Samsung Galaxy S8 Release & Specs DETAILED: 4K Display, EPIC Design & Bixby Digital Assistant

Samsung Galaxy S8 Rumours: Design & Features

An October 27 report via the Wall Street Journal cites Samsung's VP of mobile, Lee Jae-yong, who says the Galaxy S8 will have "slick design and an improved camera". Apparently intending to follow in the footsteps of the Pixel phone's Google Assistant, Lee also said the Galaxy S8 will be equipped with an enhanced artificial intelligence feature. He did not elaborate on the details of this technology, so it is possible it will tap into Google's existing services, alternatively, however, it may use technology from Viv Labs, a startup which Samsung has agreed to acquire and which was created by the original team behind Siri.

A December 5 report claims that Samsung's recent acquisition of Harman audio could see a set of stereo speakers powered by the firm's technology making their way into the Galaxy S8's bodyshell. According to FoneArena's unnamed sources, the Galaxy S8 will indeed sport stereo speakers in order to compete with Apple's iPhone 7, and it is also claimed that the speakers will have "branding, like the HTC's BoomSound." The story suggests that although the Harman branding is not confirmed, it is thought that Harman will be responsible for the audio hardware inside, and the use of Harman branding is on the table as a possibility.

December 6 sees yet more details emerging. 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.

The most prominent new feature will be the handset’s design which BGR says will be an all-screen affair, similar to what we saw Xiaomi announce in October.

“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.”

The Galaxy S8 may also be available in two sizes: 5.7in and 6.2in – both versions featuring Samsung’s EDGE display technology. The resolution, while initially tipped to be 4K, is now believed to be sticking with QHD.

The iPhone 8 – or whatever next year’s iPhone is called – will use AMOLED display technology, feature a dramatic new design and, importantly, feature a Home key built directly into the display, which is great… but Samsung will apparently beat Apple to market with this technology, as reports suggest the Galaxy S8 will feature a Home key with fingerprint technology built directly into the display.

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 latest info out of South Korea, emerging on November 14, suggests that Samsung may plan to implement pressure-sensitive touch displays on the Galaxy S8 - a first for the firm's product portfolio. The word comes via The Investor, which cites multiple unnamed "industry sources" for the information, as well as "a senior executive at Samsung's component division," who reportedly said:

"Samsung is mulling to adopt the force touch technology partially from the S8 but the full adoption will come in one or two years," quite what "partially" means isn't clear, but could mean that perhaps one of the alleged two Galaxy S8 variants might have the pressure-sensitive touch feature.

This could potentially be similar to recent models in Apple's iPhone series, Apple's own version of the technology is called 3D Touch, but other OEMs have also developed similar tech, including Huawei. The pressure-sensitive properties of these displays mean that hard or soft presses perform different actions within the interface; how much force you exert on a screen press can determine whether the phone will activate different software functions. A tap on an application shortcut could, for example, open the app, while a hard push might bring up a series of options for that app. 

On December 15, 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.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Rumours: AI Voice Assistant; Viv? Bixby? Kestra?

A report on November 2 emerging via Korean news sources suggests that Samsung's own approach to the virtual personal assistant will have a unique name. The AI voice-controlled assistant will reportedly be called "Bixby". It's not clear at this stage if the name has any specific meaning or if it's just meant to be catchy, and we also don't know whether this is a working in-development codename or what is planned as the final name for launch.

Samsung has reportedly trademarked the Bixby moniker in a filing, which describes "computer software for personal information management, computer application software for smartphones, mobile telephones, portable computers and tablet computers, namely, software used to operate voice recognition system... computer software for enabling hands-free use of a mobile phone through voice recognition."

This pretty much confirms that Samsung has ambitions for Bixby as a major AI platform to contend with Siri, Google Assistant, Cortana, and Amazon Echo, amongst others. The service will likely replace the much more basic S Voice application we've seen to date.

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.

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