Everything we think we know about the Samsung Galaxy S8

Samsung's subsequent flagship telephone, the Galaxy S8, shall be arriving very quickly.

The strain is on for the Korean electronics big to ship a flagship telephone that not solely improves on the specs of final yr's Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, but in addition kicks the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus' butt.

Including extra options has all the time been Samsung's strategy with new flagships, however as the corporate is little question conscious after the Galaxy Note7 actually burned out, everybody can be watching intently to see what new security measures it consists of on the S8.

What precisely can we anticipate from the S8? This is what we're listening to from the rumor mill.

4K improve?

Samsung's gone with Quad HD (2,560 x 1,440) shows for some time now and has but to launch a telephone with a 4K display.

Whereas rumors suggest the Galaxy S8 will lastly make the leap to a larger (5.7-inch) and better decision 4K Tremendous AMOLED show (three,840 x 2,160) — if solely as a result of the elevated decision and pixel density will make cellular VR look crisper — it is on no account a lock-in.

One other risk is Samsung will launch two S8 telephones, a "common" mannequin and an "Edge" mannequin with Quad HD and 4K resolutions, respectively.

Conversely, another report claims Samsung may ditch flat shows altogether and solely launch the S8 with curved edges. (Not a horrible concept because the entire twin curved display look has turn out to be a signature Samsung aesthetic.)

It additionally would not be a stretch if the S8's display is HDR-ready, just like the Note7 was.

No house button

Talking of the show, Samsung is reportedly planning to embed the fingerprint sensor underneath it versus placing it inside the house button.

By doing this, Samsung will have the ability to both improve the display measurement and hold the S8's telephone dimensions the identical (or roughly the identical) because the S7, or shrink the system's dimensions (particularly, the peak, for higher pocketing and one-handed use).

A current Samsung Display TV ad confirmed off a mock-up for a telephone with no residence button. It is unlikely Samsung leaked the S8 and was simply displaying a reference design, however even when the telephone proven within the advert is not the S8, it no less than exhibits Samsung is considering of eliminating the house button.

These renders from case makers additionally appear to help the curved display and no residence button design.

Extra efficiency

If historical past is any indication, Samsung may launch the S8 with two totally different processors — one powered by its personal Exynos chip and one other by a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip.

Final we heard, Samsung may go together with an Exynos 8895 chip and a Mali-G71 graphics chip that's stated to offer as much as 1.8x extra graphics efficiency than the S7. 

The opposite mannequin is predicted to return with Qualcomm's newest Snapdragon 835 processor, which can — shock, shock — be produced by Samsung utilizing its 10-nanonmeter course of for larger energy effectivity. With the 835 chip, the S8 would achieve a 27 % increase in efficiency over the S7.

As for a way a lot RAM, we're listening to some sources say 6GB of RAM and others declare 8GB. Both method, it's going to be greater than the S7's 4GB.

Goodbye headphone jack?

Apple brought about fairly a ruckus when it eliminated the headphone jack on the iPhone 7/7 Plus. And this yr, Android telephone makers seem to be ready to hitch the #noheadphonejack membership.

There are conflicting reviews saying Samsung will and won't ditch the headphone jack. If the S8 has a headphone jack, Samsung will have the ability to rub it in Apple's face. But when it does not — then it is time to accept it and go wireless.

'Bixby' AI assistant

The iPhone has Siri, Microsoft's Home windows 10 Cell phones have Cortana and Google's Pixel telephones have the Assistant. Now Samsung is claimed to be launching its personal AI digital assistant.

Rumor has it that the S8 will include its personal assistant, probably referred to as "Bixby" and powered by Viv, the bogus intelligence assistant Samsung acquired in October. Apparently, the creators of Viv are the identical individuals who created Siri earlier than promoting it to Apple. 

Assuming Samsung does not dumb Viv down, it might stomp throughout Siri.

Weatherproof

Samsung's been waterproofing its telephones for years. With the S7 and S7 Edge, the corporate stepped up its Ingress Safety score to IP68, which means the telephones may be submerged in as much as four.9 ft of water for as much as 30 minutes. Moreover, the IP68 score means they're mud, dust and sand resistant while not having any caps or covers.

With that degree of safety, it appears unlikely Samsung would take a step again with the S8 and nix the weatherproofing. In response to The Investor, the S8 will sport the identical IP68 score, making it simply as weatherproof as its predecessor.

One or two cameras?

Thus far, we have heard virtually nothing about what sort of enhancements might be made to the S8's cameras. 

The logical factor can be for the corporate to repeat Apple's iPhone 7 Plus dual-camera setup. In any case, any telephone that makes use of Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 835 chip will be capable of help twin cameras with none complicated wizardry.

The closest clue to Samsung pursuing twin cameras for the S8 is a patent Samsung filed beforehand. However like all patents, it might by no means find yourself in any actual product.

Launch date

Historically, Samsung has used the annual Cellular World Congress because the stage to announce its new flagship telephones.

Nevertheless, this yr is perhaps totally different. Phrase on the road is the corporate might skip MWC this yr and maintain its personal personal "Unpacked" occasion in April. It's going to be later than typical, however given the disastrous Note7 launch, Samsung in all probability is not taking any possibilities.

Every part else

As a lot as we expect we all know concerning the S8, there's nonetheless so much that we do not know.

For instance, how huge will the battery be, and what is going to the software program will seem like? Will the front-facing digital camera get an improve? Will the S8 embrace the Note7's iris scanner? Will there be wi-fi charging? How about expandable storage?

Heck, we do not even know if Samsung will proceed with the "glass sandwich" design it has used for the final two years.

Rumors can solely inform you a lot, and whereas most of them often find yourself being true, there's nonetheless loads of room for Samsung to shock us.