Samsung Galaxy A8 (2016) release date, specs rumors: New leaked renders hint possible launch in the near future

The current Galaxy A8 iteration. A supposed leak for a newer edition has surfaced online, leading to speculations that a 2016 variant will launch soon.Samsung website

Leaked renders and specs of the 2016 edition for the Samsung Galaxy A8 suggest that the variant is ready for launch.

The latest leaks have already found their way to benchmarking website AnTuTu. According to GSM Arena, The AnTuTu listing is the latest leaked specs for the new iteration and consolidates previous leaks from other websites like Geekbench and GFXBench.

While Samsung has yet to provide confirmation on the 2016 Samsung Galaxy A8, industry observers agree that the supposed leaked specs may have some truth to them, given that the specs remain consistent. If the purported specs become official, then the 2016 Samsung Galaxy A8 will launch with the same, 5.7-inch display from last year's edition, and will sport full HD resolution. Other purported specs include an Exynos 7420 chipset paired with 3 GB of RAM, 64 GB of onboard storage, and although a late 2016 release, will still come out with Android Marshmallow 6.0.1 right out of the box. However, given that the 2016 edition will be a recent release, it is expected that Samsung will update the new Galaxy A8 to use the Android Nougat sometime next year.

Meanwhile, although the leaked specs indicate an 8-MP main camera and a 5-MP selfie shooter, it is more likely that Samsung will retain the same 16-MP setup from last year's variant.

Aside from the specs, supposed press renders have also made their way online, giving weight to speculations that Samsung will officially announce the 2016 Galaxy A8 soon. In addition, reports have also mentioned that the device has already gone through different certifications prior to its approaching release, among them FCC and Bluetooth SIG.

Although Samsung remains silent on supposed details, a new edition for the Galaxy A8 — originally launched last year — is certainly possible. Reports have already surfaced that the South Korea-based tech giant is already readying 2017 editions for some of the iterations in the lineup, notably the Galaxy A3, Galaxy A5, and Galaxy A7.