If Apple is known for holding its events in September, it’s obvious that today we’re talking about Samsung S8.
A lot of new smartphones are launched every year, but there’s no doubt that two of them are expected like crazy, every year. Yes, we’re talking about Samsung and Apple’s flagships, which managed to generate insane amounts of buzz around them, months ahead of the launch.
As you probably know Samsung decided to launch the smartphone a bit later than its competitors, during a special event scheduled for March 29, while other manufacturers are getting ready for MWC 2017. But, hopefully, it will be worth the wait! Let’s see what we can expect from the Galaxy S8…
Design
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jb519lVljwA
Back in 2015, when they launched the Galaxy S6, Samsung started a whole new design line, continued by the Galaxy S7 and highly appreciated by its fans. However, it seems that the Galaxy S8 will completely revolutionize the look of their high-end line-up, thanks to a major overhaul!
Several reports, including some leaked images, spotted online this week, reveal that the handset will ditch the physical home button, as its functionality will be integrated into the display, just like Apple is planning to do with their rumored iPhone 8. Automatically, this will increase the display-to-body ratio, which is nothing but good news!
The handset will also have significantly smaller bezels, providing more viewing real estate, as well as a display covered by curved glass, looking significantly similar to the Galaxy Note 7. And, hopefully, this will be the only thing the S8 borrows from Samsung’s now defunct tablet, if you know what we mean…
As for the back of the phone, this is the place where the fingerprint scanner will be mounted, alongside the camera and the flash, two aspects we’re going to cover a bit later.
Finally, let’s not forget about the IP68 certification, which makes the phone water and dustproof. But remember, it’s a difference between “proof” and “resistant”, so you shouldn’t take it underwater all the time. This feature is made for those urgent moments, when you either drop the phone in water or need to take an urgent call while in the shower or when it’s raining outside!
Overall, presuming that the latest leaked images are showing the real deal, we must admit that we’re delighted with the design of this smartphone!
UPDATE: The design was finally confirmed, thanks to a new set of leaked images!
Display
While the latest trend is to use 5.1” panels for flagships, Samsung wants to take things one step further. It seems that the Galaxy S8 will feature a pretty big 5.7” display, going into phablet territory, while the Galaxy S8+ will be even bigger, measuring 6.2”. Ok, isn’t this a bit too much?
Despite previous rumors about a 4K resolution, the handset will rock 2960 x 1440, which is above QHD, resulting a density of about 568 ppi, which is incredibly crispy!
Otherwise, the display will be covered by Corning’s Gorilla Glass 5 and will have the Always On feature, perfect for those who want to keep an eye on their notifications (and not only) all the time.
Hardware
Now this is where everything gets interesting! The Samsung S8 is likely to debut with a Snapdragon 835 under the hood, a process way faster, smaller and more efficient than the previous model Samsung used for its flagship, Snapdragon 820.
The chipset will have an octa-core configuration, each chip being clocked at 3.2 GHz, which, in our book, is definitely fast! The bad part is that this model will be exclusive to the U.S., most likely, as other regions will get the Exynos 8895 variant, clocked at 3.0 GHz and optimized for low power usage and improving image processing performance.
No matter the processor, it will be aided by 4 or 6GB of RAM, while the storage capacity will count either 64 or 128 gigs, with the possibility of expanding this, thanks to the presence of a microSD card slot. Also, there are some rumors about a 256 GB variant of the handset, but if you ask us, this is less likely to happen.
Moving on to the battery, we’re expecting a 3000mAh power pack for the 5.8” version of the Samsung Galaxy S8, while the ridiculously big Galaxy S8+ will get a 3500mAh one, both of them featuring Qualcomm’s QuickCharge 4.0 technology.
The capacities aren’t huge, but they should be enough for keeping the lights on for a full day of intensive use. Also, let’s not forget that Samsung managed to squeeze these batteries in very slim bodies, which is definitely a performance!
And finally, let’s not forget about the USB Type-C port, at the bottom of the phone, and the 3.5mm jack, which, to our big relied, is still present!
Camera
Last year’s Galaxy S7 was absolutely impressive from this point of view, so we won’t be surprised if the S8 will have the best camera on any phone, even though it won’t receive a megapixel bump.
The rumors are pointing to a 12 MP sensor on the rear, with f/1.7 aperture and larger pixels, with excellent low-light capabilities. Besides this, the manufacturer has been working on its post-processing software, so the camera will be able to capture even more vibrant photos, no matter the environment!
Moving on to the front-facing snapper, it should feature an 8 MP sensor, with the same f/1.7 aperture as seen on the previous generation of the flagship. Also, considering the constantly increasing popularity of selfies, Samsung may also include autofocus for the front camera, as well as a wider angle for the lens.
Price
Last but not least, let’s talk a bit about how much you could pay for this apparently amazing smartphone. It’s obvious that it won’t come for cheap, considering the specs, but we bet that you want to know an exact value!
It seems that the handset will have a starting price of $850, SIM-free, according to a Weibo post. However, there’s no evidence to back this up, so our recommendation is to take it with a pinch of salt.
On the other side, we don’t exclude the scenario in which the Galaxy S8 has the same price as the Note 7, since Samsung wants to make it up for that entire fiasco, but once again, don’t take this for granted.
And this pretty much sums it up! What are your thoughts about these rumors? Would you buy the Samsung Galaxy S8 over any other smartphone? Let us know, by dropping a few lines in the comments section below!