Samsung Galaxy S8 rumour round-up: Specs, price, release date

There are a lot of hopes pinned on Samsung especially as it prepares the launch of its much-anticipated smartphone — the Galaxy S8. Endless rumours and leaks have made the wait seem impossible. We’ve gathered all the information on the basis of numerous speculations below:

Design and Display

While not much information regarding the smartphone’s specifications have been revealed yet, a report sometime last year suggested that the Samsung Galaxy S8 will be the first smartphone to come with optical fingerprint recognition.

In fact, Lee Kyeong-tae, Samsung’s VP for mobile communications was even reported by WSJ as saying during a conference that the upcoming Galaxy S8 will feature a ‘slick design and improved camera, as well as enhanced artificial-intelligence service.’

Earlier 3D renders provided by GSMArena showed Galaxy S8 model will come without a home button, with menu and back navigation button included within the screen.

Previously, in a twitter post, reliable leakster Evan Blass released an image of a Samsung smartphone claiming, “This is the Samsung Galaxy S8,” which will be launched on March 29.

Additionally in a report to Venture Beat, Evan Blass said Samsung will be unveiling two models of the Galaxy S8 with larger display that appears on the Samsung’s oversized Galaxy Note. The two models will come with a 5.8- and 6.2-inch QHD Super AMOLED screens with both featuring Samsung’s ‘edge’ display.

In a schematic diagram leaked by GSMArena, the larger variant of the Galaxy S8 measures 52.38 x 78.51 x 7.94mm, taller and wider than its predecessor. According to GSMArena, the Samsung Galaxy S8 ‘Plus’ will feature 6.3-inch display, larger than the Galaxy S7 Edge which features a 5.5-inch display.

While the schematic diagram of the Galaxy S8 showed 140.14 x 72.20 x 7.30mm in measurement. Based on the schematics, the Galaxy S8 was said to feature a 5.7-inch display (when not accounting the side curves), slightly shorter and thinner than the Galaxy S7 smartphone.

Performance

This time, some models of the Galaxy S8 will have Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 835 built on Samsung’s 10 nm technology, while the rest of the models are said to be powered by Samsung Exynos, again built on the 10nm fabrication method.

Evan Blass reported performance-wise the usage of 10nm technology will make the S8 models run 11 per cent faster than the Galaxy S7 overall, with 23 per cent faster graphic processing, but still 20 per cent more energy efficient.

Both the Galaxy S8 models are confirmed to run on Android’s Nougat version, but fuelled by 3000mAh and 3500mAh for the 5.8-inch and 6.2-inch design, respectively. Like the Galaxy S7, the S8 will sport 4GB RAM with 64GB internal storage option, which will be expandable up to 256GB using a microSD card.

According to the Guardian’s report, the phone will also have USB-C and a new version of Samsung’s Gear VR headset and Gear 360 camera.

Camera

In terms of camera, the Galaxy S8 will come with a 12MP rear sensor and an 8MP front sensor, but with improved image quality, low-light performance and speed, compared to S7. Additionally, the camera will feature built-in object recognition found in Google Glasses.

The S8 smartphone is speculated to sport a dual-camera setup as well. One of the units will have 12 MP resolution, while the other will be 13 MP.

The iris-scanner biometric technology, which made its debut with ill-fated Galaxy Note 7, will be available on the Galaxy S8 smartphone. Since the smartphone will not be housed by the home button, Samsung has moved the fingerprint sensor at the rear next to the camera lens.

A new AI assistant

As reported earlier, the Galaxy S8 will feature Samsung’s new AI personal assistant, called Bixby, developed based on the technology gained from the Viv-lab, which Samsung acquired in October last year.

The speculated Bixby logo.

The smartphone will also consist of a new service called DeX that will allow Galaxy S8 to switch into an Android desktop computer, connecting to a monitor, keyboard and other peripherals.

Release date and price

The Galaxy S8 was expected to be released at the MWC 2017 considering the previous Galaxy S Series launches over the past three years. However, the Galaxy S8 will be unveiled in a separate event in New York on March 29.

The 5.8-inch model will retail for €799 (approx. Rs 58,000) and the 6.2-inch model at €899 (approx. Rs 65,000). Both the models will be available in the market on April 21.

The S8 smartphone is speculated to sport a dual-camera setup as well. One of the units will have 12 MP resolution, while the other will be 13 MP.The speculated Bixby logo.