If history is any indication, it's likely the phones would hit shelves in mid-April. The timing of the launch gives Samsung several months of lead time over Apple's expected release of the new iPhones.
This is an important launch for Samsung as it tries to rebound from the disastrous release of its last phone. The company's brand has taken a hit after the costly Note 7 recall, dropping from seventh to 49th in one year on the Harris Poll's reputation list of the world's 100 most visible companies. The company has taken steps to improve the safety of its phones, but a quality phone with killer features, particularly as compared to Apple's iPhone, could convince wary customers that it's worth returning to the brand, an alysts say.
Samsung hasn't officially released details about its new phones, but there are plenty of reports out there about what we can expect.
-- An (almost) all-screen front: The Galaxy S8 and S8+ are expected to have an "infinity screen" -- one that takes up nearly all of the front of the phone -- according to a January report from the Guardian that cited several anonymous sources.There is no home button on the phone, according to a report from tech blog BGR, which has a strong reputation for accuracy when it comes to leaks. The blog said that the home button has been replaced by a touch-sensitive control strip on the bottom of the screen. The screens on both models also curve over the edges of the phones, a design we've seen on Samsung's Edge phones.
That fits in with the very small bit of information Samsung has released about the phone, which is a found in teaser graphic that seems to show an all-screen front and a screen that spills over its sides.
The screen is also expected to be at least partially pressure-sensitive, very similar to the "Force Touch" and "3D Touch" capabilities of the iPhone, accordi ng to the English-language South Korean newspaper The Investor.
-- Rear fingerprint sensor: With no physical home button, the fingerprint scanner on the phone has to find somewhere else to live. While there were some reports in the past several months that Samsung would be able to embed a fingerprint scanner in the screen of the phone, leaked pictures that BGR obtained from an unnamed source indicate that the sensor has been relocated to the back of the phone.
The new phones are also expected to have the iris-scanning capabilities that debuted for Samsung on the infamous Note 7, BGR reported. Samsung has said that there's no evidence that the scanner had anything to do with the Note 7 explosions.
-- Desktop mode: The new phones will have a mode that will let them connect to a monitor and be used more like a PC, according to an anonymous tip received by the tech blog All About Windows Phone. Users will reportedly be able to open multiple apps alongside each other, s imilar to the way Microsoft's "Continuum" feature gives users a computer-like work environment using just their smartphone and a monitor.
-- A new assistant: Samsung last year bought Viv, the company originally behind Apple's Siri assistant. So it makes sense that the new phone would have a new assistant that would perform many of the same functions as Siri, as reported by the Guardian.
The assistant's reported name, Bixby, appears to have been confirmed by Samsung itself, through an Italian-language privacy policy published online that mentions the name.
-- A headphone jack: It's seems a little funny to celebrate a phone retaining a feature as basic as a headphone jack. But it's worth mentioning after Apple faced criticism over its decision to ditch the jack in the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Rumor had it that Samsung was also considering getting rid of the jack to help free up space inside the phone, but BGR's photos clearly show a headphone jack.
Source: Samsung needs its next phone to be a success. Here's how it may lure you back
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