Plus-size has been the craze in the smartphone industry recently, but Samsung seems to know that bigger is not always better for everyone. A fresh tip from China reveals that the Korean tech giant is making a full-screen compact handset, and rumor has it that it will be released under the Galaxy S brand next year.
The information comes from notorious tipster Ice Universe, the same guy who leaked details of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 ahead of its launch this August. Sharing the news on Chinese social networking site Weibo, the source claimed that the smartphone in development is a small, full screen that measures less than 5 inches. However, Samsung is reportedly undecided yet whether to release it or not.
The post, according to Tech Radar, does not specify what the handset will be called, but speculation is rife that it could be the Samsung Galaxy S9 Mini. However, it seems unlikely that it will be released at this juncture, especially because the company decided against releasing a small variant of S8 this year.
In the past, Samsung has rolled out compact versions of its Galaxy S devices which had less power, performance, and features than the standard one. The last Mini variant was part of the Galaxy S5 series which sported a 4.5-inch super AMOLED touchscreen — only half an inch smaller than the Galaxy S5. It housed a fingerprint scanner and heart rate monitor, all powered by a 1.4GHz processor and 2,100mAh battery.
There were rumors of the Mini's return to the Galaxy S line last year, but the phone clearly did not materialize. Unfortunately, with only one tip, it is still too early to tell whether or not the rumored S9 Mini would go the same way.
Still, given the sea of plus-sized phones lately, releasing one might not be a terrible idea. The iPhone SE, Apple's smallest smartphone, topped customer satisfaction in the US this summer. Sporting only a 4-inch display, it ranked first in the Annual Customer Satisfaction Index mainly for its compact size and cheap price tag.
