It's time to compile everything which has surfaced on the Galaxy S8 to date. Samsung's in a bit of a rut after the Note 7's dismal exit. The company's had quite some time to prepare the device, especially as rumors of a delayed launch surface. Rumors for the device are also abundant. Want to know more? Take a look below to find out more.
The Samsung Galaxy S8; Design, Display, Specifications, Software, Price & Launch Date
A lot of information has surfaced for the Galaxy S8 so far. The general hype around town is that Samsung will greatly overhaul the device. It's expected to make up for the Note 7's failure, which disappointed a lot of loyal fans. The company looks to gain its reputation back with the S8. It's also a good year for smartphones in general, with 10nm processors set to finally appear in high end devices. So, let's start from hardware and performance.
Performance:
We've got some big claims w.r.t the Galaxy S8's performance. For starters, the device will feature the Snapdragon 835. The processor will be manufactured on 10nm and feature the company's Kryo 280 cores. These will come in an octa core arrangement, an increase over the Snapdragon 820. The processor will also have two L2 cache sets, with capacities of 2.4 and 1.2MB for the high performance and low performance clusters respectively. Finally, 80% of the processor's time will be spent using the lower clocked cluster. The 'big' configuration will also be 20% faster and optimized for load times, web browsing and VR apps.
Speaking VR, it'll be a major part of the Galaxy S8. To support this, several reports claim that the device will come packing 6GB of RAM. The stats for the 835 have also been rumored for the S8, with the device to be 20% more power efficient and and 11% faster than the Galaxy S7. Qualcomm also made a big fuss on its X16 modem, also expected to make it on the Galaxy S8. The model will be Cat. 16 and support up to 1Gbps in download speeds. It's a nice number, even as our networks don't support it as of now. The Adreno, for its part will support all the popular VR and API platforms. It will also be able to display up to 107 million colors.
But that's all information related to the Snapdragon 835. Per custom, Samsung should also launch a variant of the Galaxy S8 that runs its own in-house Exynos processors. The Korean tech giant has stepped up its processor game over the years and amidst the Note 7's fiasco, there's been little focus on the Exynos 8895; Samsung's expected processor for 2017. The little information which has surfaced so far suggests that it will be manufactured on the company's own 10nm process. A leak back in September suggests that the 8895 will be able to reach speeds of 3.0GHz and have power consumption of 5w. a separate leak suggests that we'll see two variants of the processor, the Exynos 8895M and 8895V. Which of these will make it on the S8? We'll find out soon enough.
Display:
Display is the one feature that's rumored to set the Galaxy S8 apart from the pack. Samsung's got the resources at hand to produce some of the best smartphone displays in the world. True to form, the S8 will make major improvements at this end. Samsung will further refine its 'Edged' design on the device, with minimum emphasis on overall bezels. As shown in the image above (courtesy Pocket Lint), not only will the side edges see further refinement, but the top and bottom bezels for the S8 will also be remarkably thin.
Specifications wise, there will be two configurations for the smartphone. Samsung will launch the Galaxy S8 in sizes of 5.7 and 6.1 inches respectively, according to leaks. Resolutions up to 4K and UHD for the device have also been rumored for the device. With the battery upgrades on the Snapdragon 835, and Samsung's improvements over the year, we finally might see these displays become the norm for a flagship. A note of caution though; the Korean tech giant suffered quite a lot because of batteries on the Note 7. So expect design and battery constraints to play a significant part in the device's overall design, which we'll discuss later as well.
Camera & Design:
The camera is another feature that's seen a lot of rumors. Leaks peg the Galaxy S8 with two camera specifications, just like the iPhone 7. The smaller device will feature a single camera, with its larger brother sporting a dual camera setup. Concrete information on resolutions of these setups is scarce. Sources peg pixels to stand around 12MP-16MP, with some also making claims as large as 21MP, courtesy of Sony's sensors. Furthermore, latest reports also suggest the complete absence of a dual camera. However, looking at Samsung's operating environment and the need to make up for lost ground, we doubt that this will be the case.
According to the Guardian, the camera will see incremental upgrades for the Galaxy S8. The publication also suggests incremental upgrades for the rear camera. These include upgrades to image quality, low light performance and overall speed, combined with the introduction of object recognition. Duo Pixel will also make a reappearance, as expected. Should Samsung launch the larger Galaxy S8 with a dual camera, it'll become the first smartphone maker in history to introduce four camera sensors on a flagship. Iris recognition will also make an appearance on the Galaxy S8, allowing users the advantage of advanced biometric recognition on their device.
For design, the biggest change this year will be the removal of a front home button. Initial rumors claimed that the Galaxy S8 will feature 'on-screen' biometric recognition. Latest leaks suggest this to be complete hogwash. While there won't be a home button on the device's front, the latest image leaks suggest that Samsung will shift the fingerprint sensor to the rear. Samsung's so called 'Infinite Display' will take up 83% of screen real estate, suggest sources. This will specifically cater to VR. Rather than a fingerprint sensor, you will get a virtual home button on the device's screen as well. It'll mark a nice turn in smartphone design and is a change one would rather expect from Apple's end, with Cupertino's mantra of 'minimalism' coming to mind.
Samsung won't remove the 3.5mm earphone jack from the equation either. Talking materials, the rear of the device will feature glass, marking a nice shift in the smartphone world. Apple's special 'iPhone 8' for 2017 will have a similar feature, according to several leaks and rumors. For the display, rumors also suggest a QHD resolution, more pixels on the smartphone. This does make sense, when looked in tandem with battery life constraints for smartphones. The edge to edge display will be Samsung's major design win, with other features just playing a supporting act.
Software, Miscellaneous & Conclusion:
Software is another end due major upgrades on Samsung's flagship.The most important one of these will be Bixby, the company's very own virtual assistant. Bixby will be able to make phone calls, open apps and do a lot more for users. It'll be developed using technology from the company's acquisition of Viv Labs. Samsung's already patented the name Bixby in South Korea, and the software is described as personal management software for electronics. Two more software upgrades on the Galaxy S8 will be a Beast Mode and DeX.
The former will provide the mandatory performance boost for VR, while the latter will allow for Continuum like connectivity on the device. The Snapdragon 835 will support x86, allowing for ARM's designs to gain a stronger influence in mobile markets. The Galaxy S8 will come with base and expandable storages of 64GB and 256GB respectively. Samsung will also launch a new range of accessories for the smartphone, and focus on those which will enhance DeX. The S8 will launch in March and carry price tags of $649 and $749 for the S8 and S8 Plus. Battery capacities are rumored at 3000mAh and 3500mAh for the smaller and larger variants respectively. The latest information also suggests that the logo on the device will be fixed on top of its screen. This marks the end of our writeup for the Galaxy S8. Thoughts? Let us know what you think in the comments section below and stay tuned for the latest. We'll keep you updated in the meanwhile.
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About the author: Ramish is a seasoned technology writer and editor with more than a decade of experience. He specializes in semiconductor fabrication and market analysis. With a background in finance and supply chain management - via his bachelors in Finance and a micromasters in supply chain management from MIT - Ramish combines financial rigor with deep industry insight to deliver accurate and authoritative coverage.
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