Samsung Galaxy S9 Release Date Rumors Suggest Android Oreo Features

Rumors pertaining to the Galaxy S9 continue to surface and the most recent news suggests Samsung is currently testing Android 8.0 Oreo for the upcoming smartphone. While the claim comes from Galaxy Club, there are currently no details to back up the rumor. However, it is highly likely that the Galaxy S9 would run the latest Android operating system.

Google released Android 8.0 Oreo in August, which was too late for it to run on the Galaxy Note 8. But Samsung would have enough time to fashion the system in accordance with devices to be released in 2018.

Reports from September suggested that Samsung was already working on firmware for the Galaxy S9, which could be its Samsung Experience custom interface. The firmware numbers G960FXXU0AQI5 and G965FXXU0AQI5 were leaked, indicating there are at least two devices in the works -- potentially the Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy S9+. They reveal the model numbers SM-G960 and SM-G965, which succeed the SM-G950 and SM-G955 model numbers for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+.

Samsung has since announced the Samsung Experience 9.0 and its availability for beta testing on the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. There has also been news of Samsung developing an AI focused software, which may be featured on the Galaxy S9. Reports peg the software, called Galaxy Ai UX as a rebrand, but there is no word on whether it is a rebrand of Samsung’s current AI software, Bixby or of Samsung Experience as a whole.

Rumors currently suggest the Galaxy S9 could release as early as January, during CES 2018. There is also potential for the device to be announced in the more typical late February timeframe, coinciding with Mobile World Congress or in late March, similar to the Galaxy S8 launch.