With the Galaxy S6 Edge set to hit the market in the next couple of weeks, rumors are already circulating regarding its successor, the Galaxy S7 Edge. The curved screen Galaxy Note Edge is already regarded as probably the most attractive smartphone that Samsung has manufactured. And now it seems that the curved display will become an even more central part of the Galaxy portfolio during the next generation of Samsung smartphones.
Galaxy S7 Edge plans afoot
According to the South Korean publication ETNews, Samsung is already making preparations for the Galaxy S7 release. This might surprise some smartphone consumers considering that the Galaxy S6 series has yet to even hit the stores. But in the modern world of commerce and marketing, massive corporations such as Samsung are always aiming to be ahead of the curve, and this necessitates thinking months and even years into the future.
ETNews states that Samsung is apparently expecting a huge raft of Galaxy S7 orders during the next twelve months, and at least one model of the smartphone will feature a curved display. With this in mind, Samsung Display is reportedly expanding with the intention of meeting the anticipated production for next year’s Galaxy S model.
According to the publication, expansion in production is inevitable, as Samsung Electronics has already made a formal request for 8 million flexible panels per month for this forthcoming smartphone. This would suggest that the Galaxy S7 Edge model will be far more prominent in the plans of the corporation than the Galaxy S6 apparently is in the current generation.
Although the Galaxy Note Edge and Galaxy S6 Edge and have already received critical commendation, the two curved models of Samsung’s premium mobile devices are very much seen as niche handsets. At this point in time, Samsung has still placed the majority of its hopes in standard smartphones, with the curved variants seen as being companion devices to the more rudimentary standard versions.
However, although Samsung is evidently intending to greatly upgrade production of this forthcoming smartphone, investments in the A3 facility have apparently been postponed until April. For the time being, Samsung Display is working on improving yields for Galaxy S6 Edge displays, while equipment changes and internal process reformation is also high on the company’s agenda.
This underlines what an ambitious move it will be to make the Galaxy S7 Edge central to Samsung’s plans for 2016, as a large-scale production of curved displays still remains logistically complex and potentially expensive. But no doubt the hierarchy of the Korean corporation has decided that it has become so associated with the technology that concentrating its focus on producing large quantities of a curved Galaxy S7 makes obvious commercial sense.
Before the Galaxy S7 hits the market, the latest curved mobile device from Samsung will also be produced, manufactured and released. The Galaxy Note 5 is also mentioned in the Korean newspaper report, which doesn’t come as a huge surprise, considering the screen technology was debuted in its predecessor. The Galaxy Note 4 had been the first ever Samsung mobile to come in two distinct versions, with the curved screen variant receiving an enthusiastic commercial and critical response.
Samsung alter Galaxy S7 display
Aside from the murmurings regarding the curved screen, rumors have also been circulating about the make-up of the display of the Galaxy S7. According to media reports in Korea, Samsung may be considering radical changes to the way that displays are manufactured in the Galaxy S7, and that the new production methods will debut in 2016.
According to these reports, Samsung was initially considering producing flexible OLED panels for the Galaxy S6 Edge. That this was apparently sidelined reflects the fact that Samsung Display face production difficulties. Flexible displays utilize polyimide instead of a glass base in order to provide the panel with a greater flexibility and resilience. It is purported that Samsung intended to expand its A3 factory to ramp up production this year, but that this desire has to be shelved owing to internal restructuring and complexities related to the manufacturing process.
However, it would seem that now Samsung is intending to produce vast numbers of the Galaxy S 7 Edge that it will be forced to invest greatly in the A3 plant. It has also been suggested by ETNews that Samsung’s desire to produce a flexible OLED display as soon as possible will result in this technology also featuring prominently in the forthcoming Galaxy Note 5.
Meanwhile, the Android Authority website has also suggested that Samsung could initiate the oft-rumored iris scanning feature when it releases the Galaxy S7. According to Android Authority, the company is currently working with the Stanford Tesearch Institute in order to utilize this technology within its next generation of mobile phones.
Security is, of course, a massive issue for all smartphone companies, and Android-driven devices have been have been being particularly to their vulnerability to malware. This has possibly counted against Samsung in its battle with Apple, and clearly the Korean manufacturer is attempting to gain some ground by stepping up its security provisions.
Iris scanning offers fast, accurate and user-friendly biometric identity management solutions. According to the Stanford Research Institute, iris scanning technology is 1,000 times more accurate than published fingerprint data.
Galaxy S7 – possible specs
Aside from the rumors about displays, the Galaxy S7 is likely to be an extremely spec-packed device. Samsung has traditionally attempted to make its devices among the most impressive on the market in terms of specifications, and it may up the ante further with the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge.
Possible specs for the devices are already speculated as including 6 GB of RAM memory, a 20-megapixel camera, a larger 4K resolution screen with bezels eliminated, and true octa-core processing. If Samsung is able to deliver all of the ambitious features that it intends, then the release of the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge in 2016 should be well worth waiting for. At the moment, it appears that this will be a critical device for Samsung, as it intends to rapidly evolve its production strategies.
