Samsung is now under pressure to provide users with an excellent flagship phone that perfectly works for them. The Korean electronics company is hoping to win back users’ trust following the blunder they made with the Galaxy Note 7, which literally burnt out. Moreover, users are keen to see which safety measures the company will include on its S8. With the S8, Samsung is hoping to compete with the new Apple flagships, including the iPhones 7 and 7 Plus.
According to tech experts, Samsung is likely to add more features on its upcoming flagship. This will aim to reassure users that it is still concerned about providing them with quality products. However, there is need for Samsung to do much more when it comes to reassuring users that they are safe with its products. Here are some of the things to expect from the upcoming S8.
4K Upgrade
Rumor has it that the Galaxy S8 will come with a 4K display. If this is correct, then it will be the first smartphone from Samsung with a 4K display. Its predecessor, Galaxy S7 uses an HD Quad screen and maybe it is about time the company changed to something else. The 4K AMOLED display will result in an increased pixel density and resolution making mobile VR crisper.
Moreover, there is a great likelihood that Samsung will launch the S8 in two versions such as the ‘regular’ version and the ‘Edge’ version, which will respectively have Quad HD and 4K screen resolutions. On the other hand, some reports are claiming that Samsung might completely stop using flat displays and launch the Galaxy S8 with curved edges.
No Home Button
Some reports claim that Samsung might not include a home button on the S8. Instead, it will have a fingerprint sensor embedded underneath. Doing so will result in an increased screen size or shrink the dimensions of the device with the most affected areas being the height.
A more recent TV ad has shown a without a home button S8. It is not clear whether users should expect the S8 resembling that seen on the ad and maybe the company was demonstrating a reference design. However, even if the device seen in the TV ad is not the S8, users are now aware that Samsung is hoping to do away with the home button in the near future. Most users are looking forward to an S8 with a curved screen and lacking a home button.
More Performance
The possibility of Samsung releasing the S8 in two different processors is very high. One might be powered by an Exynos chip and the second might have a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip.
Reports claim that the company might launch the S8 with a G71-Mali graphics chip and Exynos 8895 chip. This will provide graphics performance of about 1.8 times more than S7. The second model is set to have Snapdragon 835 processor, which is the latest Qualcomm. This will provide the S8 with an improved performance of approximately 27% over the S7.
Headphone Jack
Some rumors are saying that Samsung will ditch the headphone jack. Also, other rumors are saying that the company might not ditch this jack. If the S8 comes with a headphone jack, the Korean tech giant will rise against its major competitor Apple. If it does not, people should accept the new changes and fully switch to wireless.
Bixby Artificial Intelligence Assistant
Most companies including Microsoft, Google, and Apple are already using AI digital assistants such as Cortana, Pixel, and Siri. Now, Samsung is set to launch an AI digital assistant of its own. According to some rumors, the S8 will feature an AI assistant, which will be known as ‘Bixby’ powered by Viv. Samsung acquired the AI assistant from Viv in October and surprisingly, Viv came up with Siri and sold it to Apple.
Weatherproof
Samsung has been providing users with waterproof phones for many years. The company improved its ingress protection rating with the Galaxy S7 and the S7 Edge to IP68. This means that these phones can allow submersion to up-to 4.9 feet for around 30 minutes. In addition, the IP68 rating implies that these devices are sand, dirt and dust resistant and do not require any covers or caps. According to reports, the S8 will also come with a similar IP68 rating.
Cameras
There is no clear information about the S8’s cameras just yet. However, users should expect the dual-camera setup as the case with iPhone 7Plus. It should be noted that, phones that use the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chip is in a position to comfortably support dual cameras.
Release Date
Usually, Samsung takes advantage of the Mobile World Congress to launch its new devices. However, things might change this year whereby the company is scheduled to hold an ‘Unpacked’ event sometime in April.
See Also: Samsung Started Very Well this Year but Later Flopped
Conclusion
Much has been said about the upcoming Galaxy S8, but these are just rumors and not enough is clear about the upcoming device. For instance, it is not clear how its software will resemble, battery size or whether its cameras will receive an upgrade.
