So many Galaxy S8 leaks and rumors have been surfacing over the last few weeks that even hardcore Samsung fans might have lost the count. Now Samsung itself has jumped in to tease its upcoming smartphone. It doesn’t talk about the specific features, but the company does shed light on what the phone’s unique selling points are going to be.
‘What are you looking for in your next Galaxy’?
Samsung Philippines has started accepting registrations for the Galaxy S8 on its official website. Interested customers can enter their name, email, gender, phone number, etc. to be notified when the S8 is released. And then there is a special field asking users what they are looking for in the “next Galaxy.” The pre-registration page was first spotted by Dutch publication GalaxyClub.nl.
The options include a Superior camera, Premium and stylish design, Enhanced Battery life, Powerful gaming performance, and Enhanced virtual reality experience. The Korean company isn’t directly saying that these would be the highlights of the Galaxy S8. But then, why would Samsung want users to expect something that won’t be part of the phone?
Samsung Australia reveals color options
Notably, the pre-registration page does not mention anything about the rumored Bixby AI assistant. Bixby is said to come pre-installed on the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus, and support all the native apps. Samsung Australia has also been accepting pre-registrations, where it reveals that the phone will be available in silver, black, and gold color options. LG Electronics had also done something similar ahead of the G6 announcement, and the teased features turned out to be true.
The Galaxy S8 would be offering an enhanced battery life, even though rumors suggest that it would have the same battery capacity as the Galaxy S7. The S8’s bigger display should consume more power than the Galaxy S7. The improvement in battery life could be attributed to the more energy efficient processors such as the Snapdragon 835 and Exynos 8895, both of which will be produced using 10nm manufacturing process.
Galaxy S8 sales to lag behind its predecessor
Samsung was previously rumored to embed the fingerprint sensor into the Galaxy S8’s AMOLED display. But several leaked images and mockups show that the fingerprint scanner has been moved to the rear of the handset. Inside sources told The Investor that it was a last minute change because Samsung and its partner Synaptics had run out of time to implement the on-screen fingerprint scanner.
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said a few days ago that the Galaxy S8 lacks “attractive selling points.” He forecasts that Samsung would be able to sell only 40-44 million units of the S8 in 2017. By comparison, the Korean company had sold 52 million units of the Galaxy S7 last year. Kuo says Apple’s much-hyped iPhone 8 would also affect the sales of Galaxy S8.
