With the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ set to be unveiled tomorrow, we take a quick look at what to expect from Samsung’s upcoming flagship smartphones.
Samsung is all geared up to launch its 2017 flagship smartphones — the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+ — at an event in New York tomorrow. The event is scheduled to kick off at 9:30PM IST, and will be live streamed too. After months of rumors, leaks and speculations, we now have a fair idea on what to expect from Samsung’s upcoming smartphones. Ahead of the official launch, we take a look at everything we know about the new Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ smartphones so far.
Design: One of the most notable changes in the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ will be their design. Just like the LG G6 that was unveiled at MWC 2017, the new Galaxy S8-series smartphones will also be ditching the physical home button on the front to make way for a taller display. We have already seen the leaked renders, giving us a glimpse at how the smartphone will look like. Samsung has also finally moved on to the on-screen Android navigation buttons, as opposed to to capacitive touch buttons on the Galaxy-range smartphones so far.
A few months back, it was speculated that Samsung may embed the fingerprint sensor into the glass display, but from the renders it is clear that the sensor will be placed beside the rear camera module. Talking about buttons placement, the power button will be placed on the right edge, the volume buttons on the right, along with one more button — likely to summon the AI-based personal assistant, Bixby. The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ renders also hint at five color options, blue, black, gold, silver and orchid grey. ALSO READ: Samsung Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+ battery capacity, color options revealed in fresh leaks
Display: Unlike last couple of years when Samsung released two models — the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S7 with flat display, and Galaxy S6 edge and Galaxy S7 edge with dual edge curved displays, this time around, the Korean giant is said to have done away with the flat panel variant. The Galaxy S7 features a 5.1-inch QHD display, whereas the Galaxy S8 is likely to feature a 5.8-inch QHD display.
Also, while the Galaxy S7 edge featured a 5.5-inch QHD panel, the Galaxy S8+ is likely to come with a 6.2-inch QHD display. Just the the Xiaomi Mi MIX and the LG G6, the Galaxy S8-series smartphones will have high screen-to-body ratio, meaning the front panel will mostly be dominated by the display. Both smartphones are also rumored to have an aspect ratio of 18.5:9, which is slightly more than 18:9 aspect ratio on the LG G6.
Hardware: The next-gen Galaxy smartphones will be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 or Samsung’s home-brewed Exynos 8895 octa-core chipsets, which will be region specific. And going by the past releases, India is likely to get a variant powered by Exynos chipset. Both chipsets are being manufactured by Samsung, and made on 10nm fabrication process, which is expected to give them the right mix of power, performance and efficiency.
Now, while brands such as OnePlus and Asus are offering 6GB of RAM on their flagship smartphones, Samsung is likely to keep the RAM at 4GB for its Galaxy S8-series smartphones. On the storage front, both new smartphones are likely to come with 64GB of internal storage, along with a microSD card slot for further expansion.
Cameras: The Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge feature the best smartphone cameras, something that has been praised by critics and users alike. With the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, Samsung is expected to add more tweaks to make the already best camera even better. Latest rumor hints at Samsung using Sony’s IMX333 sensor, something that is not even official on Sony’s website. ALSO READ: Samsung Galaxy S8 camera to shoot 8 times faster than Apple iPhone 7: Report
Details about the aperture and sensor size are missing as of now, but rumors have already suggested that the Galaxy S8-series smartphones could be able to shoot super slow-motion videos at 1,000fps, just like the Sony’s recently unveiled Xperia XZ Premium. For selfies and video calling, the Galaxy S8 duo are likely to feature an 8-megapixel front-facing camera with auto-focus and optical image stabilization (OIS).
Iris Scanner + Fingerprint Scanner: For biometric authentication, Samsung smartphones have been featuring fingerprint scanners. The Galaxy Note 7 was the first Samsung phablet to feature an iris scanner, and while it had a sad demise, the iris scanner is widely expected to be a part of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ smartphones.
Battery: The ill fated Galaxy Note 7 had one major issue — a large battery packed into a small compartment. Samsung is not taking any chances with the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+. From what we have come across so far, the Galaxy S8 will house a 3,000mAh battery, whereas the Galaxy S8+ will house a slightly larger 3,500mAh battery. Both smartphones are expected to feature fast charging and wireless fast charging features too.
Operating System and Connectivity: The new flagship smartphones from Samsung are likely to run on Android 7.1.1 Nougat OS out-of-the-box, with a layer of TouchWiz UI on top. From the leaked live photos and blurry videos that we have come across so far, Samsung seems to have worked hard on making the UI as slick as possible.
In terms of connectivity options, the smartphones are likely to feature Bluetooth, GPS, dual-SIM card slots, 4G LTE with VoLTE voice calling support. Just like the Galaxy Note 7, the new Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ smartphones are also expected to move to the latest USB Type-C port for charging and data transfer. What’s more, while HTC, Apple and LeEco have ditched the legacy 3.5mm audio jack, Samsung is expected to retain it on its new smartphones. ALSO READ: Samsung Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+ to come with 3-month return policy: Report
Bixby: Artificial Intelligence (AI) based personal assistants are likely to be the future, with applications in most fields. Android already has Google Assistant, Microsoft has Cortana and Apple has Siri. HTC’s recently launched U Ultra and U Play feature Sense Companion app, an AI-based assistant that offers contextual suggestions about nearby places to eat, traffic on the way to work and home and more. ALSO READ: Samsung Bixby: If done well, it might leave people impressed yet again
Samsung is ready to take on Google Assistant and others with its upcoming personal assistant Bixby. We don’t have much information about the assistant for now, but one thing that is likely to differentiate it from others is that it will work exclusively with native apps such as Messages and Camera, among others. How Samsung can leverage this is something that remains to be seen.
Water and Dust Resistance: The Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 edge, and the unfortunate Galaxy Note 7 phablet all featured IP68 certification for water and dust resistance. The same is expected on the new Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ too. The certification means that you do not need to worry about accidental splash of water or sudden rains. You can also dunk the phones in 1.5 meter of water for up to 30 minutes without causing any damage to the internals. However, that’s not something that we would recommend our readers to do.
Price: Based on the rumors we have come across so far, the Galaxy S8 could set you back by EUR 799 (approximately Rs 56,000), whereas the Galaxy S8+ is likely to be priced at EUR 899 (approximately Rs 63,500). This is definitely more expensive compared to last year’s Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge pricing.
Talking about accessories, the Gear VR could be priced at EUR 129 (which is approximately Rs 9,000), whereas the Gear 360 could set you back by EUR 299 (which is approximately Rs 16,100). What’s more, Samsung is also likely to sell Windows Continuum-like dock called DeX, which could set you back by EUR 150 (approximately Rs 10,500). ALSO READ: Samsung Galaxy S8 accessories range with price details leaked ahead of March 29 launch
Release Date: After the official unveiling tomorrow, pre-orders for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are likely to start from April 10. Rumors suggest that this time around, Samsung will will release the handset globally at the same time on April 28. However, we will have to wait until official announcement tomorrow for Samsung to throw more light on official release dates.
Clearly, we are more than excited to see what Samsung has in store for its users. Are you excited about the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+? Do let us know about it in the comments section below.