There are so many Galaxy S8 rumors going around right now that you would be forgiven for feeling confused. About the only thing that it seems like we can count on to be true is that the Galaxy S8 will follow the S7 and S7 Edge as Samsung’s flagships. And even that is tinged with a small amount of uncertainty, so all we can rely on right now are rumors and Galaxy S8 concept images.
Galaxy S8 concept images and rumors
One other tidbit we do know with some certainty is that Samsung is in a position which makes it easy to judge its next move. That position is desperation. The Korean manufacturer is desperate to regain the trust of consumers after the Note 7 debacle.
Like most other multi-national conglomerates, it has the will, financial power, and nerve to do so. However, what this does mean is that a handset like the rumored Galaxy S8 must be something special. It cannot be just the next smartphone in line which will offer incremental changes.
Fortunately for the manufacturer, it seems as though the rumor mill agrees because the Galaxy S8 concept images we’ve seen thus far all suggest major improvements.
Curved and high screen-to-body ratio
Well-known designer and smartphone concept creator Veniamin Geskin is back. However, this time it’s not with a new iPhone 8 concept; it’s his vision of a Galaxy S8 concept. Just like Apple is rumored to be planning, Geskin believes Samsung will also ditch the Home button and embed the fingerprint scanner beneath the display.
If this artist rendering is accurate, it means that the bezels on the handset will be thin. In fact, if you take a look at the image, it appears that the display is curved on both sides, which is probably why we can’t see power, lock or volume rockers on the sides. As for how much real estate a display like this would take up, it could be as much as 90% or higher.
All-aluminum with wraparound display
DBS Design created this next Galaxy S8 concept, and it looks gorgeous. If you look at the image, it’s clear that they subscribe to the wraparound display beliefs, and they have brought this to life beautifully in the rendering above. The body looks like a single sheet of aluminum, which, when combined with the wraparound display, makes this a true beauty.
Unlike many S8 rumors, DBS has not chosen to go with a bezel-less design. Instead, there are still bezels at the top and bottom of the handset. They remain as the places to house the Home button, fingerprint sensor and earpiece. That said, though, the bezels do appear to be much smaller than what the S7 has.
Cues from the Note 7 and iPhone 8
This next Galaxy S8 concept shows a device which takes visual cues from both the Note 7 and rumored iPhone 8. It means that for the S8, Samsung could do away with flat-panel displays altogether!
This would then mean that there wouldn’t be a standard S8, only an S8 Edge. Looking at the image above, it’s not so obvious, but its display curves on both sides. This feature was recently reported by the Korea Herald. Apparently, this increase in display real estate, along with a jump to 4K, will enable the Galaxy S8 to take advantage of VR via Google’s Daydream project.
Possible specifications
While Samsung has yet to publish anything concrete about its next flagship yet, many different sites are already publishing what they think the specifications of the handset will be. Right now there’s no consensus on this, but here’s what we believe may be accurate. The S8 will probably get the all-new Snapdragon 835 chipset and a 13MP dual-lens camera setup, along with 256GB of internal storage, which would be expandable with a MicroSD card. Of course it will run on Android 7.1 and probably have a near bezel-less display.
Phones made from any of the three Galaxy S8 concept images above would be amazing to own. However, while we wait for Samsung to reveal the S8, all we can do is be patient and continue to digest what others think it will look like.
