The rumor mill has gone into overdrive as the Galaxy S8 release approaches. The device is just a few months away, and we have heard reports of a bezel-less display, no physical home button, and no headphone jack. A new report claims that the Galaxy S8 could be among the first smartphones to feature the latest Bluetooth 5.0 standard that was certified by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) earlier this month.
Bluetooth 5.0 offers twice the speed of Bluetooth 4.0
Bluetooth 5.0 boasts of a longer range, faster speed, and larger broadcast message capacity. According to Bluetooth SIG, the latest standard offers improved interoperability and coexistence with other wireless technologies. Bluetooth 5.0 has twice the speed, four times the range, and eight times the broadcast message capacity compared to the current Bluetooth 4.0.
Bluetooth SIG said first devices with the new standard will arrive in “two to six months.” The Galaxy S8 is expected to be unveiled in February at the Mobile World Congress, and hit the store shelves in March. After the Galaxy Note 7 debacle, Samsung is trying hard to woo customers by adding exciting new features in the Galaxy S8. It makes sense for the company to add the new standard to the S8, especially considering Samsung is a member of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group.
Galaxy S8 may use Synaptics optical fingerprint sensor
The Galaxy S8 will reportedly feature the Y-OCTA display that debuted with the Galaxy Note 7. In this technology, the touch sensors are embedded in the display panel rather than being placed between the protective glass cover and the display panel. It would help Samsung keep much of the display manufacturing in-house while reducing the cost of the screen unit.
Since Samsung’s next-gen flagship smartphone will have an all-screen front, the home button and fingerprint sensor will be embedded in the display itself. The Galaxy S8 is expected to use Synaptics’ latest Natural ID FS9100 optical fingerprint scanner, which can be placed under up to 1mm of the cover glass. According to Synaptics, the FS9100 is scratchproof and waterproof. It can also tell the difference between real and fake fingers, which would help enhance security.
There will be two versions of Galaxy S8
Samsung is said to launch the Galaxy S8 in two different screen sizes: a regular 5.7-inch model and a 6.2-inch version aimed at the Galaxy Note 7 users. The sizes of upcoming phones will be similar to the 5.1-inch Galaxy S7 and 5.5-inch S7 Edge despite featuring bigger displays, thanks to the bezel-less design.
Recent reports indicate that Samsung could ditch the 3.5mm headphone jack in favor of a USB Type-C port. You can use the USB-C for headphone as well as charging. Other expected features include 6GB RAM, 10nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 or Exynos 8890 chipset, a 4200mAh battery, an iris scanner, and fast-charging technology.