If recent media reports are to be believed, Samsung will have an extremely busy development period on its hands over the next few months. Five smartphones are expected to be released by the Korean corporation in the early months of 2017, and none will be more important to Samsung than the Galaxy S8 flagship.
With Samsung being linked with a Galaxy X foldable device in 2017, it is clear that the Galaxy S8 will need to be pretty outstanding in order to stand out from the crowd. So the manufacturer which has tended to pack its devices with outstanding specifications will do so once again when the Galaxy S8 is unveiled.
Samsung Galaxy S8 display
However, it seems unlikely that the Galaxy S8 will be a 4K resolution smartphone, as the consensus of opinion is that Samsung will continue to hold back this technology in the Galaxy Note 6 release later this year. Samsung tends to showcase its highest specs and latest innovations in the Galaxy Note range, so if the Galaxy Note 6 is not 4K, it is rather unlikely that the Galaxy S8 will be either.
Instead, Samsung will continue with the super AMOLED display technology which has proven so popular for the corporation in the past, and there will obviously be support for a curved screen variant as well. The screen size of the smartphone will be boosted slightly, with media reports suggesting that the Galaxy S8 will benefit from a 5.2-inch display.
5G coming
Recent reports have also suggested that Samsung is tinkering with 5G connectivity, and could unveil this new connection technology when the Galaxy S8 is released. There is an increasing premium on rapid Internet access, and Samsung wants to lead the way with introducing 5G to the mobile niche.
Fingerprint sensor
Following on from the Galaxy Note 6 this year, the Galaxy S8 is expected to include a fingerprint sensor. Security has become a major issue for mobile devices, and it has been widely reported that Samsung will introduce this biometric capability in its premium phablet, the Galaxy Note 6, before the year is out. Assuming this process is successful, it is then expected that the Galaxy S8 will follow suit next year.
Foldable technology
As ValueWalk has reported previously, it is also anticipated that Samsung will introduce its long awaited foldable technology with the Galaxy S8 generation. This innovation was debuted as early as 2008 at various trade shows, and Samsung has been waiting ever since for the feature to become logistically practical and affordable.
However, reports have indicated that this particular technology will be earmarked for an entirely separate smartphone, and thus we should not necessarily expect the foldable screens to appear in either the Galaxy S8 or or Galaxy S8 Edge.
Camera improvements
The Galaxy S7 made major strides over previous smartphone releases earlier this year, with the dual-pixel technology ensuring that the smartphone was capable of snapping excellent pictures in darker conditions. However, the Galaxy S8 camera could be even more impressive, with Samsung expected to retain this technology, while also once more upping the megapixel rating of the smartphone.
Thus, expect the Galaxy S8 to feature an 18-megapixel camera, and for larger aperture, faster focus and brighter LED also to be part of its portfolio of functions.
Hybrid laptop
Another intriguing prospect for the Galaxy S8 is that it could be a hybrid laptop. This will be dependent on what Samsung ultimately launches with the Galaxy Note 6 later this year, but some of the most notorious analysts in the industry have suggested that the next generation phablet will include this revolutionary feature.
Twitter tipster @evleaks, aka Evan Blass, a very reliable source of information, suggests that the next generation Galaxy Note 6 will feature this hybrid functionality, essentially enabling the phablet to turn into a laptop. With this in mind, there will also be a dual-operating system included in the Galaxy Note 6, with full Windows 10 functionality anticipated.
If this does come to fruition with the Galaxy Note 6, it is expected that the next generation smartphone, the Galaxy S8, will follow suit next year.
New RAM chip
Reports emerged recently that Samsung has revealed its latest RAM chip at the Samsung Mobile Solutions Forum in China. The new chip is an LPDDR4 DRAM setup using a 10nm architecture, and the Galaxy Note 6 is also expected to benefit from a mammoth 6GB of RAM. While the Galaxy S8 is unlikely to feature quite this portion of memory – Samsung generally prefers to keep its premium smartphone and phablet separate – it is likely that the smartphone will include this new memory and chip when it is released.
This will enable the Galaxy S8 to deliver faster RAM, and it is also believed that Samsung will increase the quantity of memory included in the device, probably to 5GB.
Battery and storage
Samsung is also expected to increase both the battery life and storage capabilities of the Galaxy S8 when it is released, with the latter set to be bumped up to 256GB. Whether this would also mean that the Galaxy S8 retains the micro SD technology, which was reintegrated in the smartphone last year, remains to be seen.
A battery in excess of 4,000 mAh has been linked with the Galaxy Note 6, as Samsung attempts to cement its edge over Apple in this department, and battery cell increases are also anticipated with the Galaxy S8. The existing Galaxy S7 benefits from a non-removable Li-Ion 3,000 mAh battery, so it is not unfeasible for the Galaxy S8 to be armed with a 4,000+ mAh unit.
TouchWiz
Finally, Samsung is also expected to refine its TouchWiz Software for the Galaxy S8, as this has been one aspect of previous releases that has been subjected to criticism. A more user-friendly TouchWiz is anticipated for the next generation Galaxy S8 release.
