Galaxy S8 & S8 Plus Thread

[Sweepr]

Thanks to the Chinese social network Weibo — a common source of leaks in the smartphone world — Samsung fans now have a better idea of what the Galaxy S8 may look like.

If the leaked photo is legitimate, it all but confirms that the device will have no physical front-mounting buttons, which means that the fingerprint scanner and home buttons will likely be embedded in the screen.

In addition, the device appears to be gold with thin side bezels and relatively thin bezels on the top and bottom. The size of the screen can’t be determined from the photo, though rumours have suggested that two devices — one with a 5.5 inch-screen and one with a 6.2-inch screen — could be released. Other rumours however, have leaned towards the release of just one device.

...It’s not clear when the S8 will be officially released, though rumours indicate Samsung may release the device this coming April, possibly in New York. MobileSyrup previously reported that mass production of the device will begin in March and the official launch in April of 2017.

Via: http://mobilesyrup.com/2017/01/05/galaxy-s8-design-potentially-leaks-in-new-photo/
Source: http://www.weibo.com/1726544024/EpqoAbulm?refer_flag=1001030103_&type=comment#_rnd1483632942327

Impressive screen-to-body ratio if true.

 

[Zaap]

Have to see how in screen embedded buttons would work. What would keep a button press from just clicking the bottom Google link? Seems it'd get real annoying at times pushing buttons you didn't mean to... or missing things on screen you do want to press.

And if no headphone jack backward ass BS then stick a fork in it as far as I'm concerned. Apple may con people into the dongle life, but I hope Samsung crashes and burns if they try it. Another thing they'll bring back like mSD.

 

[dawheat]

I think this was already established as fake though it seems representative of rumors so far.

Personally I don't know if I'm a huge fan - shrinking the top and bottom bezels by maybe 20% over the already thin ones on the S7 Edge while moving to OSB seems more of a draw than anything else. I don't see this leading to significantly larger screens in existing dimensions (maybe moves to a 5.7" display in the current 5.5" body).

Was hoping for more of Samsung's take on the Mi Mix.

 

[Commodus]

Yeah, I'm hesitant to call that legit, even if it's vaguely plausible.

All I know: if you base a phone's worth on tech forums, super-thin bezels like that would automatically make the S8 the best phone of all time. Never mind the performance, camera quality, software...

 

[Zaap]

Yeah why should Samsung actually bother to DESIGN a product? Silly people.

Just slap it in a 4 year old blank HTC had laying around. Rush it out. Consumers of 2017 don't know it's possible to have design AND stats in a near $1000 device ...

 

[lopri]

^ I think that is actually a brilliant idea. I would love to see Samsung take M7's design and tweak it with its expertise and latest techs, materials, etc.

 

[lopri]

I also maintain that removal of home button is a risky proposition. A lot of non-techies rely upon that button.

 

[Commodus]

Yeah why should Samsung actually bother to DESIGN a product? Silly people.

Just slap it in a 4 year old blank HTC had laying around. Rush it out. Consumers of 2017 don't know it's possible to have design AND stats in a near $1000 device ...

Design is important! And so are bezels, too. I think Apple should trim the iPhone. But it's almost comic how some tech enthusiasts obsess over screen-to-bezel ratio as if it's the most important factor in a phone. It could be faster than anything else, take the best photos, last two days on a charge... but top and bottom bezels half an inch thick? Utter filth.

 

[FIVR]

But will it explode in my hand, and not on the charger? I'm fast enough to throw it when it starts counting down, before it does any real damage, but I don't want it if it will blow up on the charger and burn down my shed.

 

[dawheat]

I am probably most interested in the camera as the S7 camera still compares very well against 6 month + newer phones. As someone with a toddler, the focus speed of the S7 Edge has been a huge plus as it's impossible to get her to be still...ever.

 

[Yakk]

Yeah looks plausible, but if there is no headphone jack then the phone will have to able to handle a Bluetooth controller and headphones simultaneously while managing profiles seamlessly, and in VR. Again, possible as it's been done in stone combinations on the S7, but I'd be curious how Samsung would do it with all hardware combinations.

 

[Red Storm]

Design is important! And so are bezels, too. I think Apple should trim the iPhone. But it's almost comic how some tech enthusiasts obsess over screen-to-bezel ratio as if it's the most important factor in a phone. It could be faster than anything else, take the best photos, last two days on a charge... but top and bottom bezels half an inch thick? Utter filth.

That's a bit of an exaggeration.

I have personally said the Pixel looks physically ugly, but I have also said that despite the dated look, it's still the best smartphone out right now.

I like the look of this concept, even if it's fake. Losing the home button and going with on screen buttons is not a draw, as photos, videos, games, and really anything can take advantage of the larger screen size. That's the beauty of software buttons, they can be hidden.

 

[lopri]

I hope they use the improved screen-to-body ratio to make the phone smaller instead of making the screen larger.

 

[WelshBloke]

Design is important! And so are bezels, too. I think Apple should trim the iPhone. But it's almost comic how some tech enthusiasts obsess over screen-to-bezel ratio as if it's the most important factor in a phone. It could be faster than anything else, take the best photos, last two days on a charge... but top and bottom bezels half an inch thick? Utter filth.

Well it's not like the S7E was slower than everything else, had appalling battery life or had a shitty camera so it would be a case of being top in all those areas as well as having smaller bezels.

Personally I like how the S7E looks screen to bezel wise. I think that if they made it slightly thicker to get rid of the camera bump and made the screen curves slightly more aggressive it would be perfect looks wise.

In other areas they need to work to getting exynos in all their phones, UFS-2 support, up the resolution (for VR), and generally keep on making solid, good looking and performing phones.

I'm still not convinced about them dropping the headphone jack, they are normally pretty conservative about things like that (the S7 kept micro USB rather than usbC).

I guess that its getting harder and harder to inovate whilst keeping a solid "look" to your line of phones.

 

[dullard]

Design is important! And so are bezels, too. I think Apple should trim the iPhone. But it's almost comic how some tech enthusiasts obsess over screen-to-bezel ratio as if it's the most important factor in a phone. It could be faster than anything else, take the best photos, last two days on a charge... but top and bottom bezels half an inch thick? Utter filth.

Any high-end smart phone will use a similar speed processor, similar software, and have decent camera (but far below an actual SLR camera). Those are almost givens. Thus, the defining features tend to be a gimmick here or there, a slight tweak in memory capacity, a slightly different look that most people cover up immediately, etc.

So to enthusiasts it comes down to battery life and usability. Small bezels give you a dramatically more usable phone (easier to see, easier to press the buttons, easier to fit in your pocket, etc). As long as the battery life isn't terrible, I'll take the much better user experience with small bezels every time.

 

[Commodus]

That's a bit of an exaggeration.

I have personally said the Pixel looks physically ugly, but I have also said that despite the dated look, it's still the best smartphone out right now.

I like the look of this concept, even if it's fake. Losing the home button and going with on screen buttons is not a draw, as photos, videos, games, and really anything can take advantage of the larger screen size. That's the beauty of software buttons, they can be hidden.

I'm being a bit hyperbolic, but you do see this kind of mindset: people who really do rule out the iPhone 7 or Pixel because "ugh, that bezel." I do think the bezel is a factor, but dismissing a great phone just because of aesthetics? That's irrational.

Of course, it could be a non-issue for many people if this year's iPhone ditches the physical home button, but it's funny that it's an issue at all right now.

 

[Zaap]

I'm being a bit hyperbolic, but you do see this kind of mindset: people who really do rule out the iPhone 7 or Pixel because "ugh, that bezel." I do think the bezel is a factor, but dismissing a great phone just because of aesthetics? That's irrational.

Clearly its not just the bezels, that's just insult to injury. The Pixel and iPhone lack other features like wireless charging, waterproofing (Pixel), mSD storage (granted neither Apple nor Google ever had those but better phones DO have it) and in the case of the Pixel, plenty of room for them oh those backward bezels, but no physical buttons.

It's not everyone's cup of tea, but I like the edge screen option of the Galaxy phones as well- Google and Apple are mostly just one-trick ponies as far as any real diversity of design.

This thread is about the potential of the S8 anyway, not all the rest of this noise. The point was simply that at least Samsung (being a HUGE corporation with plenty of resources for it) knows it needs to actually DESIGN the S8 as well as pack it with modern stats and 2017 level features. IMO, Google specifically (not Apple) didn't do that with the Pixel- they pooped out a half-baked design, and for my money -given these things aren't inexpensive throw-aways for most people in the real world- that wasn't good enough. They aren't a mom and pop startup, or some kickstarted noobs. They COULD have come up with an actual original design for the Pixel, but it was rushed.

 

[Zaap]

That's the beauty of software buttons, they can be hidden.

By embedded screen buttons, I figured that might actually mean the buttons are still physical, just a certain activated area of the screen.

Personally I think the 'beauty' of software buttons is- they are software. Once could have them if they wanted- or NOT if they had hardware buttons. Therefore, I'd always rather have the hardware buttons, personally. That's one thing I really like about Samsung phones. Always liked physical buttons for the least-confusion potential of navigating. Things are always in the same place- not any wasted time wondering where the buttons are. (iOS drives me batty sometimes for lack of a consistent back button. I find it primitive. With Android, I prefer a combo of both at times- certainly on a large tablet.)

 

[core2slow]

Design is important! And so are bezels, too. I think Apple should trim the iPhone. But it's almost comic how some tech enthusiasts obsess over screen-to-bezel ratio as if it's the most important factor in a phone. It could be faster than anything else, take the best photos, last two days on a charge... but top and bottom bezels half an inch thick? Utter filth.

You should know by now that the average consumer is stupid.

You give them a phone with best performance and they'll install 3rd party launcher, running a bunch of randomware app in the background, and bitch about slowness within 3mos.

You give them a phone with best cameras and all they'll be doing is posting pictures on facebook/snapchatting videos (where it COMPRESSES the media unless the user has an ounce of intellect to figure out how to preserve the resolution), and viewing them on their tiny little screen.

You give them the phone with the best battery and all they'll be doing is using push notification on every social media/webmail application known to mankind, leave GPS/location/BT/Wifi/etc running 24/7 when they dont even utilize it and draining the battery 1% a minute. When you do give them a big battery in a small phone (because quite frankly physics and design engineering aren't everyone's forte), they complain that the phone gets too hot and randomly catches on fire

So yea, there's a justification why design is paramount in today's market, because it's the only factor that remains true to its core years down the line.

 

[Commodus]

Clearly its not just the bezels, that's just insult to injury. The Pixel and iPhone lack other features like wireless charging, waterproofing (Pixel), mSD storage (granted neither Apple nor Google ever had those but better phones DO have it) and in the case of the Pixel, plenty of room for them oh those backward bezels, but no physical buttons.

It's not everyone's cup of tea, but I like the edge screen option of the Galaxy phones as well- Google and Apple are mostly just one-trick ponies as far as any real diversity of design.

This thread is about the potential of the S8 anyway, not all the rest of this noise. The point was simply that at least Samsung (being a HUGE corporation with plenty of resources for it) knows it needs to actually DESIGN the S8 as well as pack it with modern stats and 2017 level features. IMO, Google specifically (not Apple) didn't do that with the Pixel- they pooped out a half-baked design, and for my money -given these things aren't inexpensive throw-aways for most people in the real world- that wasn't good enough. They aren't a mom and pop startup, or some kickstarted noobs. They COULD have come up with an actual original design for the Pixel, but it was rushed.

I'll summarize my view this way: if you like the overall experience of other aspects of a phone, the bezel shouldn't matter.

I'm really curious to see just how much of a design change the S8 represents. The S7 was more incremental (albeit the good kind). Will the S8 just be an Edge phone with thinner bezels, or will Samsung do more?

 

[Red Storm]

By embedded screen buttons, I figured that might actually mean the buttons are still physical, just a certain activated area of the screen.

Personally I think the 'beauty' of software buttons is- they are software. Once could have them if they wanted- or NOT if they had hardware buttons. Therefore, I'd always rather have the hardware buttons, personally. That's one thing I really like about Samsung phones. Always liked physical buttons for the least-confusion potential of navigating. Things are always in the same place- not any wasted time wondering where the buttons are. (iOS drives me batty sometimes for lack of a consistent back button. I find it primitive. With Android, I prefer a combo of both at times- certainly on a large tablet.)

My major annoyance with Samsung's button placement is that you have to be aware of the buttons when you want to hold the side for games, photos, or videos. Also in my experience 9 times out of 10 when you hand your phone over to someone to show them something they press back or multitask.

My ideal phone would have software buttons, edge display, and very slim top and bottom vessels bezels, with front facing stereo speakers on them.

 

[Zaap]

I'll summarize my view this way: if you like the overall experience of other aspects of a phone, the bezel shouldn't matter.

I'll summarize like this, if someone has already given up on modern feature parity with other flagships (as I listed) and the market is very HO-HUM, same-ol' same ol', then an ugly, half-baked, rushed, design will probably slide by as well.

I'm really curious to see just how much of a design change the S8 represents. The S7 was more incremental (albeit the good kind). Will the S8 just be an Edge phone with thinner bezels, or will Samsung do more?

I'm curious to see the same. Personally, I hope they don't go too far with it. (Just removing features and 'moar thinness' for the sake of it and not some actual better-than-before usage is not great design IMO.

That they may remove the headphone jack "because, Apple!" does not bode well for my hopes for the rest of the design decisions.

My major annoyance with Samsung's button placement is that you have to be aware of the buttons when you want to hold the side for games, photos, or videos. Also in my experience 9 times out of 10 when you hand your phone over to someone to show them something they press back or multitask.

My ideal phone would have software buttons, edge display, and very slim top and bottom vessels bezels, with front facing stereo speakers on them.

True, the downsides of buttons. For me, they're all things I've gotten used to and therefore worth it to me.

Nothing beats the double tap home for quick camera access to me- amazes me how well that works and I'm never the one missing a kid-photo op fiddling with my screen as opposed to the closest thing I know of to just point and shoot with a phone.

I'd personally like a way to quickly temp-disable physical buttons (with a gesture or button press combo) while gaming/media, or handing off the phone to someone. It may even be possible, I've just never looked into it.

 

[Commodus]

I'm curious to see the same. Personally, I hope they don't go too far with it. (Just removing features and 'moar thinness' for the sake of it and not some actual better-than-before usage is not great design IMO.

That they may remove the headphone jack "because, Apple!" does not bode well for my hopes for the rest of the design decisions.

I suspect that if Samsung removes the headphone jack, that'll be the only significant thing it removes. Both because Apple didn't give it any other ideas and because the S7's inclusion of a microSD slot was a direct response to the S6's poor sales (though it was never clear that the S6 struggled because of the absence of that slot, or for other reasons).

I could easily see Samsung using this to cram in a larger battery (without risking Note 7-style fires, of course). Maybe better speakers or, if it really wants to borrow a page from Apple, a quality haptic feedback system. It'd be interesting if the S8 had those subtle thumps and taps that make the iPhone 7 livelier.

 

[Zaap]

The Note 7's battery wasn't bigger than the S7 edge's. But sure, I suppose if Samsung is hellbent on copying Apple, they could sacrifice the headphone jack in order to put in that "massive" 2900 mAh battery instead of the piddly 3600mAh the S7e packs now.

Heck, they could go all out and get their displays up to that ultra-modern1080p while they are at it! Some things are worth giving up an audio jack for.

 

[Commodus]

The Note 7's battery wasn't bigger than the S7 edge's. But sure, I suppose if Samsung is hellbent on copying Apple, they could sacrifice the headphone jack in order to put in that "massive" 2900 mAh battery instead of the piddly 3600mAh the S7e packs now.

Heck, they could go all out and get their displays up to that ultra-modern1080p while they are at it! Some things are worth giving up an audio jack for.

Bigger than the S7e's pack, of course. And besides, battery capacity ain't everything... an iPhone 7 Plus will definitely last longer on a charge than its Samsung counterpart despite the smaller power pack. Some of it is the 1080p screen, but some of it is also iOS' ridiculously good power efficiency.