Due to Samsung being the biggest manufacturer of smartphones in the world, it’s not surprising that it dominates the rumor mill. However, since the Note 7 fiasco last year, its chatter value has reached new heights, especially where the Galaxy S8 is concerned. Now thanks to a new leak about that handset’s release date, there has been an explosion of interest.
Galaxy S8 release date
This year is expected to be a huge one for the Korean manufacturer, with rumors suggesting it will reveal three new devices, two of which have been long penned in for the Mobile World Congress in February. However, new sources of information appear all the time, with one such source being from Korea and suggesting something different.
Apparently, Samsung may skip its regular flagship unveiling at this year’s MWC for an event in New York in March. This means those who expected a reveal in February and a March launch will probably have to wait until April. Right now we advise that you take this information with a grain of salt, as it remains unsubstantiated. However, if Samsung does wait a month to reveal the Galaxy S8, a later launch date is inevitable.
You may be surprised to know that historically, this wouldn’t be much of a delay. The Galaxy S4, S5, and S6 all were launched on April 10, and if you go back even further, the S1, S2, and S3 were launched as late as May/June.
SnapDragon 835 CPU
Thanks in part to the increase in smartphone display sizes and their improved resolutions, handsets like the Galaxy S7 became increasingly power-hungry, leading manufacturers to look for ways to improve efficiency. As such, Samsung has been working with Qualcomm on a new chipset which could save up to 25% more power than its predecessor.
Called the Snapdragon 835, this chip is 35% smaller than the previous 820, but it offers a performance boost of around 20%. This CPU was developed using a 10nm manufacturing process, and it could deliver the much-needed longer battery life. Using this CPU would enable Samsung to pack the Galaxy S8 with new features like VR and AR.
Samsung’s SDI batteries included
Within the past few days, it has become apparent that Samsung intends to use its own batteries in the Galaxy S8, which flies in the face of all the talk since the Note 7 recall. Since then, many Samsung critics have pointed to this fault as a reason to source batteries elsewhere.
This spawned rumors that the company was in talks with fellow South Korean tech giant LG, in which an agreement would see it supply all future Samsung handsets with the component. Now, however, it seems as though this rumor has been put to bed, as it appears the battery issue was more of an electronics problem and not something that could be pinned down to the battery on its own.
Curved dual-edge display
Slashleaks recently shared an image of a handset with Samsung branding on its front which was supposedly the Galaxy S8. It clearly shows that the handset has a curved dual-edge display. If you look closely at the device, you can see that it may, in fact, be a Galaxy S8 Edge. But rumors have suggested that only two variants will be released and that both will have the Edge design, with the only difference being screen size.
Additional display rumors point toward Samsung releasing another Galaxy S8 variant with a larger 6-inch screen. This is expected to a fill the space between the Galaxy S series and the Note series.
Specs and features
Right now no one knows for sure whether there will be the single Galaxy S8 or if it will be accompanied by an S8 Edge or S8 Plus, so here are all the key specification rumors:
- 5.5/5.7-inch Quad-HD SuperAMOLED Always-On bezel-less display with dual-curved edge; 6.2-inch display for rumored Galaxy S8 Plus
- Android 7.1 Nougat, plus TouchWiz and Bixby AI
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 835/Exynos 8895
- 6GB or 8GB of RAM
- Adreno 540/ARM Mali-G71 GPU
- Dual-lens rear camera, possibly 30MP
- Selfie camera with autofocus
- Fingerprint scanner and Home button embedded into screen
- USB-C which supports digital audio and replaces headphone jack
