It is said that Samsung's next flagship will come out early next year. Although the tech maker has yet to confirm it, supposed specs and features for the Galaxy S8 have already started cropping up. Speculations suggest that one improvement for the new series is an optical fingerprint scanner.

According to SamMobile, reports out of China indicate that Samsung will feature massive improvements for the Galaxy S8. One noted change for the new lineup will be an "all-display" front panel. The industry follower believes that this means a nearly bezel-less screen, with the display taking much of the space in the front instead. This is highly possible, given that another China-based tech maker, Xiaomi, has already released a near bezel-less flagship, the Mi MIX.

Meanwhile, an "all-display" front panel for the Samsung Galaxy S8 dovetails with another rumored feature for the device. It is said that with the display taking much of the space in front, Samsung will incorporate its fingerprint scanner inside the display itself, beneath the screen glass. This feature will see the South Korea-based tech giant switch from an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor to the rumored optical fingerprint reader, which works well even with obstructions like glass. Should this happen, the Samsung Galaxy S8 will be the first flagship to sport such a feature.

However, not all observers are convinced that the feature will make it next year. Android Authority believes that since it is expected that the Galaxy S8 will incorporate Samsung Pay, an optical fingerprint sensor is a disadvantage. While the technology is much faster, it is also less secure — easier to fool — compared to ultrasonic fingerprint readers. Samsung may level it with another feature, though, an iris scanner like what it featured on the Galaxy Note 7.

Meanwhile, although Samsung has yet to provide details, other supposed improvements on the Galaxy S8 have already been listed online. Purported specs and features include either a Snapdragon 830 or Exynos 8895 chipset (or both, depending on the market), at least 6 GB of RAM, and a dual cam setup.