This weekend, Samsung released not one, but two videos advertising their AMOLED screens. Now I bet you’re thinking, what has this got to do with the Samsung S8 phones that have been rumoured for a long while?
Well, if you watch the videos (below), you’ll notice that the AMOLED adverts have used an unidentified mobile phone. The internet has been rife with speculation over the weekend on whether this could be the next generation of Samsung mobiles.
Of course, the phone in the display ads could just be a stand-in rendering or some other, non-Galaxy S8 prototype, but the fact that Samsung itself is the one releasing the images has our attention.
Rumour has it that Samsung will release not one, but two mobiles, in the form of the Samsung S8, and a model with their trademark curved screen, the Samsung S8 Edge.
There is huge pressure on Samsung to deliver a top of the range smartphone due to the controversy that surrounded their previous entry, the Note7. The Note7 became infamous last year due to their ability to spontaneously combust at the drop of a hat, which brings me to my next point, the release date.
When will the Samsung S8 be released?
Samsung tend to showcase their newest smartphone offerings at Mobile World Conference in Barcelona in February, however, many of the leaks that are circulating around the web are suggesting that we may need to hold out for a March launch with full volume shipments only starting in February.
Some leaks even suggest that Samsung will be holding its own “unpacked” event in April to showcase the new smartphone, which is later than usual, but given the disaster that was the Note7, I don’t think Samsung are prepared for another PR disaster and are going to take their time with this one.
Power & Performance
In terms of handset power, if history is any indication, Samsung might release the S8 with two different processors — one powered by its own Exynos chip and another by a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip.
Samsung might go with an Exynos 8895 chip and a Mali-G71 graphics chip that is said to provide up to 1.8x more graphics performance than the S7.
The other model is expected to come with Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 835 processor, which will — surprise, surprise — be produced by Samsung using its 10-nanonmeter process for greater power efficiency. With the 835 chip, the S8 would gain a 27 percent boost in performance over the S7.
As for how much RAM, we’re hearing some sources say 6GB of RAM and others claim 8GB. Either way, it’ll be more than the S7’s 4GB.
No Headphone Jack?
There are conflicting reports saying Samsung will and won’t ditch the headphone jack. If the S8 has a headphone jack, Samsung will be able to rub it in Apple’s face. But if it doesn’t — then it’s time to accept it and go wireless.
There’s still a lot we don’t know about the Samsung S8. Rumours can only tell us so much, and while most of them usually end up being true, there’s still plenty of room for Samsung to surprise us.
For example, how big will the battery be, and what will the software look like? Will the front-facing camera get an upgrade? Will the Samsung S8 include the Note7’s iris scanner? Will there be wireless charging? How about expandable storage?
The Note7 saw the reintroduction of the MicroSD card slot after being shunned on the S6 and it’s been rumoured that the Samsung S8 will house a dual-slot for MicroSD, further expanding your storage. Does this mean that the camera is getting a huge upgrade so photos can be taken at a high pixel rate and videos will be recorded in 4K? Only time will tell, but for now, we can’t help but speculate.
Check out our range of S8 compatible MicroSD cards ahead of the launch. If those dual-slot card rumours are to be believed, you’ll want to grab yourself a couple of cards to avoid the undoubtedly mad rush to purchase high end cards to make the most out of your phone.
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