The Galaxy S8, Samsung's forthcoming flagship, is becoming more and more imminent, and rumors about the smartphone naturally continue to populate the speculative spectrum: Case makers suggest a few things, purportedly leaked renders attempt to show what the phone will look like, and so forth.
Like The Galaxy S7 And S7 edge, The Galaxy S8 Will Have Two Variants
Yet another rumor has surfaced, this time suggesting that the Galaxy S8 will come in two size configurations, lining up with a similar rumor; rock an edge-to-edge "infinity" display that's almost bezel-less, and come embedded with an iris scanner.
That comes from The Guardian, who also adds that the smartphone will launch late March, going for sale around April 21, later than the expected Mobile World Congress launch late February because of adverse effects caused by the Note 7 snafu.
"Infinity" Display
As for the exact screen dimensions, The Guardian was only able to estimate a range between 5 to 6 inches, adding that the flagship in question will have smaller, if not equal proportions to that of Samsung's previously released flagships, and considering that the dubbed infinity display sports a near-bezel-less look, the screen-to-body ratio is to increase in favor of the screen.
The two Galaxy S8 variants are codenamed Dream and Dream 2, with the numeric suffix of the latter representing the larger variant. Both configurations will feature curved displays — lining up with a rumor — similar to the Galaxy S7 edge's, reports The Guardian, citing two sources.
This is what's being called as the infinity display, covering much of the device's front panel. It's so large, in fact, that The Guardian's sources state that there wasn't even ample front panel real estate to slap the logo on. This means that the fingerprint scanner will be migrating to the back, the report indicates.
Those disappointed by the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus's lack of a headphone jack should be pleased to know that the Galaxy S8 will come with one, again according to sources. When Apple revealed its new flagships back in September, a staple feature had been stripped away: the headphone jack. The decision was propelled by the company's "courage," according to Phil Schiller, Apple's SVP for Worldwide Marketing, who was presenting at the time.
Iris Scanner
First launched on the Note 7, Samsung's iris scanning biometric technology will also be included in the Galaxy S8. It allows users to unlock their phones or authenticate transactions by simply having their eyes scanned.
Other Galaxy S8 Rumors
In terms of power, reports say that the Galaxy S8 will be packing a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chip — the latest there is — under the hood, ship with 64 GB of onboard storage, and support expandable storage up to 256 GB via a microSD slot.
It will employ USB-C technology for charging, wired data transfers, and others. It will also feature a new artificial intelligence assistant that's able to recognize objects. The Guardian's sources, along with other rumors, say that for the AI assistant, Samsung collaborated with other companies. It could be called Bixby, based on the technology of Viv Labs, which Samsung acquired October.
At any rate, rumors will be rumors, and it's best just to wait until late March hits for Samsung's official word about the forthcoming flagship.
