A new batch of Samsung Galaxy S8, S8 Plus information has leaked, thanks to, oddly, trusted de facto Apple leakster and KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. As to why Kuo has suddenly entered the ongoing Galaxy S8 rumor mill is probably still lost on many, but no matter — his rumors align with previous leaks, so his information might hold merit.
Samsung is set to unveil the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus handsets on March 29, dropping a vague "This was a phone" teaser trailer to get everyone hyped up for the next smartphone after the company's ill-fated Note 7, whose troubling defect caused many units to blow off — literally.
Anyhow, Kuo has delivered a flurry of information regarding the enigmatic handsets, both lining up with past rumors while providing new details. Here's a full detailed breakdown of the specifications, as reported by 9to5Google:
Samsung Galaxy S8 Rumors
Kuo says that the Galaxy S8 will come in two models: the regular model with a 5.8-inch display, and the Plus model with a 6.2-inch display. As hinted in Samsung's silhouetted photo of the handset, the phones will have minimal bezels around the screen, which renders wider aspect ratios for both. This means that both the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus will come with increased resolutions of 2,960 x 2,400.
Both models will also feature curved OLED displays, a first time for Samsung to do so after offering the Galaxy S7 edge in curved and non-curved variants.
No Home Button
Also, the physical home button is indeed being scrapped, supporting purportedly leaked images of the handset very recently. Both phones will feature four modules on the back panel: a rear camera, flash, fingerprint sensor, and heart rate sensor. Both will feature an 8-megapixel front-facing shooter, and a 12-megapixel one on the back.
The top bezel of both handsets will feature six components: an iris scanner, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, infrared LED transmitter, front-facing camera, and the receiver.
No Dual Cameras
Supposedly, there were plans to outfit the phones with a dual camera setup, but Samsung reportedly backpedaled, citing challenges in terms of cost and "immature dual-camera ISP design."
U.S., Japanese, and Chinese releases of both phones will come equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, while those sold in Europe and the rest of Asia will pack Samsung's proprietary Exynos 8895 processor. Additionally, Chinese and Korean Galaxy S8, S8 Plus will have 6 GB of RAM. Elsewhere, it's down to 4 GB.
A special docking accessory will be presumably sold separately. This enables the phone's PC Mode, which allows the owner of the phone to access a desktop-like user interface, similar to how Windows 10 Continuum is set up.
As expected, both phones will feature a USB 3.1 Type-C port, a further step away from microUSB ports of yesteryear.
Pricing, Availability, And Color Options
Finally, both handsets, says Kuo, will come in seven colorways: silver, gold, bright or matte black, blue, orchid, and pink. Whether these colors will be available in every country upon launch remains to be determined. Both handsets will go on sale on April 21, which might suggest Samsung has overcome reported shipping delays.
On top of everything, Kuo expects a 6:4 shipment partition, with the base Galaxy S8 model getting the higher end of the ratio. He hasn't offered pricing details for both handsets, although they're expected to be priced slightly higher than last year's models.
Thoughts about the new batch of Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus rumors? Feel free to sound off in the comments section below!
