2017-02-08



A host of Samsung Galaxy S8 leaks leave little to imagination.

Samsung’s next flagship smartphone Galaxy S8 is turning out to be the worst kept secret. In the last few weeks, we have come across numerous leaks, revealing almost every aspect of the smartphone. There have also been leaked renders of the smartphone, giving us a closer look at the design and overall look and feel of the smartphone. Now, we have come across multiple details about the Galaxy S8 ranging from a live photo to virtual assistant Bixby.

First up is the live photo of what’s believed to be a fully functional Galaxy S8. This is perhaps the first time we have gotten such a clear look at the real device. The leaked image corroborates previous rumors that the Samsung Galaxy S8 will have very slim bezels, reports Forbes.

What’s really surprising is the placement of fingerprint scanner, which is located next to the rear camera on top center. If the scanner is not embedded on the home button, the fingerprint readers are usually placed on the back, though below rear camera for easier reach. Besides a slim form factor, the leaked live image also reveals what appears to be the USB Type-C port, 3.5mm audio jack and black and silver color options. ALSO READ: Samsung Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8 Plus renders give us the closest look at the smartphones yet

Next up is the information regarding Samsung’s digital assistance Bixby, which will be taking on Apple’s Siri and Google’s Assistant. According to the latest input, Bixby will support seven to eight different languages, including English, Korean and Chinese. It’s notable Google Assistant currently only supports English and German on Pixel phones, and English on the Google Home. The Assistant built-in the Allo chat app supports English, German, Hindi, Japanese, and Portuguese. Multiple language support is likely to help Samsung gain instant mass adoption of its new digital assistant.

According to rumors so far, Samsung’s Bixby assistant looks to be a level up from rival digital assistants. Bixby is rumored to allow users to conduct virtual searches through built-in optical character recognition, capable of recognizing text, images and identify objects when the camera is pointed at them. The digital assistant will also be integrated with Samsung’s another upcoming feature, dubbed as Samsung Pay Mini. The feature will let users make payments through Bixby directly. The Pay Mini is believed to be a stripped-down version of Samsung’s mobile payment system, Samsung Pay. It is expected to let users make online payments only. ALSO READ: Samsung Galaxy S8 digital assistant Bixby could be more powerful than Siri, Cortana

Another new rumor is about the camera hump on the rear of the Galaxy S8. Serial leakster, @OnLeaks, has posted some schematics to give an idea about precise dimensions of the phone. According to the leakster, the Samsung Galaxy S8 has just 0.2mm camera bump in comparison to 1mm on the Galaxy S7, 1.7mm on the Galaxy S6 and 0.8mm on the Galaxy Note 7. The schematics further reveal that the Galaxy S8 will be tad thicker at 8mm. They also show that the top panel has slots for cameras and sensors, which will include gimmicky iris scanner introduced with the Galaxy Note 7.

Samsung Galaxy S8 specifications

The smartphone is rumored to be available in multiple screen sizes. According to recent rumors, the smartphone will be launched with 5.8-inch and 6.2-inch display sizes with the larger variant being called ‘Galaxy S8 Plus’. The smartphone is likely to be powered by Samsung’s in-house Exynos 8895 processor or Qualcomm’s top-end Snapdragon 835 processor coupled with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage. The bigger variant is likely to come with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage.

For photography, Samsung could come with a 12-megapixel camera on the rear end which will be equipped with f/1.7 aperture. Up front, the Galaxy S8 could sport an 8-megapixel selfie camera which is said to come with auto-focus and iris scanner as well. The Galaxy S8 could use a 3,250mAh battery whereas the Galaxy S8 Plus would use a bigger 3,750mAh battery. In terms of connectivity, the Galaxy S8 will have USB Type-C port, and unlike Apple’s iPhones and some other Android players, it will retain the 3.5mm audio jack. ALSO READ: Samsung Galaxy S8 batteries reportedly being sourced from Japanese supplier

Samsung Galaxy S8 availability

After the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco, Samsung has been taking its own sweet time to release the smartphone. Already, it has confirmed that it will be breaking the tradition of launching the flagship smartphone at the MWC. According to some reports, Samsung though could put up a minute-long video teaser during the mobile expo later this month.

Samsung Galaxy S8 price

Though there’s no official confirmation so far, the Galaxy S8 will be expensive than the Galaxy S7. The 5.8-inch Galaxy S8 variant is expected to be priced around €799 (Rs 58,100 approximately), and the 6.2-inch variant will come with price tag of €899 (Rs 65,400 approximately).

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