Samsung Galaxy S8 – Samsung may have LEAKED its own smartphone ahead of UK release date

After months of speculation, rumours and concept images – we may have finally seen our first glimpse of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S8.

And it is courtesy of Samsung itself.

Samsung's display-making arm, Samsung Display, may have accidentally revealed the design of the Galaxy S8 – on its official YouTube account.

In a series of videos promoting its new AMOLED displays, Samsung Display have revealed a mysterious new smartphone with svelte bezels and no physical Home Button.

That would align with the latest whispers around the Samsung Galaxy S8.

SAMSUNG DISPLAY • YOUTUBE

Samsung Display has revealed a slew of new videos, which feature a mysterious new phone

SAMSUNG DISPLAY • YOUTUBE

Samsung Galaxy S8 rumours point to the phone looking similar to the one in the video

An elongated physical Home Button – flanked by two capacitive keys – has long-been a staple of Samsung smartphone and tablet design. But this year, that could be about to change.

Now it appears that Samsung customers will have to start becoming accustomed to using on-screen virtual buttons.

It is believed the decision to ditch the capacitive buttons will allow Samsung to dramatically shrink the bezels at the bottom of the device.

Samsung Galaxy S8 – Leaked photos, concept images, and renders
Sun, January 1, 2017

Samsung Galaxy S8 looks set to be the smartphone to beat this year. Following a swathe of rumours from the Chinese supply chain, a number of graphic designers have cooked-up high-resolution renders of what the smartphone could look like, when it launches in the UK in April 2017

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STEEL DRAKE • BEHANCE

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Samsung Galaxy S8 will get a dramatic new design, with no buttons, and an edge-to-edge display

This would allow the South Korean company to bring its high-resolution display to the very base of the chassis – like it currently does with the sides of its curved S7 Edge screen.

Until now, it has been unclear whether Samsung would use this new industrial design to shrink the footprint of its devices, making them easier to use in one-hand, or squeeze a larger display into the same footprint as its current-generation devices.

However new three-dimensional renders leaked by GSMArena appear to show two models of Galaxy S phones – one with a 5.7inch display, and another with a palm-stretching 6.3inch screen.

The latter will reportedly be marketed as the Galaxy S8 Plus.

GSMArena

The leaked renders, published on GSMArena, show a Galaxy S8 Plus device with a 6.3inch screen

Samsung will drop the Edge variation of its flagship Galaxy S phone this year, since all models of the phone will have the curved edge-to-edge screen.

The smartphone that appears in the Samsung Display YouTube video does not resemble any Samsung phone currently on sale.

In the video, the unreleased smartphone appears to have a USB-C connector, speaker grill, and 3.5mm headphone port.

It also appears much thinner than any current Samsung phone model.

Granted, it's possible the forthcoming Samsung Galaxy S8 does not look anything like the smartphone included in this promotional clip.

However it is a little odd that the phone featured in the clip matches so many of the rumours – many of which predate the videos from Samsung Display.

Elsewhere, the sources speaking to SamMobile claim the Galaxy S8's in-built S Health app will get a major feature bump that allows smartphone owners to get in touch directly with doctors.

Samsung will reportedly announce a number of tie-ins with partners including Amwell and WebMD to let Samsung owners search for medication and symptoms within the S Health app. Users are also expected to be able to schedule appointments with doctors via video chat within the same application.

According to the report by SamMobile, users will be able to pay for doctor's appointments in-app, as well as take photos to illustrate your condition and locate pharmacies near to your location if the doctor recommends medicine.

Although the S Health app is not explicitly linked to the Galaxy S8 launch, Samsung traditionally debuts major software changes alongside new hardware.

The latest report from AndroidPolice also reiterates previous rumours that Samsung will nab one of the headline features of the latest generation iPhones – 3D Touch.

APPLE

Apple includes a number of important features under its pressure sensitive screen push

The South Korean company will implement the technology with its new on-screen navigation buttons, which users will reportedly be able to customise.

Samsung will have to adapt the Android operating system itself, since the mobile software has not yet been updated by Google to support the technology.

Rumours of Android manufacturers looking to jump on the pressure-sensitive bandwagon first came to light more than a year ago when Synaptics issued a press release touting that it had developed a ClearForce touchscreen display controller capable of measuring varying levels of pressure.

Aside from the pressure sensitive display, Samsung is also relocate the fingerprint scanner to the rear of the phone.

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