Samsung Galaxy Note 9 image suggests the phone looks identical to the Note 8

We’ve seen a number of Samsung Galaxy Note 9 renders now, but a new one gives us perhaps our closest look yet at the front of the phone and it’s very, very familiar. In fact, it’s seemingly identical to the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.

Shared by AndroidHeadlines, the image apparently came from a ‘reliable source’, so reliable in fact that the site considers this to be confirmation of the design. Personally, we’re going to treat it like any other leak and take it with a pinch of salt, but it does seem to line up with what we’ve seen before.

Details include a large screen with slim bezels at the top and bottom, a single key (likely the power button) on the right edge and two buttons (probably the volume rocker and Bixby button) on the left, just like on the Note 8. 

The front-facing camera, iris scanner and sensors all seem to be laid out identically too.

This is apparently what the Note 9 will look like. Credit: AndroidHeadlines

This is apparently what the Note 9 will look like. Credit: AndroidHeadlines

Spot the difference

As AndroidHeadlines notes, it’s possible that the bottom bezel might be a tiny bit smaller here, but it’s hard to say for sure. And in comparison to earlier renders the S Pen silo is perhaps less obvious, but at most the design looks to have been ever so slightly tweaked.

That is, from the front. The source didn’t provide an image of the Galaxy Note 9’s rear, but based on previous images we are expecting some changes there, most notably to the position of the fingerprint scanner, which will probably now sit below the camera lenses.

So the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 probably won’t be totally identical to the Samsung Galaxy 8, but it looks like it will be very similar. Hopefully there will be bigger changes on the inside.

James Rogerson

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.