Ahead of the official launch, Samsung is teasing its upcoming Galaxy S8 with some top-tier features which will set apart the flagship smartphone from its predecessors. On its Philippines website, the pre-registration page for the Galaxy S8 asks users to register their interest in the ‘Next Galaxy’. The five features teased include superior camera, powerful gaming, and an enhanced virtual reality (VR) experience.
The features teased by Samsung fall in line with past rumors which have detailed in lengths the premium design language and battery life, albeit in exception to the virtual reality feature. Previously, it was reported that the Galaxy S8 will be the first smartphone to come packed with Samsung’s own artificially intelligent Bixby assistant. Now, based on the company’s early sign-up page indicates that it could also insert the new virtual reality feature in the Galaxy S8. Samsung officially confirms Bixby voice assistant on Samsung's Italian website.
To help understand, virtual reality technology offers an immersive experience with the use of an external hardware while consuming content on a device. With the inclusion of virtual reality, one can assume the Galaxy S8 to either come with a dedicated VR headset support or offer an enhanced VR experience which could be something similar to Lenovo’s TheatreMax technology.
Samsung is conducting similar polls across various country websites including India. These polls are not just gauging interest of consumers but also hinting at the possible inclusion of these features into the new Galaxy S8 lineup that includes a larger Galaxy S8+ version.
In addition to Samsung dropping hints about new features in the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, there have also been speculations about new color options. A Brazilian e-commerce retailer is conducting a poll on its website, which resembles the official Samsung website, for color options that include Black, Silver, and Amethyst/Violet. It is speculated that some of these colors could be limited to certain markets.
Interestingly, a new leak has claimed that Samsung will be using the same Jet Black color of the recent Apple iPhone 7 lineup for its Galaxy S8 series. The leaked image shows off what appears to be a dummy Galaxy S8 model with a glossy black finish.
The latest information surrounds the smartphone’s camera quality and biometric sensors. The next flagship smartphones are expected to include a 12-megapixel camera. While it does not seem like an incremental upgrade from last year’s Galaxy S7 lineup, reports indicate that Samsung has improved the video recording quality along with the front camera to differentiate.
According to Gsmarena report, the camera on the Samsung Galaxy S8 is now speculated to come with support for 1,000fps video recording. At this frame rate, the smartphone will essentially capture slow-motion videos more than eight times faster than the Apple iPhone 7 (capable of recording slow-motion 1080p videos at 120fps and 720p videos at 240fps). This will also surpass the recently launched Sony Xperia XZ Premium smartphone with 19-megapixel camera that is capable of shooting slow-motion video at 960fps.
Now what makes the 12-megapixel camera sensor on the Galaxy S8 so advanced as to have high-speed shooting capabilities. A report on Naver explains that this has been made possible by adding DRAM (which is used as buffer memory) as a storage device between the pixel part of the image sensor and the circuit part. As a result of this, it is possible to transmit and store images at a much faster rate than to transmit images using cables.
Talking about the front camera capabilities on the Galaxy S8; it is expected to feature an 8-megapixel selfie shooter which will come with auto-focus technology. This year, Samsung has added a second sensor for biometric authentication in the form of an iris scanner. By repositioning the fingerprint sensor to the back, the Galaxy S8 houses the iris scanner alongside the selfie camera. Based on the latest report, the iris scanner will feature a 3.7-megapixel camera sensor for improved authentication.
This is in contrast with some previous reports which indicated that due to the limits of the iris scanner, the Galaxy S8 will also come with facial recognition dedicated for authenticating payments. According to a report on The Investor, one of the company officials has acknowledged that due to limitations with the iris scanner, facial recognition has been added to aid in faster and more accurate biometric authentication.“With a face scanner, it will take less than 0.01 seconds to unlock the phone,” the Samsung official was quoted as saying to the publication.
Although the official launch is scheduled to take place on March 29, prices of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ have already been leaked online. It is speculated that the Galaxy S8 could retail in European markets at 799 Euros (approximately Rs 57,000), while the larger Galaxy S8+ will sell for 899 Euros (approximately Rs 63,400).
Earlier it was reported that April 10 is when the smartphones will be available for pre-orders with first global shipments beginning April 21. However, according to latest reports, both Galaxy S8 and S8+ will be available for pre-order in South Korea slightly earlier from April 7.
Samsung Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+ specifications and features
Talking about the specifications, this year Samsung is bringing its popular spilling display onto both variants and moving away from the ‘edge’ branding. The Galaxy S8 is expected to feature a 5.8-inch QHD+ display while the Galaxy S8+ will feature a 6.2-inch QHD+ display. Under the hood, the smartphones will be powered by the newest Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor or equivalent Exynos 8895 SoC, paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage that will be expandable up to 2TB via microSD card. According to PhoneArena,Galaxy S8, offering both 4GB/64GB and 6GB/128GB models will be available in China.
For photography, it is unlikely that there will be a dual camera setup. The Galaxy S8 is expected to sport a 12-megapixel Dual-Pixel rear camera along with LED flash along with an 8-megapixel selfie shooter.
Samsung has reportedly repositioned the fingerprint sensor to the back and has also added a new iris scanner for enhanced biometric authentication. On the software front, both models are likely to run Android 7.1 Nougat out-of-the-box with a layer of TouchWiz UI on top.
Image Credit : slashleaks
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