Samsung Galaxy S9, S9+ release date, specs rumors: Next flagship smartphone to include 512GB built-in storage, no microSD card expansion?

The expected arrival of the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ smartphones next year is not yet confirmed, but the South Korean tech giant may have provided a small glimpse on what to expect with its next flagship device. The company recently announced that the smartphone industry is about to see the first-ever 512-gigabyte (GB) internal storage solution very soon.

As reported by BGR, Samsung has already commenced with the mass production of built-in 512GB memory. Specifically, this incredibly huge internal storage is an eUFS chip that will offer "unparalleled storage capacity and outstanding performance for upcoming flagship smartphones and tablets," as stated in Samsung's official press release last Tuesday. With regards to the Galaxy S9, the announcement made no mention about the company's next premium phone.

Nevertheless, tech spectators could not help but notice how timely the 512GB internal storage announcement was made with the anticipated launch of the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ devices early next year. The rumors are rife that the 2018 flagship smartphones will arrive a bit earlier than the usual, possibly being unveiled this January. With the ongoing mass production of the eUFS memory chip, the Galaxy S9 would be the best candidate for now to receive the massive storage upgrade.

So far, the Galaxy Note 8 offers the biggest built-in storage capacity among the current Samsung Galaxy devices with 256GB. Still, this premium phablet has limited availability in the market, not to mention its hefty price due to the huge memory bump. The Samsung Galaxy S9 receiving a 512GB built-in storage would be such a great feat for an Android-powered smartphone, given that non-Apple devices rely on expandable memory to get an extra 400GB space. 

With the Galaxy S9 having a massive 512GB internal memory, it could mean that the smartphone will no longer need expandable storage. According to Tech Radar, it is possible that the upcoming Samsung flagship will not have a microSD slot, especially with such an expansive built-in storage. The advantage of this will be the faster file processing in flash memory, as compared to expandable storage.