Samsung Galaxy S8 release date news, specs rumors: curved screens to feature in all variants?

Will the next-generation Samsung Galaxy S7 bring back the microSD card slot? Samsung

South Korean tech giant Samsung is out to win back their lost fans after the Note 7's downfall. The company hopes to make up for their latest shortcomings with the highly-celebrated Galaxy S7's upcoming successor, the Samsung Galaxy S8.

The upcoming successor to Samsung's current flagship phone is rumored to be codenamed Dream and Dream2, with the code numbers SM-G950 and SMG955.

According to a report by the Korea Herald, the Samsung Galaxy S8 is expected to set the South Korean company's new standard for their upcoming flagship smartphones by completely ditching the flat-surface display.

"Samsung has considered that it would make the edge display as the identity of the Galaxy S smartphone lineup if the company can provide consumers differentiated user experience through software and user-friendly functions (for the curved screen)," said Samsung Mobile Business President Koh Dong-jin.

The Samsung Galaxy S8 is expected to come in two variants, the base model which has a 5.2-inch display, and a higher-end model which has a 5.5-inch display. Both variants will have a curved edged screen.

Rumors also suggest that the higher-end model of the Samsung Galaxy S8 will be sporting a 4K high resolution super AMOLED display that will support VR functions as well, while the base model will be equipped with a 2K high resolution super AMOLED display.

Samsung is also rumored to build their new phones with the Viv AI assistant, a feature that has recently been bought by the South Korean company to go against Google's new virtual assistant that will go on the Google Pixel phones.

Other rumored features of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S8 includes a dual camera, a fingerprint scanner built into the device's screen, Corning Gorilla Glass 5.0 glass, an iris scanner, and wireless charging. As for the phone's innards, it is speculated to be equipped with an ARM Mali-G71 GPU coupled with an octa-core Snapdragon SoC.

Though there's still no official word from Samsung as to when the Galaxy S8 will be released, the device is expected to come to the market in the first quarter of 2017.

News
Poll reveals strong public backing for crackdown on online ‘pimping sites’
Poll reveals strong public backing for crackdown on online ‘pimping sites’

A significant majority of UK adults support banning websites that promote the sale of sex - bolstering calls for legal reform to tackle online exploitation.

Benedictine order in Kenya closes doors following murder of two priests
Benedictine order in Kenya closes doors following murder of two priests

Two priests were killed in the space of a week.

Catholic Church sees huge decline in Spain
Catholic Church sees huge decline in Spain

Evangelicalism has seen a mini revival in Spain

A third of children in Britain are in relative poverty
A third of children in Britain are in relative poverty

The bishop suggested a review of the two child benefit cap