The Guardian, through an anonymous source, has revealed more information about the upcoming Galaxy S8. The source claims the phone could go on sale on, or around April 21. While there is no official communication from Samsung on the launch date (maybe they are busy doing battery tests to avoid another bang), we can expect the device to be unveiled in the mid-to-late April timeframe.
The Guardian confirms previous rumours that the Galaxy S8 will come in two sizes. A 5.8″ model and a 6.2″ model, both with edge-to-edge screens with no bezels. Now the biggest news (or rather disappointment) is that the device will have a rear-mounted fingerprint reader, dismissing previous rumours that the fingerprint reader would be embedded underneath the display. I am not a big Samsung fan, but having the screen read my fingerprint was the wow factor I was really looking forward to.
Other hardware specifications revealed include a 3.5mm headphone jack (thanks Sammy), and the same iris scanner from the Galaxy Note 7(at least it’s not the battery). We can expect a new version of Samsung’s Gear VR headset and a new Gear 360 camera to launch along the Galaxy S8. Samsung might also launch a new accessory, dubbed “DeX” , which is a dock, that could turn the phone into an Android desktop PC when the dock is connected to a keyboard, mouse and monitor – similar to Microsoft’s Continuum. Rumors about the phone’s alleged Bixby digital assistant, are repeated and it is believed the phone will come with the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor inside.
Of course, these reports have yet to be officially confirmed by Samsung, and it’s possible the specifications change between now and launch time.
