Samsung hit a massive pothole in their relatively smooth stride of annual smartphone releases last year. The Note 7 was an unmitigated disaster, with the handset suffering issues with its battery and subsequently igniting and sometimes exploding on users. Samsung were forced to scrap the product entirely, which damaged their forecasts and image in a way that no one could’ve predicted. The Galaxy S8 then has a lot riding on it, and the first look at the device doesn’t disappoint.
A new report by ways of Venture Beat (via The Verge) gives us our first glimpse of the device, which Samsung will reportedly reveal at the end of March. There are some significant changes to the S8, most notably the lack of any physical or touch sensitive Home and Back buttons on the front face. Instead, you’re greeted with a full, curved glass display which seems to stretch edge to edge – and at face value it’s a little hard to distinguish it from an iPhone 7.
This is the Samsung Galaxy S8, launching March 29 https://t.co/lQZ0K0q2MA pic.twitter.com/dlusRMX4YH
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) 26 January 2017
That changes when you look down a little, where Samsung have managed to cram in a USB-C port for charging and keep the headphone jack that Apple so “boldly” took away. Turning to the back, some slight changes have rearranged where you might expect to find the fingerprint scanner, but otherwise the report makes it clear that everything here is as it should be. Some slight refinements to the camera will keep it on pace with the competition, but Venture Beat states that more software enhancements are being prioritised over raw hardware advances.
Software will also play a key role with the S8, as Samsung introduces what they claim is a more responsive, smart assistant when compared to Siri and Google Assistant. Named Bixby, this digital assistant is said to be able to handle more complex commands and even features a dedicated button on the side of the device to call up. Whether it’s close to some of the amazing work Google did with their Assistant on the Pixel will be interesting to see.
As for specifications, here’s the full rundown of what is known (and likely to stick):
- Display: 5.8-inch or 6.2-inch QHD AMOLED display
- Cameras: 12-megapixel f/1.7 rear camera, 8-megapixel f/1.7 front
- Processor: Snapdragon 835 or Samsung Exynos (varies by market)
- Storage: 64GB with microSD expansion
- Memory: 4GB
- Battery: 3000mAh (5.8-inch model) or 3500mAh (6.2-inch model)
- Other: Headphone jack, USB Type-C, water resistance
Samsung is aiming to launch the S8 on April 21st according to the report – just a month after revealing it. Just don’t expect anything on the S8 at the upcoming Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
Last Updated: January 27, 2017
Ottokie
January 27, 2017 at 09:33
This phone will sell like wildfire!
Raptor Rants
January 27, 2017 at 09:55
badumtsh
Matthew Holliday
January 27, 2017 at 10:26
Once it explodes onto the scene, Im sure it will.
Dresden
January 27, 2017 at 10:38
I’m sure the sales figures will blow your mind.
Admiral Chief
January 27, 2017 at 09:44
“Headphone jack”
Hehehe
Original Heretic
January 27, 2017 at 09:52
When is someone going to create an AI assistant called Jeeves?
Member Berry Bob
January 27, 2017 at 09:54
I must say that is one sexy looking incendiary device.
Raptor Rants
January 27, 2017 at 09:55
Until they sort out their UI with Touchwiz or whatever it’s called lately, Samsung will remain far down on my list.
Everytime i have to work on one and I see those ghastly and unintuitive Green and Blue settings menus I start to get all agitated
Magoo
January 27, 2017 at 10:01
wow such new very innovative yay
konfab
January 27, 2017 at 10:01
And it is missing the complementary self destruct function.
Viper_ZA
January 27, 2017 at 10:35
Pretty standard / underwhelming specs, NEXT
Viper_ZA
January 27, 2017 at 10:37
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f2affdb251abe59596c518214392be17ff7c73adc56dad87d19ac0dace2463e7.jpg
Craig "Crios" Boonzaier
January 27, 2017 at 10:45
Is it safe to put so many of them next to each other.
miaau
January 27, 2017 at 11:41
Does it have two back cameras, that work in tandem? Like the Hauwei P9.
Read a rumour on that. Sounds cool.
BUT this phone will just be too expensive to buy. Contract, maybe.
BUT I only get phones on my contract that my network provider gives me WITHOUT charging me more than Sim Card only price for the deal per month. I got LG G4 like that almost two years ago, but Galaxy s7 they wanted me to pay in for. At the time, the Lg G4 was only slightly cheaper to buy than the S7.
HairyEwok
January 30, 2017 at 10:22
Samsung Galaxy sssssssss BOOM Edition