Galaxy S8: What the leaks tell us Samsung could announce

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  • Big reveal

    Big reveal

    What will Samsung's next flagship phones feature? Well, thanks to several reports and leaks and rumors and teases, we know pretty much all there is to know. Of course, nothing is confirmed until Samsung makes things official at the end of March during its Galaxy Unpacked event. Until then, here's the current state of speculation regarding the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus.

    Photo by: Samsung

    Caption by: Jake Smith

  • Availability

    Availability

    Samsung has confirmed its next Galaxy Unpacked event will be held on March 29. The Galaxy S8 and and Galaxy S8 Plus are expected to debut at that event. According to leaker Ricciolo, the devices should go on sale sometime between April 24 and April 28. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said they will hit store shelves April 21, though VentureBeat claimed they won't arrive until April 28.

    Photo by: Evleaks

    Caption by: Jake Smith

  • Pricing

    Pricing

    SamMobile reported the Galaxy S8 will cost around $950 and come in black, gold, and orchid grey (analyst Kuo said the devices will come in seven colors), while the larger Galaxy S8 Plus will cost around $1050.

    Photo by: Slashleaks

    Caption by: Jake Smith

  • Ditching the bezel

    Ditching the bezel

    Leaker Evan Blass said the Galaxy S8 will have a 5.8-inch screen, and as did BGR. The Galaxy S8 Plus has been rumored to increase its display size to a 6.2-inch screen. A leaked spec sheet leaked by Blass also claimed the S8 Plus will have a 6.2-inch display at full rectangle.

    Bloomberg thinks Samsung will ditch the physical home button to create an "all-screen front" for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus. A Guardian report also mentioned a bezel-less infinity display. VentureBeat further leaked an image that shows no home button on the front, as does a Weibo leak, as well as a tweet from Ice Universe, leaked BGR pictures, and images from PocketNow.

    Photo by: CNET/CBS Interactive

    Caption by: Jake Smith

  • Cameras

    Cameras

    A leak from Weibo suggested the Galaxy S8 will offer dual rear cameras (12MP and 13MP). But ET News said the front camera will be 8MP, while a leak from Tech Update claimed the Galaxy S8 will have a 9MP front camera with a 30MP rear camera. Meanwhile, there has been a claim from The Guardian suggesting the Galaxy S8 will have the Duo Pixel camera from the Galaxy S7.

    VentureBeat said the phones' rear camera will feature a 12MP rear camera with an f/1.7 aperture and a new visual search tool, and their front camera will have an 8MP sensor with an f/1.7 aperture. This report has also been verified by BGR.

    Photo by: VentureBeat / Evan Blass

    Caption by: Jake Smith

  • Specs

    Specs

    Both phones are expected to feature the same hardware, except for a difference in batteries. Ice Universe claimed they will have 8GB of RAM, but Tech Update reported they'll sport a 6GB of RAM and a 3.2GHz octa-core Snapdragon 835 chip. A Phone Arena leak listed two processors: Exynos 8895 chip and the Snapdragon 835. It also listed 6GB and 8GB of RAM. But VentureBeat said the Galaxy S8 will have 4GB of RAM with internal storage options starting from 64GB.

    Photo by: Slashleaks

    Caption by: Jake Smith

  • A button for AI

    A button for AI

    The Wall Street Journal said the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus will have a dedicated side button, which will launch the Viv-based assistant that's already been confirmed by Samsung. VentureBeat also suggested this button will appear, which was followed by a tweet from leaker Blass, who showed off what looks like a press shot. BGR even posted pictures that depict the button. This assistant is thought to be called Bixby. According to a SamMobile, Bixby will be used in almost all the native apps that will come pre-installed.

    Photo by: CNET/CBS Interactive

    Caption by: Jake Smith

  • Facial recognition?

    Facial recognition?

    SamMobile also suggested we should expect facial scanning, and a report from CNET Korea claimed the fingerprint sensor will be situated on the rear and to the right of the camera lens, which is something this official case leak and a leak from SlashLeaks also appears to confirm. VentureBeat further claimed the front camera will have iris scanning -- a feature that also appeared in a spec leak posted by leaker Blass for the S8 Plus.

    Photo by: Weibo/Slashleaks

    Caption by: Jake Smith

  • Software

    Software

    Leaked screenshots, spotted inside the APK of the latest version of Samsung's Smart Switch application, have revealed the smartphones will likely run Android 7.0 Nougat and sport a clean UI with the Samsung Experience skin on top.

    Photo by: SamMobile

    Caption by: Jake Smith

  • Battery

    Battery

    Tech Update reported the Galaxy S8 will have a 4200mAh battery. VentureBeat said it will have a 3000mAh battery. News1 Korea and analyst Kuo said the Galaxy S8 Plus will have a 3500mAh capacity. In terms of ports, SamMobile has reported there will be a USB Type-C port.

    Photo by: Slashleaks/Weibo

    Caption by: Jake Smith

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Facial recognition?

SamMobile also suggested we should expect facial scanning, and a report from CNET Korea claimed the fingerprint sensor will be situated on the rear and to the right of the camera lens, which is something this official case leak and a leak from SlashLeaks also appears to confirm. VentureBeat further claimed the front camera will have iris scanning -- a feature that also appeared in a spec leak posted by leaker Blass for the S8 Plus.

Caption by: Jake Smith

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