Samsung Galaxy S8 Could Feature All-Screen Design With No Bezel And Virtual Home Button
All eyes will be on Samsung when it releases a new generation of smartphones. What the world will be waiting to see is how Samsung atones for the exploding battery situation that plagued its ill-fated Galaxy Note 7 handset. Obviously Samsung wouldn't be doing itself any favors by releasing another phone with a defect, but beyond that, it would do well to bring something new and exciting to the Galaxy family. That new and exciting thing could be an all-screen design.
Rumor has it that's the path Samsung is taking with its Galaxy S8, the successor to the Galaxy S7 line (not the Galaxy Note 7, which is a phablet). Getting rid of the bezel will give the Galaxy S8 more viewing real-estate than previous generation Galaxy phones, along with a fresh new look to keep the handset from feeling stale (that was a problem with the Galaxy S5).
A wraparound organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display is said to be the only option. That doesn't necessarily mean an end to the popular Edge variant, which features a display that extends over to both sides of the handset. For the past couple of generations, Samsung has offered two versions of its flagship phone, one with a traditional display and the Edge model.
It's said the changes to Samsung's OLED display will reside in shells that are similarly sized to the 5.1-inch Galaxy S7 and 5.5-inch Galaxy S7 Edge. As Samsung is known to do, the phones will feature different processors, based on territory—some will sport a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC while others will be driven by Samsung's own Exynos chips.
With the bezel being whisked away, there won't be a place for a physical home button. As the story goes, it will be replaced by a virtual home button. Details are pretty sparse here, so it will be interesting to see if the virtual button also serves as a fingerprint sensor to unlock the device and approve online transactions, or if there will be a sensor on the rear of the handset. The latter option is one that's worked well on other phones, such as Huawei's Honor 8.
Whatever Samsung decides to do, it could use a win. The company took a financial hit from the Galaxy Note 7 recall and is now being pressured to split its business into two.
Rumor has it that's the path Samsung is taking with its Galaxy S8, the successor to the Galaxy S7 line (not the Galaxy Note 7, which is a phablet). Getting rid of the bezel will give the Galaxy S8 more viewing real-estate than previous generation Galaxy phones, along with a fresh new look to keep the handset from feeling stale (that was a problem with the Galaxy S5).
Samsung's Galaxy S8 may feature a wraparound display rather than same panels as the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge (shown above)
A wraparound organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display is said to be the only option. That doesn't necessarily mean an end to the popular Edge variant, which features a display that extends over to both sides of the handset. For the past couple of generations, Samsung has offered two versions of its flagship phone, one with a traditional display and the Edge model.
It's said the changes to Samsung's OLED display will reside in shells that are similarly sized to the 5.1-inch Galaxy S7 and 5.5-inch Galaxy S7 Edge. As Samsung is known to do, the phones will feature different processors, based on territory—some will sport a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC while others will be driven by Samsung's own Exynos chips.
With the bezel being whisked away, there won't be a place for a physical home button. As the story goes, it will be replaced by a virtual home button. Details are pretty sparse here, so it will be interesting to see if the virtual button also serves as a fingerprint sensor to unlock the device and approve online transactions, or if there will be a sensor on the rear of the handset. The latter option is one that's worked well on other phones, such as Huawei's Honor 8.
Whatever Samsung decides to do, it could use a win. The company took a financial hit from the Galaxy Note 7 recall and is now being pressured to split its business into two.
