Next week in New York, Samsung will finally reveal the Galaxy S8. The handset has a lot riding on it — not simply because it\u2019s a brand-defining flagship or..<\/b>
Next week in New York, Samsung will finally reveal the Galaxy S8. The handset has a lot riding on it \u2014 not simply because it\u2019s a brand-defining flagship from one of the biggest names in the business or because the company seems to have delayed it quite a bit as it\u2019s worked to get things righ. Next week\u2019s Unpacked event will have even wider ranging implications for Samsung as its first major phone announcement since last year\u2019s Galaxy Note debacle left a serious scar on the brand for many consumers.
Samsung has been happily hyping the announcement for quite a while. In fact, the date of the event itself was a big reveal at an otherwise lackluster Mobile World Congress press conference that was focused on a pair of new tablets. In the intervening weeks, our picture of the S8 has become pretty fully formed, both through official announcements from the company and a number of seemingly legit leaks that it \u2014 whether intended or otherwise \u2014 hasn\u2019t done a great job keeping under control.
Expect the kick-off to Wednesday\u2019s event to once again strike a tone somewhere between somber and excited that will likely be the last major public apology for the Note 7, coupled with some more thorough praising of the company\u2019s recently implemented exacting safety standards. But while other companies may have looked to slow things down a bit, that\u2019s never been Samsung\u2019s way. Expect this to be yet another everything-and-the-kitchen-sink device from the company.
One thing we know for sure, Samsung\u2019s joining the growing chorus of phone manufacturers opting for their own smart assistant \u2014 a fact that\u2019s no doubt rubbing Google the wrong way as the Android maker looks to push its own assistant onto more handsets. Last week, Samsung detailed a fair amount about Bixby , confirming a fair bit of what we already knew about the Siri\/Alexa\/Assistant competitor.
An outgrowth of last years\u2019s acquisition of Viv, the AI promises some intriguing next-generation capabilities, like context awareness of other applications on the phone and a lot of third-party support for other apps that are deemed \u201cBixby-enabled.\u201d The company also has promised to \u201cremove friction\u201d from the learning process, to help make switching interfaces \u201cseamless and intuitive.\u201d
As for the hardware, the company\u2019s been pushing its \u201cbigger is better\u201d narrative at least since the release of the first Note device so many years ago. Fittingly, rumors are pointing in the direction of not one, but two big phones \u2014 the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, shipping in 5.7- and 6.2-inches, respectively. Like I said, moderation just isn\u2019t in Samsung\u2019s DNA, even after the s-storm that was last year. The S8, at least, is said to sport a 2960 x 1440 resolution, a notable bump over the S7\u2019s 2560 x 1440.
Design-wise, Samsung is continuing its quest to eradicate the world\u2019s bezels, and the leaked images we have seen appear to take the company pretty close to that goal, approaching the dream of a true edge-to-edge display, thanks in part to some well-rounded screen sides. Samsung\u2019s standard oblong home button, meanwhile, looks to be gone altogether, which seems to indicate that fingerprint unlocking has moved to the back of the device, as with handsets like the Google Pixel.
Specs will, naturally, be bumped up across the board. Qualcomm\u2019s Snapdragon 835, erm, platform seems likely, given Samsung\u2019s involvement in its creation. The company was also said to be hoarding the chip ahead of launch. Batteries have been pegged at 3,000 and 3,500mAh for the S8 and S8+, respectively. Though again, there\u2019s some wiggle room in the rumors, but don\u2019t expect the company to go too crazy on that front, however, at it makes safety the primary focus on its battery talk.
Most leaks seem to point to Samsung\u2019s holding onto the headphone jack this go around, but there have been rumors on both sides of the fence for that one. The phone\u2019s release, meanwhile, has been pegged for April 21, in black, grey and silver.
The company\u2019s still got work to do when it comes to winning back consumers (and flight attendants) for whom the name has become synonymous with safety concerns. But thankfully for Samsung, memories are usually about as long as upgrade cycle. The company\u2019s financials have been just fine, thank you very much, courtesy of a robust component business. Assuming things go down smoothly next week, Samsung shouldn\u2019t have much to worry about with regards to its public image (even as it struggles with other problems behind the scenes ).
And given what the company has offered up in the past, at the very least, Samsung should have plenty of spectacle on display next week.<\/p>\n