With 2017 just three weeks away, the rumors about the upcoming flagship smartphone from Samsung, the Galaxy S8, are now enjoying a deluge online.
After the controversies that it got itself into, highlighted by the controversial and disastrous release of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 in August, the exploding washing machines, and the political scandal that the company top honcho got himself into, the Korean tech giant needs a quick fix and a saving grace.
Critics believe that Samsung may be pinning its hopes in its upcoming flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S8, which according to reports, will be more groundbreaking than the Galaxy S7, released early this year.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 is expected to be launched at a press event before the upcoming Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2017 to be held from February 27 to March 2 in Barcelona, Spain. The event has become the traditional venue of the Korean tech giant to launch its flagship smartphones for a good number of years already.
In addition to the internal woes that Samsung had to face late this year, it also has to contend with the fact that Google has really eaten up on the Android smartphone market with the successful release of its latest smartphones known as the Google Pixel and the Google Pixel XL, details The Verge.
An all-screen design
Reports have it that the Samsung Galaxy S8 shall take the route of most smartphones in the market today by featuring an all-screen design.
It has also been reported that the traditional and physical Home Button of the upcoming flagship smartphone from Samsung shall be buried in the glass in the lower section of the device, making it similar to the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge and the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge.
Practically every smartphone nowadays has one continuous piece of glass covering its front. But underneath that glass, there’s usually a black frame surrounding the display, which houses essential parts like the earpiece, proximity sensor, front-facing camera, and home button. Samsung would be removing the last feature for its upcoming Galaxy S8.
Critics, however, believe that there must still be some bezels, most likely at the bottom of the phone, as even the Mi Mix leaves a black strip at its bottom.
But there are also reports saying that the next generation of Galaxy flagship phones from Samsung will all have curved and wraparound displays.
Following Apple’s footsteps
There are also reports claiming that the Galaxy S8 shall be following the Apple iPhone’s footsteps by also removing the headphone jack.
Some critics believe that it is a stupid idea from Apple when it released the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus in September and Samsung should have learned its lesson from there, notes Forbes.
There are also Samsung smartphone users who find claims that the headphone jack serves no practical benefit as a copycat reasoning from Apple.
Apple annoyed a lot of people by removing the headphone jack and it also gave owners of rival devices a good reason not to buy the iPhone 7 or the iPhone 7 Plus.
If Samsung ditches the headphone jack, that reason just dried up for its customers and there are very few USB Type-C headphones on the market and even fewer Type-C to 3.5mm adaptors right now to help them adapt.
Google made a key point of advertising the headphone jack on its Pixel and Pixel XL ads, and few companies have more data into what the public is looking for than Google.
The headphone jack was a clear Samsung differentiator from the latest Apple iPhones and it is just sad that the Korean tech giant is throwing its major advantage away.