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Samsung Galaxy S8 Release Date & Specs Rumours: Launch Date NOW Confirmed

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Samsung Galaxy S8 Release Date & Specs Rumours: Launch Date NOW Confirmed


Richard Goodwin

25/01/2017 – 10:46am

The Samsung Galaxy S8 – and Galaxy S8 PLUS – will get a release date inside Q1 2017… and they’re shaping up to be VERY impressive!

The Samsung Galaxy S8 is going to be a BIG deal for the Korean manufacturer. Flagship launches are, of course, always a big deal, in the sense that this is where the bulk of a company’s sales and profits come from for the subsequent 12 months.

But more than that, following the disaster that was the Galaxy Note 7 “explosiongate” fiasco, Samsung NEEDS the Galaxy S8 to be a big success if only to make up for the big hold it put in its finances.

Allegedly, at least according to a few surveys, Samsung’s reputation with consumers hasn’t been impacted as severely as one might first think, but that said it would also be beneficial for Samsung to smash the Galaxy S8 out the park, just so there’s no doubt that it can still put out a safe, reliable flagship.

Reports on November 21 suggest Samsung may not have as much to worry about in the wake of “explosiongate” as we first thought. Reuters has published the results of a survey it performed between October 26 and November 9 which suggests that Samsung loyalty isn’t much different from Apple loyalty even after the Note 7’s problems.

Of the consumers surveyed who knew of the Galaxy Note 7 recalls, 27% said they would still consider purchasing a Samsung Galaxy brand handset. Of those who didn’t know about the Note 7 debacle, the proportion who would buy Samsung phones was 25%.

Of current Samsung smartphone owners, as many as 91% said they would buy another Samsung handset, while 92% said they would buy any Samsung product. That last statstic compares directly with the surveys finding of Apple consumers, 92% of Apple iPhone users confirmed they would buy another iPhone, and 89% said they would buy another Apple device.

Similarly, on November 30, it appears there is evidence of a recovery in confidence with regards to Samsung investors. Ahead of the Galaxy Note 7 launch, Samsung’s share price peaked to an all-time high in August 2016, to a value of around $1480 per share, but following the Note 7 debacle Samsung’s stock market valuation fell off a cliff, to the tune of $14 billion. Ouch.

If you’re thinking of upgrading your phone, TV or PC anytime soon, Samsung is running a 0% finance offer at the moment which gives you 0% finance for up to 24 months on orders over £249 placed. The offer ends on January 23rd, however, so you need to be quick in order to get it on time.

Now though, it seems things are returning to normal, a gain of $9 billion on the morning of November 30, a new all-time high with shares peaking at $1,496.74 per share on a 4.2% increase on the day. Samsung’s value is therefore sitting at $224 billion.

“Part of the reason is the announcement that the company will return 50% of its free cash flow in 2016 and 2017 through the use of increased dividends and share buybacks,” reports PhoneArena.

“2016 dividends are going to increase 36%. Samsung is taking these steps after U.S. hedge fund Elliott Management put pressure on the company to take steps to increase stockholder value. The fund owns .6% of Samsung and had hoped to get the manufacturer to pay out 75% of free cash flow.”

Samsung Galaxy S8 Release Date & Launch

Quite a few new snippets of info have emerged regarding the Galaxy S8 in the last few days, but chief amongst them comes the revelation (which we’ve heard allegations of before) that the Galaxy S8 won’t launch at MWC 2017. The word this time comes directly from Samsung itself, however, specifically from its chief of mobile, Koh Dong-jin, who, while talking to assembled press regarding the findings of its Galaxy Note 7 “explosiongate” investigations, confirmed that in order to prevent similar issues with the Galaxy S8 it will be released later than previously expected.

“Lessons of this incident are deeply reflected in our culture and process,” he said, according to Reuters. Koh himself did not mention a release date, which leaves us with earlier rumours ranging from mid-to-late March, right through to an April launch and an arrival of the device on shelves sometime in May. Although Samsung is usually quite quick from announcement to release, this time some sources suggest it could be a whole month after the launch event before the new flagship arrives with consumers.

However, one of the other bits of info to emerge in recent days throws some light on this. It comes once again from Twitter source @Ricciolo1, who previously brought us the info regarding the Galaxy S8 launching in late March (March 29 to be exact) to hit the market in “w17” (week 17) with a price tag of 849 euros. In a new Tweet, Ricciolo says the March 29 launch is still accurate, but adds that Samsung will hold multiple, simultaneous launch events in the US and EU; he also mentions a “record breaking” marketing campaign, whatever that means.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Release Date & Specs: Design 

A couple of leaks have cropped up which reveal some more details about the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus. Apparently a case maker sent some renders with the phone dimensions to GSMArena; the leak shows design similarities to the Galaxy S7 series, but the new Galaxy S8 series seem to be relatively compact for their display sizes, and the front fascia of each is mostly screen.

The Galaxy S8 Plus measures 152.38 x 78.51 x 7.94mm, being both wider and taller than the Galaxy S7 EDGE; the larger of the two current-gen phones. The Galaxy S8 Plus also seems to have a 6.2in-6.3in display, not counting the curved edges.

“The screen will be a next-generation OLED panel that is supposed to be more efficient than current designs,” the report noted. “The Galaxy S8’s screen will also incorporate the home button with its fingerprint sensor, and other buttons. Furthermore, the handset should have no less than four cameras on board. Finally, there’s going to be a new 3-coil wireless charging inside the device.”

Bizarrely, the power button and volume buttons will also supposedly be touch-only buttons as well!

“The Galaxy S8 will be first in the Galaxy S series to sport a dual-lens rear camera on the back,” the report added. “On the front, a selfie camera and an iris recognition camera should round out the phone’s cameras. Finally, the Galaxy S8 should feature a 3-coil wireless charging design that will bring over better range and faster charging.”

The regular Galaxy S8 measures 140.14mm x 72.20 x 7.30mm, shorter and thinner than the Galaxy S7, but wider across its face; however, while the Galaxy S8 is close in size to the Galaxy S7, it has a display size of 5.7in, which is about the same as the larger Galaxy S7 EDGE.

Meanwhile, a Chinese source on Twitter has apparently outed the model numbers of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus. @mmddj_china tweeted:

“Samsung GALAXY S8 SM-G9500/SM-G950X Samsung GALAXY S8 Plus SM-G9550/SM-G955X”

Images have emerged via Twitter reportedly showing the display panels of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus. The Twitter account @dfordesign is based in Poland, but the poster claimed he got the photos from a Chinese screen protector supplier who has been accurate in the past. Having said that, he also adds the disclaimer that he can’t be 100% sure of the images. Still, assuming for now that they are legit, what we can see is a curved edge setup for both phone sizes; we can also see a lot of ports for sensors and the like which hadn’t previously been spotted in renders, far more than on the Galaxy S7 as well. It is quite possible the glut of sensors has something to do with feeding important info to the Bixby AI assistant.

This year is no exception: check these images out that MobileFun just sent us which apparently show the Galaxy S8 decked out inside a rather fancy looking case.

You can see much of the handset, to be fair, but what we can see is pretty revealing. The home button is gone, for instance, and the camera unit on the back looks a lot different to what came before.

This handset features an EDGE display, which, according to reports, will be standard across all Galaxy S8 units in 2017. The frontage of the handset is pretty much ALL display, and looks all the better for it.

According to information sourced by SamMobile, the Galaxy S8 will ditch the PenTile Diamond Pixel display panel technology Samsung is already used to using – it’ll still be Super AMOLED, of course, but will use a traditional RGB pixel layout to offer improved detail at a QHD resolution – that means NO 4K display folks, contrary to earlier reports.

On top of this, there is yet more evidence that Samsung will implement an optical finger recognition scanner module under the display to replace the existing physical Home key and scanner combo. Lastly, it’s also claimed Samsung is following Apple and Lenovo’s path of ditching the 3.5mm headphone jack in order to switch to wireless and free up internal space for components and/or a bigger batter. It will also adopt a Type-C USB port.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Release Date & Specs: Display Technology

According to Samsung Display researcher Park Won-sang, Samsung is going all out on the Galaxy S8 Super AMOLED display following the Galaxy Note 7 debacle. During the International Meeting On Information Display, Park said “Samsung Display would roll out a full-screen display whose display area ratio reaches more than 90 percent next year.”

That would mean a 20% increase in screen-to-body ratio over the Galaxy S7 series, meaning Park’s claims would sit with earlier rumours of a true edge-to-edge full-screen display on the Galaxy S8. The Galaxy S7 EDGE display already wraps around both sides of the phone, so there isn’t much room for expansion there, which means it’s possible this further enlarged display will probably expand towards the top and bottom sections of the phone.

This also means that tackling the Home key and fingerprint scanner may be necessary; several OEMs are looking into fitting fingerprint scanners under the display glass, but an alternative would be a rear-panel mounted scanner and the use of Android’s on-screen software controls for UI navigation.

An interesting titbit has popped up on July 26; apparently we now have a codename for the project. The codename, interestingly, drops some hints about the Galaxy S8 features and also supports earlier claims of a 4K display intended for use with VR, that’s because the codename for the Galaxy S8 is allegedly “Project Dream”.

You may recall that Google is working on a VR platform desgined for Android OEMs to work with on their hardware, and that project is called Google Daydream, so it doesn’t take a huge leap to see where one leaves and the other picks up on the naming convention. The word comes via multiple sources in China as reported by local publication MyDrivers.

According to details sourced by the Korea Herald, Samsung’s Galaxy S8 will feature a larger 5.5in display with a 4K resolution – allegedly this design feature has been picked specifically with VR in mind, implying that the handset may be being prepared to work with Google Daydream, a possible Google headset, and indeed Samsung’s own Gear VR hardware. In addition, the report also reiterates earlier claims that the display panel will have a UHD (4K) resolution designed for use with VR applications.

UBI Research claims the handset will sport a 3840 x 2160 pixel resolution. Normally we would wonder why something sharper than the Galaxy S7’s QHD 5.1in setup would be necessary (at nearly 600ppi) as it’s already nearly impossible to pick out pixels if you try, but that said, VR is in its infancy and perhaps there are gains when you’re staring directly into a phone dangled inches from your eyeballs.

The current-gen Galaxy S7 edge has a 5.5in display, larger than the regular flagship, so it is interesting that the Galaxy S8 will be enlarged to this size, but with that said, there is a possiblity Samsung has figured out a way to enlarge the display without making the chassis much bigger.

The introduction of Samsung’s curved AMOLED panels has often been called a gimmick but the popularity of these handsets cannot be disputed — punters and reviewers alike love them. The popularity of Samsung’s EDGE models even caught Samsung out, forcing the company to rejig its orders in a bid to satisfy demand for the Samsung Galaxy S7 EDGE, which is now outpacing sales of the standard S7 model in some regions.

And this popularity has lead to Samsung adopting an interesting approach to its 2017 Galaxy S8. According to reports both models — the 5.1in and 5.5in models — will feature a curved AMOLED display. The source of the news is the Korea Herald, which reported the following:

“Now the Korean tech giant is promoting the curvy screen as its premium smartphone lineup’s key identity,” the report notes. “Sources said the company has already started securing display panels in two sizes — 5.1 inch and 5.5 inch — from its own display-making unit Samsung Display, the world’s sole producer of double-edged screens. “

Samsung Galaxy S8 Release Date & Specs: Specs & Hardware 

The Samsung Galaxy S8 will be an absolute beast when it comes to processing power. This is just par for the course with a new flagship from a major player, but the form in which the power is delivered is always an interesting talking point and next year’s Galaxy S8 will apparently use Qualcomm’s upcoming CPU, the Snapdragon 835.

Qualcomm and Samsung are apparently working in cahoots on the chipset, according to reports, with an expected launch scheduled in for CES 2017. Word on the street suggests Qualcomm is bringing a whole host of changes to its 835 chipset – changes that will improve battery life, add in plenty more power for DSLR-grade photography and, because of the minuscule nature of the chip, allow for even thinner smartphone design.

“The first devices to feature the Snapdragon 835 should appear in the first quarter of 2017, meaning that the Samsung Galaxy S8 is a prime candidate,” reports Express. “Rumours are continuing to build around Samsung’s next flagship smartphone, which could also feature a completely new design.”

According to sources posting on Chinese social network Weibo, Samsung is allegedly testing its next-gen processor chip which may appear inside the firm’s flagship models released in 2017. It’s not known precisely what the processor will be called, but it is assumed it will be an Exynos 8995 following on from the Exynos 8990.

This next-gen chip promises to be quite a jump ahead of the current 8990 setup which is manufactured on 14nm FinFET semiconductors, while the 8995 will apparently use a 10nm fabrication instead.

As usual for improved nanometre construction methods, it’s thought this will lead to faster performance but better power efficiency, and just to give some context of how much more powerful the tipster says a 30% increase for the current test speeds for the new silicon, which are going as high as 4GHz for the main custom core cluster, with 2.7GHz for the ARM Cortex-A53 cluster paired as part of the big.Little architecture.

That is the maximum speed, however, and it’s likely that for any production models there will be a cap lower than this.

Techtastic posted some info sourced from Weibo which alleges a top-tier Galaxy S8 model with 256GB storage space and there’s mention of 6GB of RAM too. Now, bear in mind that the Galaxy S7 was HEAVILY rumoured to have 6GB RAM, in fact many people were certain of it….and it didn’t deliver the goods with only 4GB of RAM. In addition, while other manufacturers have been ramping up from 64GB storage to 128GB models, Samsung kept the Galaxy S7 series and the now discontinued Galaxy Note 7 at 64GB tops. So in other words, don’t hold your breath!

What’s also not clear, assuming for the sake of argument that the 256GB storage and 6GB RAM details are correct, is whether we’ll see 6GB RAM across the board, or if this will be restricted to the higher storage models, or whether it will be restricted to just Exynos or Qualcomm processor model variants. We also have no details on whether the 32GB option will be getting the chop, or whether there will also be a 64GB and/or 128GB lower-tier variants.

There have been some whispers of a possible 8GB of RAM inside the Galaxy S8, which might seem like a bit of a leap, until you hear the news that SK Hynix, a leading memory manufacturer, has just announced its new LPDDR4X RAM chip for 2017 – dual-channel 8 Gigabit 8GB RAM chip which is 30% smaller and 20% more battery efficient than its predecessors. To make matters more interesting, a report from Korea’s The Investor explicity states that the chip is destined to be embedded in both Apple’s iPhone 8 and Samung’s Galaxy S8.

Rumoured specs for the Samsung Galaxy S8 include: 

Specifications Galaxy S8 Specs
Battery 4200 mAh
Camera Features Optical image stabilization, geo tagging, facial recognition, HDR, auto laser focus
Camera – Front 9.0 Megapixels
Camera – Rear 30 Megapixels
Colors Black, blue, gold, and white
Features Corning Gorilla Glass 5, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.0, fingerprint scanner, retina eye scanner, wireless charging, rapid charging, mini projector
Memory 64 and 128 GB internal memory and expandable with dual micro SD cards
Operating System Current Android operating system 2017
Price $850 USD, 775 Euro – see below
Processor Snapdragon Qualcomm octa-core 3.2 GHz processor
RAM 6 GB RAM
Release Date April 2017 – See Below
Screen Display 5.2” 4K display with a 4096 x 2160 screen resolution

In a bid to undo the damage done by the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 debacle, Samsung plans on hitting back big time in 2017 with a new, larger model of the Galaxy S8 called the Galaxy S8 Plus.

This means, in 2017, there will be two Galaxy S8 handsets: the standard Galaxy S8 and the new Galaxy S8 Plus. Both models will feature EDGE displays and, thanks to new design and display technology, will feature a bezel-less design so the overall size of the handset should not be much bigger than current Galaxy S7 models.

The standard Galaxy S8 will feature a 5.7in OLED display, while the Galaxy S8 Plus will pack in a larger 6.2in panel. But – and this is the kicker – the overall size will not be impacted too much by the inclusion of what is a very large panel, thanks to new design language that will see Samsung eradicate bezels from the handset’s design. Think something like this.

“Samsung showed off its new display at the Display Week conference in San Francisco,” reports TR. “The display measures 5.5 inches and boasts a resolution of 2160 x 3840, which is an insane 806 pixels per inch. Samsung’s current Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge flagship phones boast quad HD resolutions (1440 x 2560), but an upcoming Samsung device may get the 4K treatment, like the next Galaxy Note.”

There is also talk about the Galaxy S8 Plus featuring Samsung’s, usually Note-exclusive, S-Pen stylus. If so, this would be the first time that feature has come to a phone outside of Samsung’s Note series, and while multiple reports have suggested Samsung may discontinue its Note series, I personally do not see that happening. Adding the S-Pen to the Galaxy S8 Plus could just be a way of sweetening the deal for potential buyers.

“Samsung is already rumored to be working on two distinct versions of the Galaxy S8 next quarter,” notes BGR, “ including a regular model and a ‘Plus’ phablet. The larger device may come with a dual rear camera just like the iPhone 7 Plus and a 4K display. TechTastic speculates that the model could also house an S Pen stylus. If that’s the case, a 5.5-inch Galaxy S8 Plus could effectively replace the Galaxy Note 8 that would’ve been released next August.”

It also looks as if Samsung is pulling out the big guns in the camera department as well:

“On the back there’s said to be a whopping 30-megapixel camera with optical image stabilisation while a 9MP snapper will be on the front for those all-important selfies,” notes Pocket Lint. “We’ve previously seen rumours suggesting the S8 will have a dual-lens camera, so we’re not holding out for a 30MP sensor just yet.”

How Samsung will differentiate the two models remains to be seen, but given the lack of interest in its Galaxy S6 EDGE+ handset it seems likely the larger, more costly phone will have to feature a couple of interesting USPs in order to encourage adoption.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Release Date & Specs: Bixby – Samsung’s Answer To Amazon’s Alexa 

Siri and Google Assistant are fine. But Amazon’s Alexa is the true king of the digital assistant arena. For this reason, it is Alexa that Samsung has to best with its upcoming Bixby AI, which will debut inside the Galaxy S8 later on this quarter.

Smart is one thing. But learning is another thing entirely. Part of the major pull around Alexa is that she learns and is always acquiring new abilities, thanks to Amazon opening her up to third-party developers. Will Bixby be the same? Or do we have another Siri on our hands?

Unknown. But Samsung has already shot and missed once with S-Voice, so I do not seeing making the same mistake twice. Like Siri, S-Voice was essentially useless. And once the novelty of talking to your phone had worn off, the feature was seldom used.

Fast-forward a few years and we now have truly smart digital assistants. Alexa is the best and has to be experienced to be believed, but you can bet your ass the rest of the tech space will do their utmost best to outdo Alexa in 2017/18.

One thing we DO know about Bixby is that it will be able to do payments, which is pretty darn cool. All the user will have to say, according to Sam Mobile, is, “Bixby, send $100 to Chuck” and the payment will be processed. Not too shabby.

As of January 19, reports from SamMobile apparently reveal more details of the features and capabilities of Bixby. Allegedly, Bixby will integrate with compatible apps and will support Samsung Pay. On top of that, it will supposedly integrate with the handset’s camera, which will allow it to perform visual searches with objects and products, and will recognise text. These features sound remarkably similar to a lot of Google’s intelligence systems that it has been devleoping for some time.

“The standard camera app on the Galaxy S8 will feature its own Bixby button, giving access to a search tool that processes whatever the user is pointing the camera at. Bixby will analyze the image, and identify objects and text. It will help you search for that object, or use optical character recognition to process any text you point the phone at,” says the report.

It added, “Not only will it help you find where you can buy an identified object, but it can make the purchase as well.”

Here’s the official line on VIV from the people that made it:

“Viv is an artificial intelligence platform that enables developers to distribute their products through an intelligent, conversational interface. It’s the simplest way for the world to interact with devices, services and things everywhere. Viv is taught by the world, knows more than it is taught, and learns every day.”

You can check out a video demo of VIV in action below.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Release Date & Specs: Camera

On June 20, sources inside China have claimed the Galaxy S8 will feature a dual-camera sensor. This would mean the handset is keeping in trend with the likes of the Huawei P9 and LG G5, as well as rumours about the iPhone 7 Plus/Pro. According to the details the dual-camera sensor will be engineered by Samsung Motors aka SEMCO, so the firm will be producing its own imaging tech this time round. 

An August 30 report has emerged from an allegedly reliable Weibo tipster described as having a good track record. The source is adding to the Galaxy S8 rumour pile; reiterating that the new handset coming in 2017 will have a dual-camera sensor. The informant says that the sensor array will feature both a Samsung-made 12MP sensor and a Sony 13MP sensor. Meanwhile, the front camera is said to be an 8MP setup. The source also says to expect a Galaxy Note 7 style iris scanner.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Release Date & Specs: Rumoured New Features & USPs 

SamMobile reports that the Samsung Galaxy S8 may be the first smartphone to hit the market with the new Bluetooth 5.0 standard. This isn’t sourced from any internal tipsters, however, it appears to simply be a logical conclusion the publication has reached, according to the details, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group has now approved and officially adopted Bluetooth 5.0 in the second week of December.

“Bluetooth 5.0 promises faster speed, longer range and larger broadcast message capacity. It also provides improved interoperability and coexistence with other wireless technologies. Bluetooth SIG says that the latest standard has four times the range, two times speed and eight times broadcast message capacity as compared to Bluetooth 4.0. The group expects devices with Bluetooth 5.0 to arrive “within two to six months,” says the report.

The logical conclusion comes in when it is revealed that Samsung is a member of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, meaning it’s quite likely that the firm will integrate the new standard into its devices as quickly as possible. The timing may be no coincedence either, and with that “two” months bracket implied that would sit neatly for the Galaxy S8 launch in late February; indeed, Samsung would likely already have production up and running for the new handset including the Bluetooht 5.0 component, meaning that the official adoption by the group would be a necessary formality to put through about now.

A December 16 report from Korean publication Naver claims that the Galaxy S8 will feature an iris scanner similar to the one found on the short-lived Galaxy Note 7. However, the same report also adds that we may see a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner module and no Home button on the front of the device, this contradicts many earlier rumours and raises a lot of quesitons about user interaction with the phone.

According to reports on December 21, Samsung has trademarked the name “Beast Mode” in the European Union; it’s believed this may represent a high-performance mode users can toggle on the Galaxy S8 flagship, possibly for gaming or VR applications. The Samsung Galaxy S7 series already has a performance booster mode, but the use of the term “Beast Mode” implies this will be a USP of the phone and may be significantly ramped up from earlier implementations of similar features.

As you may be aware, “Beast Mode” is something of a meme on the internet and in popular culture to describe when someone enters a state of high performance, covering things like players in online games or characters in movies getting high kill-streaks, or someone lifting a ton of weight in the gym. The trademark filing specifically refers to the name being applied to smartphone software, but doesn’t specift exactly what it does, or if it applies to the Samsung Galaxy S8.

Richard Goodwin 25/01/2017 - 10:46am

The Samsung Galaxy S8 – and Galaxy S8 PLUS – gets a unencumber date inside of Q1 2017... they usually're shaping as much as be VERY spectacular!

The Samsung Galaxy S8 goes to be a BIG deal for the Korean producer. Flagship launches are, in fact, all the time a large deal, within the sense that that is the place the majority of an organization's gross sales and income come from for the next 12 months.

However greater than that, following the crisis that used to be the Galaxy Observe 7 "explosiongate" fiasco, Samsung NEEDS the Galaxy S8 to be a large good fortune if solely to make up for the large grasp it installed its price range.

Allegedly, no less than consistent with a couple of surveys, Samsung's popularity with shoppers hasn't been impacted as seriously as one would possibly first assume, however that stated it might even be advisable for Samsung to destroy the Galaxy S8 out the park, simply so there is not any doubt that it might nonetheless put out a protected, dependable flagship.

Studies on November 21 recommend Samsung would possibly not have as a lot to fret about within the wake of "explosiongate" as we first idea. Reuters has revealed the result of a survey it carried out between October 26 and November 9 which means that Samsung loyalty is not a lot other from Apple loyalty even after the Word 7's issues.

Of the shoppers surveyed who knew of the Galaxy Notice 7 recollects, 27% stated they might nonetheless believe buying a Samsung Galaxy logo handset. Of those that did not know concerning the Word 7 debacle, the percentage who would purchase Samsung telephones used to be 25%.

Of recent Samsung smartphone house owners, as many as 91% stated they might purchase some other Samsung handset, whilst 92% stated they might purchase any Samsung product. That ultimate statstic compares without delay with the surveys discovering of Apple shoppers, 92% of Apple iPhone customers showed they might purchase any other iPhone, and 89% stated they might purchase some other Apple software.

In a similar fashion, on November 30, it sounds as if there's proof of a restoration in self assurance in relation to Samsung buyers. Forward of the Galaxy Word 7 release, Samsung's percentage worth peaked to an all-time excessive in August 2016, to a worth of round $1480 according to percentage, however following the Notice 7 debacle Samsung's inventory marketplace valuation fell off a cliff, to the music of $14 billion. Ouch.

If you are considering of upgrading your phone, TV or PC anytime quickly, Samsung is running a 0% finance offer at the moment which will give you 0% finance for up to 24 months on orders over £249 placed. The be offering ends on January 23rd, then again, so you wish to have to be fast to be able to get it on time.

Now despite the fact that, it kind of feels issues are returning to commonplace, a achieve of $9 billion at the morning of November 30, a brand new all-time excessive with stocks peaking at $1,496.74 consistent with percentage on a 4.2% building up at the day. Samsung's worth is subsequently sitting at $224 billion.

"A part of the reason being the announcement that the corporate will go back 50% of its loose money glide in 2016 and 2017 thru using greater dividends and percentage buybacks," reviews PhoneArena.

"2016 dividends are going to extend 36%. Samsung is taking those steps after U.S. hedge fund Elliott Control put drive at the corporate to take steps to extend stockholder worth. The fund owns .6% of Samsung and had was hoping to get the producer to pay out 75% of loose money go with the flow."

Samsung Galaxy S8 Release Date & Launch

Moderately a couple of new snippets of information have emerged in regards to the Galaxy S8 in the previous couple of days, however leader among them comes the revelation (which we now have heard allegations of sooner than) that the Galaxy S8 would possibly not release at MWC 2017. The phrase this time comes at once from Samsung itself, on the other hand, in particular from its leader of cellular, Koh Dong-jin, who, whilst speaking to assembled press in regards to the findings of its Galaxy Word 7 "explosiongate" investigations, showed that with a view to save you identical problems with the Galaxy S8 it's going to be launched later than in the past anticipated.

"Classes of this incident are deeply mirrored in our tradition and procedure," he stated, consistent with Reuters. Koh himself didn't point out a free up date, which leaves us with previous rumours starting from mid-to-late March, all the way through to an April release and an arrival of the software on cabinets someday in Would possibly. Despite the fact that Samsung is typically somewhat fast from announcement to unlock, this time some resources recommend it is usually a entire month after the release tournament prior to the brand new flagship arrives with shoppers.

Then again, probably the most different bits of information to emerge in fresh days throws some gentle in this. It comes as soon as once more from Twitter source @Ricciolo1, who in the past introduced us the data in regards to the Galaxy S8 launching in past due March (March 29 to be actual) to hit the marketplace in "w17" (week 17) with a price ticket of 849 euros. In a brand new Tweet, Ricciolo says the March 29 release continues to be correct, however provides that Samsung will cling more than one, simultaneous release occasions in america and EU; he additionally mentions a "report breaking" advertising marketing campaign, no matter that suggests.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Release Date & Specs: Design 

A few leaks have cropped up which disclose some extra information about the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus. It sounds as if a case maker despatched some renders with the phone dimensions to GSMArena; the leak presentations design similarities to the Galaxy S7 collection, however the brand new Galaxy S8 collection appear to be moderately compact for his or her reveal sizes, and the entrance fascia of each and every is most commonly display.

The Galaxy S8 Plus measures 152.38 x 78.51 x 7.94mm, being each wider and taller than the Galaxy S7 EDGE; the bigger of the 2 current-gen telephones. The Galaxy S8 Plus additionally turns out to have a 6.2in-6.3in demonstrate, now not counting the curved edges.

“The display will probably be a next-generation OLED panel this is intended to be extra environment friendly than recent designs,” the record famous. “The Galaxy S8’s display will even incorporate the house button with its fingerprint sensor, and different buttons. Moreover, the handset should not have any not up to 4 cameras on board. In any case, there’s going to be a brand new 3-coil wireless charging within the tool.”

Bizarrely, the facility button and quantity buttons will even supposedly be touch-only buttons as smartly!

“The Galaxy S8 shall be first within the Galaxy S collection to game a dual-lens rear digital camera at the again,” the record added. “At the entrance, a selfie digital camera and an iris popularity digital camera will have to spherical out the phone’s cameras. In spite of everything, the Galaxy S8 will have to function a 3-coil wireless charging design that may deliver over higher vary and quicker charging.”

The common Galaxy S8 measures 140.14mm x 72.20 x 7.30mm, shorter and thinner than the Galaxy S7, however wider throughout its face; on the other hand, whilst the Galaxy S8 is shut in measurement to the Galaxy S7, it has a show measurement of 5.7in, which is set the similar as the bigger Galaxy S7 EDGE.

In the meantime, a Chinese language source on Twitter has it seems that outed the style numbers of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus. @mmddj_china tweeted:

"Samsung GALAXY S8 SM-G9500/SM-G950X Samsung GALAXY S8 Plus SM-G9550/SM-G955X"

Photographs have emerged by the use of Twitter reportedly appearing the demonstrate panels of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus. The Twitter account @dfordesign is primarily based in Poland, however the poster claimed he were given the pictures from a Chinese language display protector provider who has been correct prior to now. Having stated that, he additionally provides the disclaimer that he cannot be 100% positive of the pictures. Nonetheless, assuming for now that they're professional, what we will be able to see is a curved edge setup for each phone sizes; we will be able to additionally see a large number of ports for sensors and the like which hadn't prior to now been noticed in renders, excess of at the Galaxy S7 as smartly. It's slightly imaginable the glut of sensors has one thing to do with feeding foremost information to the Bixby AI assistant.

This yr isn't any exception: test those photographs out that MobileFun simply despatched us which it sounds as if display the Galaxy S8 decked out inside of a relatively fancy taking a look case.

You'll be able to see a lot of the handset, to be truthful, however what we will be able to see is lovely revealing. The house button is long past, as an example, and the digital camera unit at the again seems so much other to what got here ahead of.

This handset options an EDGE demonstrate, which, in line with stories, shall be same old throughout all Galaxy S8 devices in 2017. The frontage of the handset is just about ALL reveal, and appears all of the higher for it.

Consistent with knowledge sourced through SamMobile, the Galaxy S8 will ditch the PenTile Diamond Pixel demonstrate panel generation Samsung is already used to the use of - it will nonetheless be Tremendous AMOLED, in fact, however will use a standard RGB pixel format to provide stepped forward element at a QHD solution - that suggests NO 4K display other people, opposite to previous stories.

On height of this, there's but extra proof that Samsung will put in force an optical finger popularity scanner module beneath the show to switch the prevailing bodily House key and scanner combo. Finally, additionally it is claimed Samsung is following Apple and Lenovo's trail of ditching the 3.5mm headphone jack so as to transfer to wireless and unlock inner area for parts and/or a larger batter. It's going to additionally undertake a Type-C USB port.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Release Date & Specs: Show Generation

Consistent with Samsung Show researcher Park Gained-sang, Samsung goes all out at the Galaxy S8 Tremendous AMOLED demonstrate following the Galaxy Word 7 debacle. Throughout the Global Assembly On Knowledge Show, Park stated "Samsung Show would roll out a full-screen reveal whose reveal space ratio reaches greater than 90 % subsequent yr."

That may imply a 20% building up in screen-to-body ratio over the Galaxy S7 collection, that means Park's claims would take a seat with previous rumours of a real edge-to-edge full-screen reveal at the Galaxy S8. The Galaxy S7 EDGE reveal already wraps round all sides of the phone, so there is not a lot room for enlargement there, because of this it is imaginable this additional enlarged reveal will more than likely increase against the highest and backside sections of the phone.

This additionally signifies that tackling the House key and fingerprint scanner could also be essential; a number of OEMs are taking a look into becoming fingerprint scanners underneath the show glass, however an alternate can be a rear-panel fastened scanner and using Android's on-screen tool controls for UI navigation.

A captivating titbit has popped up on July 26; it seems that we've a codename for the undertaking. The codename, apparently, drops some hints concerning the Galaxy S8 options and in addition helps previous claims of a 4K reveal meant to be used with VR, that is since the codename for the Galaxy S8 is allegedly "Venture Dream".

You might recall that Google is operating on a VR platform desgined for Android OEMs to paintings with on their hardware, and that challenge is known as Google Daydream, so it does not take an enormous jump to peer the place one leaves and the opposite choices up at the naming conference. The phrase comes by means of more than one resources in China as reported via native newsletter MyDrivers.

In keeping with main points sourced by way of the Korea Herald, Samsung's Galaxy S8 will function a bigger 5.5in reveal with a 4K solution - allegedly this design function has been picked in particular with VR in thoughts, implying that the handset could also be being ready to paintings with Google Daydream, a imaginable Google headset, and certainly Samsung's personal Equipment VR hardware. As well as, the record additionally reiterates previous claims that the show panel could have a UHD (4K) solution designed to be used with VR programs.

UBI Analysis claims the handset will game a 3840 x 2160 pixel solution. Usually we'd marvel why one thing sharper than the Galaxy S7's QHD 5.1in setup can be important (at just about 600ppi) as it is already just about inconceivable to select pixels in the event you check out, however that stated, VR is in its infancy and most likely there are positive aspects when you are staring without delay right into a phone dangled inches out of your eyeballs.

The present-gen Galaxy S7 edge has a 5.5in reveal, higher than the common flagship, so it's fascinating that the Galaxy S8 will probably be enlarged to this measurement, however with that stated, there's a possiblity Samsung has found out a approach to magnify the reveal with out making the chassis a lot larger.

The advent of Samsung’s curved AMOLED panels has regularly been referred to as a gimmick however the reputation of those handsets can't be disputed — punters and reviewers alike love them. The recognition of Samsung’s EDGE fashions even stuck Samsung out, forcing the corporate to rejig its orders in a bid to meet call for for the Samsung Galaxy S7 EDGE, which is now outpacing gross sales of the usual S7 style in some areas.

And this reputation has result in Samsung adopting a fascinating way to its 2017 Galaxy S8. In line with studies each fashions — the 5.1in and 5.5in fashions — will function a curved AMOLED reveal. The source of the scoop is the Korea Bring in, which reported the next:

“Now the Korean tech large is selling the curvy display as its top class smartphone lineup’s key id,” the document notes. “Resources stated the corporate has already began securing reveal panels in two sizes — 5.1 inch and 5.5 inch — from its personal display-making unit Samsung Show, the arena’s sole manufacturer of double-edged monitors. “

Samsung Galaxy S8 Release Date & Specs: Specs & Hardware 

The Samsung Galaxy S8 might be an absolute beast with regards to processing energy. That is simply par for the path with a brand new flagship from a significant participant, however the shape by which the facility is delivered is all the time a fascinating speaking level and subsequent yr’s Galaxy S8 will it seems that use Qualcomm’s upcoming CPU, the Snapdragon 835.

Qualcomm and Samsung are it seems that running in cahoots at the chipset, in line with reviews, with an anticipated release scheduled in for CES 2017. Phrase in the street suggests Qualcomm is bringing an entire host of adjustments to its 835 chipset – adjustments that may beef up battery lifestyles, upload in masses extra energy for DSLR-grade images and, as a result of the minuscule nature of the chip, permit for even thinner smartphone design.

“The primary units to function the Snapdragon 835 will have to seem within the first quarter of 2017, that means that the Samsung Galaxy S8 is a main candidate,” reviews Categorical. “Rumours are proceeding to construct round Samsung's subsequent flagship smartphone, which might additionally function an absolutely new design.”

In line with resources posting on Chinese language social community Weibo, Samsung is allegedly checking out its next-gen processor chip which would possibly seem within the company's flagship fashions launched in 2017. It is not recognized exactly what the processor will probably be referred to as, however it's assumed it is going to be an Exynos 8995 following on from the Exynos 8990.

This next-gen chip guarantees to be rather a leap forward of the present 8990 setup which is manufactured on 14nm FinFET semiconductors, whilst the 8995 will it sounds as if use a 10nm fabrication as an alternative.

As same old for progressed nanometre development strategies, it is idea this will likely result in quicker functionality however higher energy potency, and simply to provide some context of ways a lot more tough the tipster says a 30% building up for the present check speeds for the brand new silicon, that are going as excessive as 4GHz for the primary customized core cluster, with 2.7GHz for the ARM Cortex-A53 cluster paired as a part of the large.Little structure.

That's the most velocity, on the other hand, and it is most probably that for any manufacturing fashions there can be a cap not up to this.

Techtastic posted some information sourced from Weibo which alleges a top-tier Galaxy S8 style with 256GB space for storing and there is point out of 6GB of RAM too. Now, remember that the Galaxy S7 used to be HEAVILY rumoured to have 6GB RAM, if truth be told many of us have been sure of it....and it did not ship the products with solely 4GB of RAM. As well as, whilst different producers were ramping up from 64GB garage to 128GB fashions, Samsung stored the Galaxy S7 collection and the now discontinued Galaxy Notice 7 at 64GB tops. So in different phrases, do not cling your breath!

What is additionally now not transparent, assuming for the sake of argument that the 256GB garage and 6GB RAM main points are right kind, is whether or not we're going to see 6GB RAM around the board, or if this will probably be limited to the upper garage fashions, or whether or not it is going to be limited to only Exynos or Qualcomm processor style variants. We additionally don't have any main points on whether or not the 32GB choice will probably be getting the chop, or whether or not there can also be a 64GB and/or 128GB lower-tier variants.

There were some whispers of a imaginable 8GB of RAM within the Galaxy S8, which would possibly appear to be a little of a bounce, till you listen the scoop that SK Hynix, a number one reminiscence producer, has simply introduced its new LPDDR4X RAM chip for 2017 - dual-channel 8 Gigabit 8GB RAM chip which is 30% smaller and 20% extra battery environment friendly than its predecessors. To make issues extra fascinating, a record from Korea's The Investor explicity states that the chip is destined to be embedded in each Apple's iPhone 8 and Samung's Galaxy S8.

Rumoured specifications for the Samsung Galaxy S8 come with: 

Specs Galaxy S8 Specs
Battery 4200 mAh
Digital camera Options Optical symbol stabilization, geo tagging, facial popularity, HDR, auto laser center of attention
Camera – Front 9.0 Megapixels
Camera – Rear 30 Megapixels
Colours Black, blue, gold, and white
Options Corning Gorilla Glass 5, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.0, fingerprint scanner, retina eye scanner, wireless charging, speedy charging, mini projector
Reminiscence 64 and 128 GB inner reminiscence and expandable with twin micro SD playing cards
Running Gadget Present Android running device 2017
Worth $850 USD, 775 Euro – see beneath
Processor Snapdragon Qualcomm octa-core 3.2 GHz processor
RAM 6 GB RAM
Release Date April 2017 – See Under
Display Show 5.2” 4K display with a 4096 x 2160 screen resolution

In a bid to undo the wear executed via the Samsung Galaxy Notice 7 debacle, Samsung plans on hitting again giant time in 2017 with a brand new, greater type of the Galaxy S8 referred to as the Galaxy S8 Plus.

This implies, in 2017, there can be two Galaxy S8 handsets: the usual Galaxy S8 and the brand new Galaxy S8 Plus. Each fashions will function EDGE presentations and, because of new design and demonstrate generation, will function a bezel-less design so the whole measurement of the handset will have to now not be a lot larger than recent Galaxy S7 fashions.

The standard Galaxy S8 will function a 5.7in OLED demonstrate, whilst the Galaxy S8 Plus will pack in a bigger 6.2in panel. However – and that is the kicker – the total measurement is probably not impacted an excessive amount of by way of the inclusion of what's an overly massive panel, because of new design language that may see Samsung eliminate bezels from the handset’s design. Assume one thing like this.

“Samsung confirmed off its new demonstrate on the Show Week convention in San Francisco,” reports TR. “The reveal measures 5.5 inches and boasts a solution of 2160 x 3840, which is an insane 806 pixels in line with inch. Samsung's recent Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge flagship telephones boast quad HD resolutions (1440 x 2560), however an upcoming Samsung tool would possibly get the 4K remedy, like the following Galaxy Word.”

There could also be communicate concerning the Galaxy S8 Plus that includes Samsung’s, generally Observe-exclusive, S-Pen stylus. If this is the case, this will be the first time that function has come to a phone out of doors of Samsung’s Word collection, and whilst more than one studies have steered Samsung would possibly discontinue its Word collection, I in my opinion don't see that going down. Including the S-Pen to the Galaxy S8 Plus may just simply be some way of sweetening the deal for possible consumers.

“Samsung is already rumored to be running on two distinct variations of the Galaxy S8 subsequent quarter,” notes BGR, “ together with a normal type and a ‘Plus’ phablet. The bigger tool would possibly include a twin rear digital camera identical to the iPhone 7 Plus and a 4K reveal. TechTastic speculates that the type may just additionally space an S Pen stylus. If that’s the case, a 5.5-inch Galaxy S8 Plus may just successfully exchange the Galaxy Observe 8 that might’ve been launched subsequent August.”

It additionally seems like Samsung is pulling out the large weapons within the digital camera division as smartly:

"At the again there’s stated to be a whopping 30-megapixel digital camera with optical symbol stabilisation whilst a 9MP snapper can be at the entrance for the ones all-important selfies," notes Pocket Lint. "We have now in the past noticed rumours suggesting the S8 could have a dual-lens digital camera, so we are not retaining out for a 30MP sensor simply but."

How Samsung will differentiate the 2 fashions is still noticed, however given the loss of pastime in its Galaxy S6 EDGE+ handset it kind of feels most probably the bigger, extra pricey phone should function a few fascinating USPs so as to inspire adoption.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Release Date & Specs: Bixby – Samsung's Solution To Amazon's Alexa 

Siri and Google Assistant are advantageous. However Amazon’s Alexa is the real king of the virtual assistant area. Because of this, it's Alexa that Samsung has to highest with its upcoming Bixby AI, which can debut within the Galaxy S8 later in this quarter.

Sensible is something. However studying is any other factor solely. A part of the most important pull round Alexa is that she learns and is all the time obtaining new talents, because of Amazon opening her as much as third-party developers. Will Bixby be the similar? Or do we have now some other Siri on our palms?

Unknown. However Samsung has already shot and ignored as soon as with S-Voice, so I don't seeing making the similar mistake two times. Like Siri, S-Voice used to be necessarily unnecessary. And as soon as the newness of speaking for your phone had worn off, the function used to be seldom used.

Rapid-forward a couple of years and we have now really sensible virtual assistants. Alexa is the most productive and needs to be skilled to be believed, however you'll be able to guess your ass the remainder of the tech area will do their utmost highest to outdo Alexa in 2017/18.

Something we DO find out about Bixby is that it is going to have the ability to do bills, which is lovely darn cool. All of the consumer should say, in keeping with Sam Cellular, is, “Bixby, ship $100 to Chuck” and the cost will probably be processed. Now not too shabby.

As of January 19, studies from SamMobile it sounds as if divulge extra main points of the options and functions of Bixby. Allegedly, Bixby will combine with suitable apps and can give a boost to Samsung Pay. On height of that, it's going to supposedly combine with the handset's digital camera, which can permit it to accomplish visible searches with items and merchandise, and can recognise textual content. Those options sound remarkably very similar to a large number of Google's intelligence techniques that it's been devleoping for a while.

"The usual digital camera app at the Galaxy S8 will function its personal Bixby button, giving get right of entry to to a seek software that processes regardless of the consumer is pointing the digital camera at. Bixby will analyze the picture, and determine items and textual content. It's going to can help you seek for that object, or use optical personality popularity to procedure any textual content you level the phone at," says the document.

It added, "Now not solely will it will let you in finding the place you'll be able to purchase an known object, however it may make the acquisition as smartly."

This is the professional line on VIV from the folk that made it:

"Viv is a man-made intelligence platform that permits developers to distribute their merchandise thru an clever, conversational interface. It’s the most simple method for the arena to engage with units, products and services and issues in all places. Viv is taught by way of the arena, is aware of greater than it's taught, and learns on a daily basis."

You'll be able to take a look at a video demo of VIV in motion beneath.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Release Date & Specs: Digital camera

On June 20, resources inside of China have claimed the Galaxy S8 will function a dual-camera sensor. This is able to imply the handset is retaining in development with the likes of the Huawei P9 and LG G5, in addition to rumours concerning the iPhone 7 Plus/Professional. In line with the main points the dual-camera sensor shall be engineered by way of Samsung Motors aka SEMCO, so the company will probably be generating its personal imaging tech this time spherical. 

An August 30 record has emerged from an allegedly dependable Weibo tipster described as having a just right monitor report. The source is including to the Galaxy S8 hearsay pile; reiterating that the brand new handset coming in 2017 could have a dual-camera sensor. The informant says that the sensor array will function each a Samsung-made 12MP sensor and a Sony 13MP sensor. In the meantime, the entrance digital camera is claimed to be an 8MP setup. The source additionally says to be expecting a Galaxy Word 7 taste iris scanner.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Release Date & Specs: Rumoured New Options & USPs 

SamMobile studies that the Samsung Galaxy S8 could also be the primary smartphone to hit the marketplace with the brand new Bluetooth 5.0 same old. This is not sourced from any inside tipsters, then again, it sounds as if to easily be a logical conclusion the newsletter has reached, in line with the main points, the Bluetooth Particular Hobby Workforce has now authorized and formally followed Bluetooth 5.0 in the second one week of December.

"Bluetooth 5.0 guarantees quicker velocity, longer vary and bigger broadcast message capability. It additionally supplies progressed interoperability and coexistence with different wireless applied sciences. Bluetooth SIG says that the most recent same old has 4 occasions the variety, two occasions velocity and 8 occasions broadcast message capability as in comparison to Bluetooth 4.0. The crowd expects units with Bluetooth 5.0 to reach “inside of two to 6 months," says the document.

The logical conclusion is available in when it's published that Samsung is a member of the Bluetooth Particular Hobby Workforce, that means it is fairly most probably that the company will combine the brand new same old into its units as temporarily as imaginable. The timing could also be no coincedence both, and with that "two" months bracket implied that may take a seat smartly for the Galaxy S8 release in past due February; certainly, Samsung would most probably have already got manufacturing up and operating for the brand new handset together with the Bluetooht 5.0 element, that means that the reputable adoption through the crowd can be a essential formality to place thru about now.

A December 16 document from Korean newsletter Naver claims that the Galaxy S8 will function an iris scanner very similar to the only discovered at the short-lived Galaxy Word 7. On the other hand, the similar record additionally provides that we would possibly see a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner module and no House button at the entrance of the tool, this contradicts many previous rumours and raises a large number of quesitons about consumer interplay with the phone.

In keeping with reports on December 21, Samsung has trademarked the identify "Beast Mode" within the Ecu Union; it is believed this will likely constitute a high-performance mode customers can toggle at the Galaxy S8 flagship, most likely for gaming or VR programs. The Samsung Galaxy S7 collection already has a functionality booster mode, however using the time period "Beast Mode" implies this can be a USP of the phone and could also be considerably ramped up from previous implementations of equivalent options.

As you will be mindful, "Beast Mode" is one thing of a meme on the web and in pop culture to explain when any person enters a state of excessive functionality, overlaying such things as gamers in on-line video games or characters in films getting excessive kill-streaks, or somebody lifting a ton of weight within the health club. The trademark submitting in particular refers back to the identify being implemented to smartphone tool, however does not specift precisely what it does, or if it applies to the Samsung Galaxy S8.

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