As Samsung inches closer to officially unveiling its next-gen flagship Galaxy S8, there has been a host of leaks, rumors, and concept images on what the phone would look like. But there is little official information about the device. Samsung’s display-making subsidiary Samsung Display might just have shown off the Galaxy S8 in its TV ads.
The reference design looks a lot like Galaxy S8
Samsung Display has posted a series of TV ads on its YouTube channel promoting its new AMOLED display. The ads were first spotted by Android Headlines. The videos are in Korean, but you need not worry about what the narrator is saying. Just pay attention to the phone Samsung Display used in the ad. It resembles what the Galaxy S8 is rumored to appear like.
It’s entirely possible that the handset shown in the videos is a reference design. Samsung is unlikely to be careless enough to leak its own upcoming flagship smartphone. But the reference design with its extremely slim bezels and above 90% screen-to-body ratio corroborates with the leaks and rumors we have seen in the last few weeks. No current Samsung phone looks even remotely similar to the phone shown in the videos.
The headphone jack will stay
In the most recent video, you can see a speaker, a headphone jack, and a USB Type-C connector at the bottom. The handset is ridiculously slim. The Galaxy S8 was previously rumored to ditch the 3.5mm headphone jack. But more recent reports claim that the device would retain the headphone jack.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kq3NiJUgOwM
Another video offers the full frontal view of the device. It has the screen-to-body ratio of 94%. The physical home button is gone. And the top and bottom bezels have been reduced dramatically. The home button and fingerprint scanner are rumored to be placed in the display. The phone in this video doesn’t have a curved display, which indicates that at least one model of the Galaxy S8 could have a flat screen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAmo0C1kpoE
Galaxy S8 release date
Samsung is expected to unveil the Galaxy S8 at a special event in New York on March 29th. Reports indicate that the device will be present at the Mobile World Congress next month, but it won’t be shown to the public. The phone will hit the store shelves on April 18th. Samsung plans to have an inventory of 10 million units before the shipping begins.
The Korean electronics giant would reportedly launch the Galaxy S8 in two different sizes: 5.7-inch and 6.3-inch. The larger of the two will be aimed at the Galaxy Note 7 users. The upcoming flagship is said to be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 and Exynos 8895 depending on the region. Samsung is rumored to introduce its own voice assistant called Bixby with the Galaxy S8. Bixby will be compatible with all the native apps on the phone.
