Over a month ago Patently Apple posted a report titled "New Report Points to a Massive iPhone Blitz coming in Q4" wherein we learned that Apple was planning to launch iPhones in 2018 with larger OLED displays up to 6.4" to 6.5." While that's a great move for those who love phablets, Apple is still playing catch up with minor smartphone players like China's Xiaomi that currently offers the Mi Max 2 smartphone with a 6.44" display. Of course Apple's will be OLED vs. LCD from most competitors, but for most, it's the size and not the type of display that matters.

In a new Bloomberg report that repeats this news, they quote Gene Munster co-founder of Loup Ventures and a long-time Apple watcher. "When you have a measurable upgrade in screen size, people go to update their phone in droves. We saw that with the iPhone 6, and we think this is setting up to be a similar step up in growth."

The report is full of maybe features such as introducing a gold model and introducing E-SIM technology (that's a big maybe). The mention of Apple choosing a next gen processor and iOS version sounds like something that's just expected and not much of a revelation. You could read more on their report here.

Samsung just released their Galaxy S9 and you could find Samsung's official press release here that highlights the new features that were introduced on Sunday morning in Barcelona.

Earlier this month Patently Apple posted a report titled "Samsung's Galaxy S9 to Feature '3D Emoji,' a Direct Ripoff of Apple's iPhone X Animoji" Samsung's mobile chief actually had the nerve to pretend that its new animated emojis were absolutely not copying Apple. The man should be a comedian.

In rewriting history he claimed that they were working on 3D emojis in 2001. So ….. why did they only deliver them a few months after the iPhone X brought this feature to market?

Samsung had stated that Face ID wasn't reliable and that's why they chose iris scanning and yet, they raced to copy Apple Face ID. I guess that they had been working on that back in 1907 but just didn't get around to delivering it until Apple did. Didn't copy Apple, ha! – give me a break. They needed the new 3D depth face camera to pull off personalized emoji's.

The crazy thing to this is that they even decided to call them emojis when in fact they're really personalized Avatars. But confused customers want Samsung to match Apple's features, so they stuck with the incorrect branding of "AR Emojis."  Then again we expect stupidity like this to slip in during a Samsung Keynote.  

They didn't just copy Apple's Memoji, they slavishly copied Apple's 3D depth face Camera and Memoji concept in unison. That's a specific term that Phil Schiller used in Court back in 2012 in the lawsuit against Samsung that certainly applies today.

Samsung distinguished their version of Apple's Animoji by focusing on personal emoji's rather than Apple's version focusing on cuddly animals like bears, pigs, unicorns and, well, animated poo (okay, not so cuddly) as noted below.

The Korean rumor mill covering the Samsung Keynote stated that there were hints after the show that next year's Galaxy S10 (or whatever they call it) will introduce a 5G modem to get ahead of Apple's next premium iPhone in early 2019 unless Apple works with Intel to be the first smartphone to debut their 5G modem as a future-proof feature.

After Samsung's event on Sunday they were asked the question: "Do you have plans to change the naming of the next Galaxy S model?" Koh Dong-jin, head of the firm's mobile division replied that "Although Samsung will stick to Galaxy, we have been thinking about whether we need to maintain the S moniker or the numbering system."

Lastly on Samsung, the company hinted that their next-gen Bixby will debut with their Summer release of their new Galaxy Note and be superior to it's bungled first generation automated assistant.

While there will likely be more rumored features for Apple's 2018 premium iPhones, they'll likely be spread out over the year, with a ramp up over the summer, so stay tuned.

Below are a few Samsung S9 Keynote moments. The first shows their AI used with their backside camera to provide instant language translations of signs, menus and more; the second shows the S9 with Dolby Atmos audio built-in; and lastly the third shows the sizes of their new premium smartphones at 5.8" and 6.2" which beats Apple's current iPhone X display at 5.5". Maybe one of these days Apple will actually take the lead on displays sizes.

Then again, after this year's 6.4" model, there's not a lot larger that they could get unless they begin to introduce foldable smartphones which Apple is still working on.

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