Samsung’s smartphone launches are always highly anticipated events, but this year’s Galaxy S8 launch is set to be even more interesting. The company has a lot to prove with its newest product, as it’s the first device to be launched since the exploding Galaxy Note 7 grabbed headlines last year.
Still, we’re expecting big things from the Korean giant. Its last few phones have been best-in-class devices – in fact, until it started exploding, the Note 7 was one of the best phones ever made. The company looks set to continue this trend and recent leaks look very promising indeed.
The next Galaxy device will be unveiled by Samsung on 15 April, according to recent leaks coming out of the hardware firm’s home country, South Korea.
First reported by ET News , the leaks claim the Samsung Galaxy S8 will be revealed at a special event in New York. This tallies with most other rumours, which also put the event’s date at mid-April.
If accurate, the news marks something of a departure from Samsung’s usual pattern. The company has traditionally its announcements to coincide with Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress – although it hasn’t launched a phone at the convention itself for some time.
The rumours also suggest that Samsung will be putting substantial focus on the front-facing camera for the S7’s successor. Adoption of a dual-lens rear camera – a configuration used by manufacturers like Huawei and Apple – was also mooted for the new device, but the idea was supposedly dropped during production.
It has also been suggested that the Galaxy S8 will be the first model to do away with the physical home button, allowing Samsung to fit it with a virtually edgeless display.
This would require the company to relocate the fingerprint sensor to the back of the device, as it’s currently housed in the home button. However, as the S8 is also set to adopt the iris-scanning tech first debuted in the ill-fated Galaxy Note 7, the company may opt to jettison the fingerprint scanner altogether in favour of the newer biometric tech.
Similarly, the Korean OEM may follow in the footsteps of other manufacturers, ditching the headphone jack in favour of a slimmer profile.
None of this is yet confirmed, but further leaks are expected in the run-up to the device’s reveal.
Samsung is slated to reveal the latest iteration of its flagship Galaxy S line on 15 April, according to rumours. The company has announced previous devices at the same time as Mobile World Congress in February, but it’s possible that Samsung wants to announce its new device during a quieter period, rather than competing with other manufacturers for attention.
As for when the device will actually hit shelves, it’s likely to show up around the end of April or early in May.
