Samsung Galaxy S8 Rumours HOTTING Up Already: MWC 2017 Launch, 4K VR Display, Dual-Camera
Samsung's Galaxy S8 flagship will rock a 4K display in 2017
The biggest players in the mobile industry seem to benefit most from sticking to fairly predictable and reliable annual patterns - sure the goalposts might move every now and then, but on the whole, we know roughly what to expect and when based on past launches. Samsung's established a pattern in recent years of hosting its own separate launch events but often very close to major industry expo events for its major devices, for example, it has regularly launched the Galaxy Note series at a private event in Berlin just before the annual IFA expo takes place there (though it did break with this tradition by launching the Galaxy Note 7 in New York this August). Likewise, the Galaxy S flagships have regularly launched in Barcelona in the days running up to the MWC expo held there around late February-to-early-March, and this is what it has done with both the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S7 series recently.
Compared to much of the rest of the industry, with fellow Korean rival LG being a notable exception, this is a pretty early start in the year for flagship launches, I mean, to put it in some kind of context Apple and Google are still yet to launch their respective flagships for 2016, with both expected to arrive in September. With the Galaxy Note 7 launch out the way, the Galaxy S8 is the next big thing on Samsung's calendar.
Samsung Galaxy S8: Dual-Camera
On June 20, sources inside China have claimed the Galaxy S8 will feature a dual-camera sensor. This would mean the handset is keeping in trend with the likes of the Huawei P9 and LG G5, as well as rumours about the iPhone 7 Plus/Pro. According to the details the dual-camera sensor will be engineered by Samsung Motors aka SEMCO, so the firm will be producing its own imaging tech this time round.
An August 30 report has emerged from an allegedly reliable Weibo tipster described as having a good track record. The source is adding to the Galaxy S8 rumour pile; reiterating that the new handset coming in 2017 will have a dual-camera sensor. The informant says that the sensor array will feature both a Samsung-made 12MP sensor and a Sony 13MP sensor. Meanwhile, the front camera is said to be an 8MP setup. The source also says to expect a Galaxy Note 7 style iris scanner.
Samsung Galaxy S8: 4K VR Display
An interesting new titbit has popped up on July 26; having not heard anything much about the Galaxy S8 amidst a barrage of Galaxy Note 7 leaks in recent weeks, apparently we now have a codename for the project. The codename, interestingly, drops some hints about the Galaxy S8 features and also supports earlier claims of a 4K display intended for use with VR, that's because the codename for the Galaxy S8 is allegedly "Project Dream". You may recall that Google is working on a VR platform desgined for Android OEMs to work with on their hardware, and that project is called Google Daydream, so it doesn't take a huge leap to see where one leaves and the other picks up on the naming convention. The word comes via multiple sources in China as reported by local publication MyDrivers.
According to details sourced by the Korea Herald, Samsung's Galaxy S8 will feature a larger 5.5in display with a 4K resolution - allegedly this design feature has been picked specifically with VR in mind, implying that the handset may be being prepared to work with Google Daydream, a possible Google headset, and indeed Samsung's own Gear VR hardware. In addition, the new report also reiterates earlier claims that the display panel will have a UHD (4K) resolution designed for use with VR applications.
UBI Research claims the handset will sport a 3840 x 2160 pixel resolution. Normally we would wonder why something sharper than the Galaxy S7's QHD 5.1in setup would be necessary (at nearly 600ppi) as it's already nearly impossible to pick out pixels if you try, but that said, VR is in its infancy and perhaps there are gains when you're staring directly into a phone dangled inches from your eyeballs.
The current-gen Galaxy S7 edge has a 5.5in display, larger than the regular flagship, so it is interesting that the Galaxy S8 will be enlarged to this size (and also raises questions about the Galaxy S8 edge!), but with that said, there is a possiblity Samsung has figured out a way to enlarge the display without making the chassis much bigger, perhaps a true edge-to-edge display with no bezels and making used of Samsungs flexible OLED tech? This is all of course speculation at this stage.
Samsung Galaxy S8: How Many Phones?
We previously reported on rumours that Samsung would bring as many as five flagships to market in 2017, allegedly a Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 EDGE, a Galaxy Note 8 and Galaxy Note 8 EDGE, and the folding flexible OLED Galaxy X, aka Project Valley. Naturally most of the attention in recent weeks has focused on that new folding form factor device, but now we're hearing a bit more about the revamp of the Galaxy S7 - next year's Galaxy S8.
With the Galaxy Note 7 launch now behind us, focus turns to the remaining expected devices for 2016 and going into 2017; that includes Apple's next batch of iPhones, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus/Pro, and the two new Nexus phones from Google and HTC's partnership, codenamed the Sailfish and Marlin. Then of course there's looking ahead to February next year, around MWC 2017, when Samsung is expected to launch a new batch of flagship devices once again.
Now, here's the kicker; following the Galaxy Note 7 launch, Samsung's chief of mobile, Dong-jin Koh, spoke to reporters from the Korea Herald and said, ""Samsung has considered that it would make the edge display as the identity of the Galaxy S smartphone lineup if the company can provide consumers differentiated user experience through software and user-friendly functions (for the curved screen)."
This is being interpreted, not unreasonably in our view, as a big hint that future Galaxy S flagships will abandon the flat display variant entirely, and instead we will only see curved EDGE displays aboard Samsung's new hero models - just as we saw with the Galaxy Note 7, a curved EDGE display model without the EDGE name, and not accompanied by a flat-screened variant.
This does throw the earlier rumour, that Samsung would bring both flat and curved display variants of both the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 to market inside 2017, into question. The question there of course is how far into development such plans have gone before this apparently new decision was made to ditch flat screens on premium models altogether. Essentially there are two possible scenarios, either this new curved-screen only policy, if real and concrete, will be effective immediately, and mean that in 2017 there will be ONE Galaxy S8 and ONE Galaxy Note 8, BOTH with curved displays and no flat displays in sight, OR, this will apply to whatever generation comes AFTER the Galaxy S8, which may already be too far along in development as a dual-launch of both EDGE curved display variants and flat-screen variants. That latter scenario, however, probably won't come to fruition in the long term in our opinion; by the time another generation of Galaxy S flagships comes round to adopt the single-model, curved display only policy, Samsung will likely have met with a lot of success from the Galaxy X with its folding flexible display - enough to warrant switching to flexible folding OLED and leaving curved AND flat screens behind; we're expecting this to revolutionise the smartphone form factor, in a nutshell.
Samsung's Galaxy S8 flagship will rock a 4K display in 2017
The biggest players in the mobile industry seem to benefit most from sticking to fairly predictable and reliable annual patterns - sure the goalposts might move every now and then, but on the whole, we know roughly what to expect and when based on past launches. Samsung's established a pattern in recent years of hosting its own separate launch events but often very close to major industry expo events for its major devices, for example, it has regularly launched the Galaxy Note series at a private event in Berlin just before the annual IFA expo takes place there (though it did break with this tradition by launching the Galaxy Note 7 in New York this August). Likewise, the Galaxy S flagships have regularly launched in Barcelona in the days running up to the MWC expo held there around late February-to-early-March, and this is what it has done with both the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S7 series recently.
Compared to much of the rest of the industry, with fellow Korean rival LG being a notable exception, this is a pretty early start in the year for flagship launches, I mean, to put it in some kind of context Apple and Google are still yet to launch their respective flagships for 2016, with both expected to arrive in September. With the Galaxy Note 7 launch out the way, the Galaxy S8 is the next big thing on Samsung's calendar.
Samsung Galaxy S8: Dual-Camera
On June 20, sources inside China have claimed the Galaxy S8 will feature a dual-camera sensor. This would mean the handset is keeping in trend with the likes of the Huawei P9 and LG G5, as well as rumours about the iPhone 7 Plus/Pro. According to the details the dual-camera sensor will be engineered by Samsung Motors aka SEMCO, so the firm will be producing its own imaging tech this time round.
An August 30 report has emerged from an allegedly reliable Weibo tipster described as having a good track record. The source is adding to the Galaxy S8 rumour pile; reiterating that the new handset coming in 2017 will have a dual-camera sensor. The informant says that the sensor array will feature both a Samsung-made 12MP sensor and a Sony 13MP sensor. Meanwhile, the front camera is said to be an 8MP setup. The source also says to expect a Galaxy Note 7 style iris scanner.
Samsung Galaxy S8: 4K VR Display
An interesting new titbit has popped up on July 26; having not heard anything much about the Galaxy S8 amidst a barrage of Galaxy Note 7 leaks in recent weeks, apparently we now have a codename for the project. The codename, interestingly, drops some hints about the Galaxy S8 features and also supports earlier claims of a 4K display intended for use with VR, that's because the codename for the Galaxy S8 is allegedly "Project Dream". You may recall that Google is working on a VR platform desgined for Android OEMs to work with on their hardware, and that project is called Google Daydream, so it doesn't take a huge leap to see where one leaves and the other picks up on the naming convention. The word comes via multiple sources in China as reported by local publication MyDrivers.
According to details sourced by the Korea Herald, Samsung's Galaxy S8 will feature a larger 5.5in display with a 4K resolution - allegedly this design feature has been picked specifically with VR in mind, implying that the handset may be being prepared to work with Google Daydream, a possible Google headset, and indeed Samsung's own Gear VR hardware. In addition, the new report also reiterates earlier claims that the display panel will have a UHD (4K) resolution designed for use with VR applications.
UBI Research claims the handset will sport a 3840 x 2160 pixel resolution. Normally we would wonder why something sharper than the Galaxy S7's QHD 5.1in setup would be necessary (at nearly 600ppi) as it's already nearly impossible to pick out pixels if you try, but that said, VR is in its infancy and perhaps there are gains when you're staring directly into a phone dangled inches from your eyeballs.
The current-gen Galaxy S7 edge has a 5.5in display, larger than the regular flagship, so it is interesting that the Galaxy S8 will be enlarged to this size (and also raises questions about the Galaxy S8 edge!), but with that said, there is a possiblity Samsung has figured out a way to enlarge the display without making the chassis much bigger, perhaps a true edge-to-edge display with no bezels and making used of Samsungs flexible OLED tech? This is all of course speculation at this stage.
Samsung Galaxy S8: How Many Phones?
We previously reported on rumours that Samsung would bring as many as five flagships to market in 2017, allegedly a Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 EDGE, a Galaxy Note 8 and Galaxy Note 8 EDGE, and the folding flexible OLED Galaxy X, aka Project Valley. Naturally most of the attention in recent weeks has focused on that new folding form factor device, but now we're hearing a bit more about the revamp of the Galaxy S7 - next year's Galaxy S8.
With the Galaxy Note 7 launch now behind us, focus turns to the remaining expected devices for 2016 and going into 2017; that includes Apple's next batch of iPhones, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus/Pro, and the two new Nexus phones from Google and HTC's partnership, codenamed the Sailfish and Marlin. Then of course there's looking ahead to February next year, around MWC 2017, when Samsung is expected to launch a new batch of flagship devices once again.
Now, here's the kicker; following the Galaxy Note 7 launch, Samsung's chief of mobile, Dong-jin Koh, spoke to reporters from the Korea Herald and said, ""Samsung has considered that it would make the edge display as the identity of the Galaxy S smartphone lineup if the company can provide consumers differentiated user experience through software and user-friendly functions (for the curved screen)."
This is being interpreted, not unreasonably in our view, as a big hint that future Galaxy S flagships will abandon the flat display variant entirely, and instead we will only see curved EDGE displays aboard Samsung's new hero models - just as we saw with the Galaxy Note 7, a curved EDGE display model without the EDGE name, and not accompanied by a flat-screened variant.
This does throw the earlier rumour, that Samsung would bring both flat and curved display variants of both the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 to market inside 2017, into question. The question there of course is how far into development such plans have gone before this apparently new decision was made to ditch flat screens on premium models altogether. Essentially there are two possible scenarios, either this new curved-screen only policy, if real and concrete, will be effective immediately, and mean that in 2017 there will be ONE Galaxy S8 and ONE Galaxy Note 8, BOTH with curved displays and no flat displays in sight, OR, this will apply to whatever generation comes AFTER the Galaxy S8, which may already be too far along in development as a dual-launch of both EDGE curved display variants and flat-screen variants. That latter scenario, however, probably won't come to fruition in the long term in our opinion; by the time another generation of Galaxy S flagships comes round to adopt the single-model, curved display only policy, Samsung will likely have met with a lot of success from the Galaxy X with its folding flexible display - enough to warrant switching to flexible folding OLED and leaving curved AND flat screens behind; we're expecting this to revolutionise the smartphone form factor, in a nutshell.
