Samsung is still trying to recover from the Galaxy Note 7 disaster. It went from bad to worse when the replacement Note 7 units started catching fire. There were rumors that Samsung could bring the next-gen Galaxy S8 to the market soon to get past the Note 7 chaos. But the S8 is not going to arrive early, hints a new teaser. According to tipster Ricciolo, the Galaxy S8 will be unveiled at a pre-Mobile World Congress (MWC) event on February 26.
Samsung to stick to its Galaxy S refresh cycle
The next year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) will be held between February 27 and March 2 in Barcelona. The release date suggested by the leaked teaser looks believable. This year’s Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge were also unveiled a day before MWC 2016. Ricciolo is the same person who accurately predicted the Galaxy S7 launch date. The tweeter said February 26, 2017 was the “confirmed” date of Galaxy S8 unveiling.
Despite #Note7 #disaster,(ATM) i have been confirmed ,no early announcement…#GalaxyS8 SEe you 2+6 ;) Feb at 7PM #samsung #BeCareful ! pic.twitter.com/Rsh196dmBk
— Ricciolo (@Ricciolo1) October 8, 2016
The Galaxy S8 is rumored to feature several design improvements, and will focus heavily on virtual reality. Samsung’s patent filings suggest that it will have a dual-camera system. Citing supply chain sources, South Korean publication ETNews claimed that Samsung had not yet decided whether to go for “separated dual-cameras” or “all-in-one dual-cameras.” The former have two separate modules, while the later have two lenses in a single module.
Galaxy S8 to get rid of the physical home button
ETNews has also learned from supply chain sources that the Galaxy S8 will do away with the physical home button. The next year’s device is expected to have its Home button and fingerprint sensor embedded in the display itself. In that case, the fingerprint scanner could be separated from the Home function. The publication said that Galaxy S8 screen will cover the entire front of the device.
The Galaxy S8 is said to be powered by Exynos 8895 and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 830 processor, depending on the region. Samsung recently won the contract to manufacture Snapdragon 830 on the 10nm process for Qualcomm. Other rumored features of the device include a USB Type-C port for audio, a 4K UHD Super AMOLED display, 5th-generation Corning Gorilla Glass, 6GB RAM, 4200mAh battery, an iris scanner, wireless charging, and a built-in mini projector.
Will Galaxy S8 feature Viv?
Last week, Samsung announced that it had acquired Viv, an AI assistant that could help it take on Apple’s Siri and Google’s Assistant. The move has fueled speculations that Samsung could add Vivi digital assistant to Galaxy S8. Notably, Viv was built by the same folks who created Siri and sold it to Apple in 2010. Samsung’s VP of Business Development indicated that Viv could be used in the company’s smartphones as early as next year.
Meanwhile, Samsung has temporarily suspended production of its Galaxy Note 7 phablet after several reports of the replacement Note 7s catching fire.
