Third-party case makers have been known to unveil new handsets ahead of the actual company making the devices. A new image of what is supposedly a case for the Samsung Galaxy S8 shows cutouts for a USB Type-C port and standard 3.5 mm headphone port.
Third-Party Case Makers Show Off New Smartphones Ahead Of Launch
Smartphone makers go to great lengths in trying to keep unannounced devices under strict lock and key. Since most smartphone customers want a protective case for their shiny new handset, smartphone companies supply them with measurements in the form of images, renders, and sometimes the actual device.
In 2015, Samsung was rumored to launch its Galaxy S6 series with a brand-new, premium metal and glass design. A few weeks before the company unveiled the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge at Mobile World Congress 2015, Spigen, a popular third-party case maker, published images with the unannounced smartphone inside one of its protective cases, giving the world its first look at the upcoming handset.
LG achieved a similar fate with last year's flagship LG G5. A third-party case maker showed the modular smartphone in one of its protective cases a few weeks before it unveiled the handset at Mobile World Congress 2016.
New Case Confirms Samsung Galaxy S8 Features
Samsung is once again watching third-party case makers show the design of its next-generation Galaxy S8 and S8 edge/Plus, a few weeks before its expected launch and subsequent release. Slashleaks has published images of what is supposedly a third-party case for the Samsung Galaxy S8.
As you can see in the image above, there are cutouts for the Galaxy S8's rear camera setup. The bottom of the plastic case appears to confirm that Samsung will not abandon the standard 3.5 mm headphone jack like Apple and HTC have both done on the iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, HTC Bolt, and just-announced HTC U 10.
Samsung has reportedly set high sales goals for the Galaxy S8 and S8 edge/Plus and is said to begin mass production of the smartphones in March in order to have 10 million units ready when the handsets are available. We recently reported Samsung is very likely planning to release the Galaxy S8 series in the third week of April, and signs point to April 21 being the actual release date.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 edge/Plus are expected to boast a new design, which will consist of metal, glass, and Quad HD curved edge Super AMOLED displays, and be the first from the company to not include its usual physical home button, with embedded fingerprint scanner instead, in addition to Android hardware navigation keys. The fingerprint scanner is expected to be built directly into the display in order to allow for a bezel-less screen. Navigation keys will also appear on screen.
As always, we'll update you on any new Samsung Galaxy S8 news as it becomes available.
