Samsung Galaxy S8 rumour roundup: 8GB RAM, bigger display and more

Samsung usually follows the same launch cycle every year and introduces the new flagship at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona in February end. However, according to reports, there will be a change in Samsung’s strategy for 2017.

An earlier report on Wall Street Journal said Samsung will launch Galaxy S8 in April. Another news report claims the launch has been delayed to test the phone thoroughly in order to avoid a Note 7 repeat.

Also read: Samsung planning an all-screen design for Galaxy S8 phones

8GB RAM

How much RAM does a phone need ? Nobody knows the answer, and while Samsung has so far stuck with 4GB RAM on its flagship devices, rumours claim the Galaxy S8 will double it to 8GB RAM.

According to Ice Universe, rumours on Weibo indicate the S8 will have 8GB RAM made using Samsung’s own 10nm fabrication technology. Given this leak comes from Weibo it needs to be taken with a pinch of salt.

For Samsung, Galaxy S8 will be an important phone, and it will feature the company’s own virtual assistant.

A bigger Galaxy S8?

Now, according to a report by South Korean publication Naver, Samsung could be working on a smartphone with a 6-inch display. The report said Samsung did consider to use an S-Pen with the Galaxy S8 Plus, but the functionality was dropped from the phone.

Virtual Assistant 

Samsung given enough indications that it will introducing a new Virtual Assistant in its upcoming Galaxy S8 series. A report in WSJ also claimed Samsung could add a dedicated button to launch this virtual assistant, but it also cautioned this hardware change has not been finalised.

In October 2016, Samsung acquired Viv Labs which was co-founded by the same team that built Siri. Samsung’s executives have also spoken about this upcoming virtual assistant.

Korean media quoted Samsung Vice President Rhee In-jong as saying, “The current Galaxy smartphones need separate applications for users, for instance, to order pizza or coffee. But, the new AI platform will enable them to order (or do) things directly without going through separate applications.”

Design revamp

A report from SamMobile says the next Galaxy S8 will look a lot like the iPhone and will come without a 3.5 mm headphone jack, and have a USB Type-C port for headphones. Samsung had introduced the Type-C port in the Note 7, and it won’t be surprising if the company takes it a step further with the next device.

Dual-curved edge display only 

According to a report in the Korean Herald which came out in September, Samsung could ditch the flat display altogether for the Galaxy S8. The report said, Samsung is working on two curved edge panels 5.1 inch and 5.5 inch which are being sourced “from its own display-making unit Samsung Display.”

The report says this decision was taken because the edge version of the S7 outsold the regular version of the phone. Rumours have also indicated that Samsung will reduce the bezels on the display, and another report in the Korean Herald claimed the S8 will have a 90 per cent screen-to-body ratio.

Read more: Samsung Galaxy S8 will be first smartphone to feature Bluetooth 5.0: Report 

Dual-rear camera

This one is need to be taken with a pinch of salt. In August, a Weibo tipster claimed that the S8 will have a 13-megapixel rear camera along with another 12-megapixel shooter on the back. However, there are other reports suggesting Samsung may skip the dual camera trend altogether.

Processor

Galaxy S lineup has been divided between into two processors; one with the latest Qualcomm processor which is usually launched in regions like US, etc, and the other is the Samsung Exynos chipset which is what India gets. This year, the Galaxy S8 will come with Exynos 8895 processor, according to a report on SamMobile.