Galaxy S8 To ‘Partially’ Feature 3D Touch-Like Technology

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Samsung Display is reportedly the sole supplier of OLED screens for Apple’s iPhone 8. The display affiliate of Samsung Electronics is currently working to develop OLED-based 3D Touch pressure sensors for the iPhone 8. Citing an industry insider, Korean outlet The Investor claims some of that technology might end up in Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S8.

3D Touch will be limited to Galaxy S8’s virtual home button

Apple first introduced the 3D Touch or Force Touch functionality with the iPhone 6S. Samsung Display is working to incorporate the pressure-sensitive sensors into the iPhone 8 OLED panel. The technology enables devices to sense different levels of pressure and bring up different shortcuts. Samsung Display has previously supplied 3D Touch-supported OLED screens for smartphones like Huawei P9, but Samsung hasn’t yet adopted the technology for its own phones because it was not advanced enough.

Sources told The Investor that the latest pressure-sensitive technology has a “higher sensitivity” and it can sense a much wider range of pressures than the older one. The publication adds that the Galaxy S8 would “partly use” the 3D Touch technology for its “virtual home button” at the bottom of the display. Samsung has embedded the home button into the display. The new feature would allow users to navigate the device.

Samsung showcased the technology to select partners at MWC

Though the technology will be only partially adopted for the Galaxy S8, it will be used more extensively in Samsung’s future handsets such as the Galaxy Note 8. It’s not the first time Samsung is rumored to use pressure-sensitive display panels. The technology was previously expected to come with the Galaxy S7 and the ill-fated Galaxy Note 7 that was killed just a few weeks after its launch.

Insiders told The Investor that Samsung Display showcased the new technology to select partners at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) last month in Barcelona. The MWC demonstration event indicates that Samsung and other smartphone vendors may adopt 3D Touch in the near future. The Galaxy S8 unveiling is just a couple of weeks away. The S8 unveiling event would take place in New York City on March 29th.

Galaxy S8 coming in Jet Black color

Samsung had initially planned to incorporate both the home button and fingerprint sensor into the display. But the company had to move the fingerprint scanner to the rear of the phone at the last minute because Samsung and its partner Synaptics had run out of time. Some users may not find a rear fingerprint scanner convenient, but the Galaxy S8 will also have facial recognition and iris scanner technologies for authentication and security.

A leaked image of the Galaxy S8 obtained by SlashLeaks suggests that the phone will also come in the glossy jet black finish. When Apple introduced the Jet Black iPhone 7, it was flying off the shelves. Samsung then came with a special glossy black color Galaxy S7 Edge and named it “Black Pearl.”

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