sub-optimal position on the back of the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Note 8, while Apple ditched it altogether from the iPhone X.