Following the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 fiasco, we have heard a lot of speculations about the launch of Samsung Galaxy S8. Rumours about its features and launch date continue to stack even as the industry watches if Samsung will finally launch an 'iPhone killer' smartphone. And the latest to add this rumour is the leaked photo of the alleged Samsaung Galaxy S8 flagship smartphone.
Slashleaks has shared an image with Samsung branding in front and claimed it to be the much anticipated Galaxy S8 flagship smartphone.
The picture shows that the smartphone is featuring dual-edge curved display. This might be the Samsung Galaxy S8 Edge variant and if recent rumours are to be believed then the South Korean multinational company will only launch a dual-edge display Galaxy S flagship this year, in two screen sizes. The new model seems to have appeared with a greater screen-to-body ratio compared to the Galaxy Note 7.
The most notable feature in this new Samsung smartphone's image is the absence of the signature physical home button, which is otherwise placed right below the display button of the other Samsung devices. It has finally done away with the home button on the bottom bezel of the device. While the bottom bezel is much thinner now and carries the Samsung logo on it, the top bezel features the same setup with light sensors, earpiece and front camera.
An earlier report had suggested Samsung Galaxy S8 may abandone the 3.5mm headphone jack while the front camera is said to come with the autofocus feature. Rumours also suggested that the Samsung Galaxy S8 may pack 8GB of RAM while the company is also whispered to be working on a big-screen version of the smartphone - called the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus - featuring a 6-inch display which is expected to fill the gap between the flagship Galaxy S series and the phablet Galaxy Note series. The Galaxy S8 Plus is also said to pack an external S-Pen stylus.
Samsung's pressure-sensitive display technology is also expected to debut on the Galaxy S8, working similarly to Apple's 3D Touch first seen on the iPhone 6s. The Galaxy S8 flagship smartphone will likely be an Exynos 8895-based variant of the Samsung Galaxy S8 is also being rumoured. The smartphone will reportedly be powered by Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 835 processor, and will be the first smartphone to do so.
According to a South Korean source Samsung will not launch the Galaxy S8 at the Mobile World Congress 2017, which is approaching in February but it will make its way through the market in April 18.
Samsung has reportedly begun testing its upcoming flagship model in China, which would explain the Chinese set up on the smartphone in the leaked image, but this is not to be taken as strong evidence.
Rumour has it that Samsung will be producing 10 million units of the Galaxy S8 by April. The production schedule has been shared with its suppliers, and suggests the company plans five million units of the phone in March and the remaining five million will be produced in April.
Galaxy S8 is an important flagship for Samsung, which saw its named dragged through the mud with their previous flagship smartphone. Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was supposed to be something of a prodigal son for Samsung, a weapon that was meant to give a tough race to iPhone 7. Instead it turned into a bumbling idiot, who cannot stand upright on its two legs. Samsung Galaxy Note 7 had everything that takes to be a premium smartphone. It was powerful, received positive reviews when it launched, had a strong marketing campaign to back it up, and was a pretty decent update over its predecessor. Except that it explodes. Even its replacement units exploded.
So, after this embarrassing and fiasco by the company, the launch of its Galaxy S8 will be very important for Samsung in terms of reputation as well as stock market. The S8 also brings a bigger design change to the Galaxy 'S' series, considering the striking similarity the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge shared with the company's 2015 flagships, the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge.
