Samsung seems to be looking to start 2017 with a bang, through the launch of its new Galaxy S8. The internet is rife with various leaks and rumors revolving around the new Galaxy S8. These rumours give a pretty good idea of what Samsung may be cooking up with this new smartphone.
Rumours have let out some interesting stuff about the new Galaxy S8, including some of the specs, the new artificial intelligence that will be in the device, as well as what the device even looks like. Many speculators have said that Samsung’s Galaxy S8 will come in two sizes, have an almost bezel-less, edge-to-edge “infinity” display and an iris scanner.
The two variants will have screens in the 5-inch to 6-inch region, with the devices having the same or smaller proportions of previous versions of Samsung’s flagship smartphone but with larger displays, according to several well placed sources.
The Galaxy S8 is set to be announced in late March and will go on sale on or around 21 April, 2017, than during the initially speculated Mobile World Congress next month. Most leaks suggest that Samsung is looking to update their design this year.
In 2015 and 2016, Samsung kept with mostly the same design. Using a glass back and a metal frame. But it looks like with the Galaxy S8, the bezels are going to be even smaller, and the physical home button may also be disappearing.
This leads many to believe that Samsung is going to be using on-screen buttons (something they haven’t done in years) and have the fingerprint sensor underneath the glass of the display. The Galaxy S8 is also reportedly set to have a similar “duo pixel” camera to last year’s Galaxy S7, situated on the back of the device according to various sources.
The company will also update the S8 with incremental improvements to image quality, low-light performance and speed. The camera will also feature built-in object recognition, similar to Google Goggles, according to several sources.
When it comes to the rear, the flash and laser autofocus module seems to have been moved. Instead of being beside the camera or below the camera like we’ve seen with earlier Samsung devices. In various images leaked online, the module appears to be above the camera.
The Galaxy S8 is also set to have a new processor, this time built on the company’s 10nm technology making it one of the first to do so. Chipmaker Qualcomm recently announced the Snapdragon 835, which is being built using Samsung’s new 10nm processes.
The new device is set to come with 64GB of storage built in, as well as expandable storage via microSD card, with support for cards up to 256GB in capacity. The phone will also have USB-C and a new version of Samsung’s Gear VR headset and Gear 360 camera.
In terms of battery, various news reports claim that the new Galaxy S8 will come with a 4200mAh battery. That’s a pretty big upgrade from the Galaxy S7, especially with the Galaxy S8 being about the same size as the Galaxy S7, unless Samsung is looking to make the new device thicker.
Samsung is also planning a range of new accessories for the Galaxy S8. A few news reports have spoken about a new dock and service that turns the Galaxy S8 into an Android desktop computer, connecting to a monitor, keyboard and other peripherals called DeX (desktop extension) will be available. DeX can be compared to Microsoft’s Continuum, which connects Windows smartphones to a desktop extension to allow them to be used as Windows PCs.
That’s all we know so far. There’s still a whole lot that we don’t know, or that might be fake or untrue. We’ll have to just wait until DJ Koh takes the stage at the next Unpacked event and show off the brand new device to the world.
