The latest Samsung Galaxy S8 rumors peg the launch date for March
29, and the actual release date in late April. Samsung has officially
said it won’t launch the phone at MWC 2017. Here’s the latest, including
a newly leaked Galaxy S8 photo.
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge was almost everything we hoped for, with
improvements throughout leading it to be one of the most powerful,
stylish and all round accomplished smartphones on the market in
2016-2017.
But there’s still room for improvement and based on the rumors we’re
hearing that’s exactly what we’ll get from the Samsung Galaxy S8, with
talk of a new AI assistant, a dual-lens camera, an upgraded screen and
more, more, more updates.
Samsung Galaxy S8 release date
Samsung typically announces new flagships at MWC at the end of
February, but it’s now been confirmed by the company’s mobile president
that the Samsung Galaxy S8 won’t be announced at MWC 2017.
He didn’t say when the phone would be announced, but leak points to a
March 29 launch event in New York, followed by an April 21 release date
in stores.
Samsung’s biggest phones typically go through a one month lag time between their announcement and actual shipment dates.
Of course, we’ve also heard about other possible release dates,
including April 18. Either way, Samsung isn’t launching its phone as
soon as it usually does.
If you have a Samsung Galaxy S6 on a two-year contract, you’re going
to want to hold onto it for a few more weeks instead of upgrading to the
older Galaxy S7. The later Samsung Galaxy S8 release date doesn’t
necessarily mean it’s been delayed. It could be that the company wants
to host a separate event or wait for the very latest specs to build the
best phone possible.
It also taken extra time to focus on what caused the Samsung Galaxy
Note 7’s flammable faults – an investigation which has now been
completed. One thing we can say with some certainty though is whenever
it launches, Samsung’s next phone will indeed be called the Galaxy S8,
as Samsung has filed an application with the USPTO to protect exactly
that.
The March 29 launch date comes from reliable leakers, and the April
21 release date makes sense since it’s nearly one month later. Expect
more Samsung Galaxy S8 leaks during MWC, even though it’s not there for
the public to see.
Samsung Galaxy S8 news and rumors
You can find plenty of Samsung Galaxy S8 rumors on the internet right
now, and some are likely accurate. Others we’re skeptical about. To cut
through the noise, we’ve amassed all of the major leaks onto this page
and are going to do our best to determine fact vs fiction.
Is the Samsung Galaxy S8 going to have a 4K screen, a cutting-edge
Snapdragon chipset and 6GB of RAM? How about an even better camera, iris
scanner and foldable screen? Some of this stuff is true, others are a
better fit for the Samsung Galaxy S9. Here are the latest rumors.
Samsung Galaxy S8 screen
Hottest leaks:
-No flat version
-4K resolution or Quad HD
-New 5.8 and 6.2-inch screen size
-Super wide 18.5:9 aspect ratio
Samsung S8 may give everyone what they want: a bigger screen without
making the phone dimensions any larger. It’s going to come in two sizes,
one with a 5.8-inch display and another with a 6.2-inch screen, both
with curves and a Quad HD resolution, according to a leak obtained by
VentureBeat.
That would make the Galaxy S8 display larger than the 5.7-inch Note
7. Don’t worry, it’s not actually going to be any more massive. The
phone is said to max out the screen real estate by ditching the home
button at the bottom and that always-gaudy Samsung logo at the top.
This is very close to an all-screen phone that nearly defeats screen
bezel. If true, it’ll have a wider 18.5:9 aspect ratio, not the 16:9
standard widescreen ratio. It’s going to be interesting to see how
movies look on it. The all-screen theory has been backed up by leaked
images of tempered glass screen protectors, shared by DforDesign, so
this rumor seems strong.
What about that fabled Samsung Galaxy S8 with a 4K screen?
Samsung Display, a subsidiary of the electronics giant, has already
shown off a 5.5-inch 2160 x 3840 screen, which comes in at a pin sharp
806 pixels per inch. There’s no guarantee the Galaxy S8 will get this
screen, but it’s clearly been designed for premium phones, and none get
more premium than the S8.
Samsung is making a big push into VR with its Gear VR headset and one
thing it really needs to make the most of that is a higher-resolution
phone screen. You don’t need a 4K screen for everyday phone use. But
when a screen is two inches from your face, even with a sharp Quad HD
panel, it appears pixelated.
4K resolutions in phones are the future for this reason. Whether it
comes to the Samsung Galaxy S8 remains to be seen. It could still arrive
on the bigger 6.2-inch phone to help differentiate the two sizes. Less
credible now are stories that suggested a repeat of last year’s 5.1-inch
and 5.5-inch display sizes that jumped in resolution from Quad HD to
4K.
Less credible are 4K rumors that Samsung equipped the Galaxy S8 with a
UHD display, according to Chinese sources speaking to WCCF Tech. They
don’t specify who the source is though, so we’re taking this one with a
pinch of salt.
We’ve also heard from Weibo that the Samsung Galaxy S8 could have a
5.2-inch 2160 x 4096 screen. Other Weibo rumors suggest the S8 will have
just a QHD screen, like the Galaxy S7, but add that “new materials” of
some kind could be used, and that the home button will be removed –
potentially meaning smaller bezels and maybe even a fingerprint scanner
built into the screen.
One thing is clear: Samsung is putting a lot of work into curved
screens, and a recent comment from Samsung Mobile President Dong-jin Koh
claimed: “Samsung has considered that it would make the edge display
the identity of the Galaxy S smartphone lineup.”
That makes it sound like we might not actually get the Samsung Galaxy
S8 Edge at all, and the Galaxy S8 will be a single curved variant only.
More recently we’ve heard rumors that Samsung has started sourcing
curved display panels, but that it will be making curved versions in
both 5.1-inch and 5.5-inch sizes. Apparently whether or not there’s also
a flat screen model will come down to how many curved screens Samsung
can source in time.
SamMobile has suggested that there will be both a flat and dual-edge
curved version. If there is a flat version, there’s a chance it will
look like the handset in the video below.
Samsung Galaxy S8 design
Hottest leaks:
-Back fingerprint sensor
-A similar but refined design
-Water and dust resistance
Samsung is on to something with the design of the Galaxy S6 and now
the Galaxy S7. Its melding of metal and glass has led to one of the most
attractive handsets around, so we don’t expect huge changes there.
People like to see changes, so at the very least the design will
probably be refined in some ways. The loss of the physical home button,
as mentioned before from the leak in late January, puts the fingerprint
sensor on the back, where other Android phones have been sticking it.
However, the fingerprint pad appears to be off-center, resting next to
the camera, in an odd twist. If that’s true, it’ll take some time to get
used to its peculiar placement.
Samsung Galaxy S8 rear camera
Hottest leaks:
-A software-enhanced 12MP rear camera
-Same great f/1.7 aperture with larger pixels
-Dual-lens plans may have been dropped
There’s a good chance the Samsung Galaxy S8 is going to have the best
camera on any phone, whether or not it sees a bump in megapixels.
That exactly what we experienced from the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. In
fact , they dialed things back from Galaxy S6’s 16MP to just 12MP.
The S7 series wowed us with excellent low-light photography thanks to
having larger individual pixels and going from a f/1.9 to an f/1.7
aperture.
New Galaxy S8 camera rumors point to the same 12MP rear and a
slightly better 8MP front-facing camera, both with a the same f/1.7
aperture as before.
Samsung’s specialty, increasingly, has been in its post-processing
software, and the latest camera to capture even more vibrant photos, no
matter the situation.
This hasn’t stopped people from speculating that The S8 is due for a
big camera revision. Samsung has reportedly been working on a dual-lens
rear camera.
Dual lens camera are all the rage right now, making their way into
all sorts of phones, from the iPhone 7 Plus to much cheaper phones like
the Honor 8.
Samsung may have been readying a rear camera combo with 12MP and 13MP
lenses on the back, but the claims out of China haven’t materialized in
the latest Galaxy S8 photo leaks. It looks to have just one camera on
back.
There’s always a chance. A suggestion that Samsung could include two
cameras to help its parts suppliers make up for lost Note 7 earnings
sounds promising.
Samsung has also now registered trademarks for two camera
technologies designed to enhance the brightness of images, which is
often the role of a secondary lens, further suggesting a dual-lens could
be in the works.
Even if a dual-lens camera doesn’t launch this time, all signs point
to Samsung saving the trademarked idea for something like the Samsung
Galaxy Note 8.
On the other hand, another Weibo poster claims the S8 will have a
30MP rear camera with optical image stabilization and a 9MP front-facing
one, but we’d be surprised if Samsung pushed the rear camera’s
megapixel count up that high.
Samsung Galaxy S8 Front-facing camera
-An 8MP front-facing camera
-A step up from last year’s 5MP camera
-May include autofocus for the first time
The front-facing camera may go from 5MP to 8MP, and with the
increasing focus on selfies, Samsung seems to be giving this snapper
much-needed attention.
Your selfies could benefit from autofocus, which is a feature usually
reserved for rear cameras, as they need to focus at various distances.
The usefulness would technically be limited on a front-facing camera
(you can only extend your arm out so far, so a fixed lens is more than
fine), but it could help eliminate occasional blurry faces while
possibly blur backgrounds.
Samsung also filed a recent trademark entitled Smart AF, according to
Android Authority. Meaning, soon, your selfies could look stunning AF.
If the Samsung front-facing camera can eliminate the barrel distortion
of its wider-than-normal selfie camera, it would also be a plus for the
Galaxy S8.
Samsung Galaxy S8 Battery life
-3,000mAh battery for the 5.8-inch phone
-3,500mAh battery for the 6.2-inch phone
-Fast charging with QuickCharge 4.0
The Samsung Galaxy S8 battery capacity isn’t going to seem like ‘the
next big thing’ by the rumored numbers, but that is unlikely to matter
for everyday use. It’ll have a 3,000mAh and 3,500mAh battery in the
5.8-inch and 6.2-inch phones, respectively. That’s small for phones of
this size in 2017.
Some Android phones are up to 5,000mAh batteries, like the upcoming
Asus Zenfone 3 Zoom. Even the S7 Edge had a slightly larger 3,600mAh
battery size. Samsung has one big advantage over everyone else: it’s
launching a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset that’s just 10 nanometers in
size instead of 14nm.
Smaller chips consume less power, and the debut of the Snapdragon 835
(or a 10nm Samsung Exynos 8895 chipset for places outside of the US and
China) means it can last a lot longer on the same or even a smaller
battery.
It’s going to be more efficient when it comes to using power, so we
may see these phones last longer, despite the lack of a bigger battery.
There was one battery rumor that suggested the Galaxy S8 will have a
huge 4200mAh juice pack with support for both wireless and fast
charging.
We’re not convinced Samsung will squeeze in a battery that big
considering it wants to make the S8’s battery doesn’t meet the same fate
as the Note 7. Fast charging with QuickCharge 4.0 also makes its debut
thanks to Qualcomm’s technology, and Samsung has always tried to push
its wireless charging pads. Expect both of those perks to be part of the
Samsung Galaxy S8.
Samsung Galaxy S8 OS and power
Hottest leaks:
-A 3GHz Exynos 8895 processor in some regions
-A 3.2GHz octa-core Snapdragon chip in the US
-4GB or 6GB of RAM
The Samsung Galaxy S8 is likely going to debut Qualcomm’s Snapdragon
835 chipset, which is faster, small and more efficient than the
Snapdragon 820. In fact, a leak suggests the Galaxy S8 could have a
3.2GHz octa-core Snapdragon chipset, which certainly sounds fast.
That said, Samsung also makes its own Exynos chips and with the
Galaxy S7 some regions got those and others got the Snapdragon 820, so
the same is likely to happen with the Galaxy S8.
More specifically, the US will probably get a Snapdragon chip, while
most of the rest of the world will likely get an Exynos one. Rumors
suggest it will be the Exynos 8895, which is apparently clocked at up to
3GHz (up from 2.3GHz on the Exynos 8890 in the S7), and is supposedly
also optimized for low power usage, as well as improving image
processing performance by over 70%.
We’ve also heard rumors from SamMobile that not only is Samsung
working on new mobile processors, but that it’s in talks with both
Nvidia and AMD to build the GPUs (in place of ARM, which currently
builds them). With Nvidia behind some of the most powerful processors
around and AMD’s architecture at the heart of the PS4 Pro, a move to
either of these companies could give flagship Exynos chips a performance
boost.
That extra power will really come in handy if Samsung plans to put a
4K screen on the Galaxy S8 or use it for high-end VR content – our
betting is that both Samsung’s and Qualcomm’s chips will be heavily
focused around making VR the best experience it can possibly be, which
will be a boon for Gear VR wearers.
Samsung’s also applied to trademark “beast mode”, which could be a
supercharged setting designed to make the most of VR. As for RAM,
speculation is growing that it’ll have 4GB of RAM, contrasting with
early rumors that point to 6GB. The mid-range Samsung Galaxy C9 is also
rumored to have 6GB of RAM, so that’s the least we had expected.
In fact, Samsung has created an 8GB RAM chip compatible with
smartphones, though it hasn’t been specifically linked to the S8. The
fact that it could still have 4GB of RAM is a bit surprising.
TechRadar’s take: Samsung is sure to dial up the power in the Galaxy S8,
but will probably stick a Snapdragon 835 chip in the US version, with
an Exynos processor available elsewhere. RAM is sure to be at least 4GB,
but it’s likely that Samsung will up it to 6GB. We doubt it will reach
8GB.
Samsung Galaxy S8 other features
Hottest leaks:
-An iris scanner and AI assistant
-No headphone jack
-A fingerprint scanner in the screen
-Dual stereo speakers
The S Pen stylus is a big feature of the Galaxy Note range, and
recent rumors suggest it could also be coming to the Galaxy S8, as an
optional extra. That suggests Samsung could be aiming to make the phone
better for productivity, though we’re not convinced there’s much
evidence of it. But the Galaxy S8 could get an even bigger productivity
boost, by including a Continuum-like feature, allowing you to plug it
into a monitor for a desktop-like experience. That’s if the image below
is to be believed.
Rumor has it the Samsung Galaxy S8 is set to lose the 3.5mm headphone
jack. The rumor doesn’t say why it’s dropping the legacy tech, but does
suggest the phone will instead feature a USB-C port and come with an
adapter in the box. On the other hand, a leaked case supposedly for the
phone (pictured below) shows the headphone port intact, along with a
USB-C port and space for just a single lens camera, so don’t count the
3.5mm jack out yet.
Samsung Galaxy S8 price
Hottest leaks:
-More expensive than the Galaxy S7
-….or the same price as the S7
The earliest cost rumors claim an $850 (roughly £655/AU$1120) SIM-free price for the Samsung Galaxy S8.
This comes from a Weibo post with no evidence to back it up, so we’d
take it with a pinch of salt, but if true the Galaxy S8 would be
slightly more expensive in most regions than the £569/AU$1149 (around
$750) launch price of the Galaxy S7.
On the other hand, a similarly evidence-free claim has been made more
recently that while the materials will apparently cost 28% more than
the S7, the cost to consumers will be the same.
In the US, the Samsung Galaxy S8 will almost certainly come out on
contract, with monthly payment plan prices starting around $33 a month
until it’s paid off in full.
Samsung won’t offering the Galaxy S8 unlocked in the US at first, if
history repeats itself. Instead, you have to get it from your carrier,
be it AT&T, Verizon, Sprint or T-Mobile. Usually (about four months
later), an unlocked version will be sold at full price.
It’s very possible that the S8 will cost the same as the
S7, especially as Samsung will want to make up for the Note 7 debacle.
But if construction costs rise, as is likely, then that would mean
making less profit on each unit, which it may not be prepared to do.
