Samsung Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9+ Said to Sport Higher Price, Impressive Scores Spotted on Geekbench

Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ are getting closer to being unveiled at the Galaxy Unpacked event, just ahead of Mobile World Congress 2018, in Barcelona. Although leaks, rumours, renders haven't left much to imagination, pricing and availability still remains a bit ambiguous. Fresh leaks have suggested a steep price hike for the upcoming flagship series. Separately, the Galaxy S9+ has been spotted on Geekbench for the first time. And, lastly, we have several more "sharper" renders of the two phones as well.

Pricing of Samsung's Galaxy S flagship phones has never been more of a mystery than this time around. Several reports have suggested that the Galaxy S9 duo will be priced higher than any other variant in the past. TechRadar now cites sources claiming that the Galaxy S9 will cost GBP 739 (roughly Rs. 66,600) in the UK, compared to the GBP 689 (roughly Rs. 62,100) price tag of the Galaxy S8. Alternatively, Clove UK claims the phone might have a starting price tag of GBP 800 (roughly 72,100), inclusive of VAT, in the country. And, finally, tipster Roland Quandt tweeted on Monday that the Galaxy S9 (64GB) will cost NOK 8,790 (roughly Rs. 72,600) and the Galaxy S9+ (64GB) will cost NOK 9,790 (roughly Rs. 80,900) in Norway. Previously, reports had suggested a starting price tag of GBP 789 (roughly Rs. 71,700) in the UK. We might have to wait till the official launch to get a clearer picture around the final pricing.

In yet another set of renders, reputed tipster Evan Blass has released larger, unmarked images of the upcoming Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+. The renders, at the least, confirm the design of the flagship duo, which will be similar to the Galaxy S8 in many aspects. We can also spot a dual camera setup on the bigger Galaxy S9+.

Talking about performance, the Samsung Galaxy S9+ has been spotted for the first time on benchmarking portal Geekbench's database. The smartphone scored an impressive 3773 in single-core performance and 9024 in multi-core performance. However, this is still below the single-core score of 4188 and multi-core score of 10069 set by the Apple iPhone X last year. Smaller sibling Galaxy S9 was seen on Geekbench's database earlier this month. The phone scored a decent 3648 in single-core and 8894 in multi-core performance.

Earlier this week, a report by WinFuture had revealed most of the details around the upcoming flagship range. You can check out all the expected specifications and features in our rumour roundup.

Stay tuned to Gadgets 360 for extensive coverage around Samsung's and other product announcements around and during MWC 2018.