Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus Rumored To Feature 6-inch Display And Mysterious ‘Beast Mode’

by Brandon Hill — Friday, December 23, 2016, 11:13 AM EDT

As we get closer to the start of the new year, rumors about the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S8 are starting to heat up. The latest report coming out of South Korea is that a Galaxy S8 Plus model will launch alongside the standard Galaxy S8, and will feature a 6-inch display. This is a noticeable upgrade from the 5.1-inch and 5.5-inch displays of the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge, respectively.

So why the big increase in screen size? According to this latest report, it’s because of Samsung’s decision to go with a bezel-less display, which would allow the company to cram in a larger display on the Galaxy S8 Plus in roughly the same exterior dimensions as the 5.7-inch Galaxy Note 7. To get an idea of how a bezel-less Galaxy would look in the flesh, take a gander at the Xiaomi Mi MIX that wowed smartphone enthusiasts when it was first revealed back in late October.

Previous reported have pegged the Galaxy S8 with a screen to body ratio in excess of 90 percent. For comparison, the Apple iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus have display area ratios of 65.71 percent and 67.58 percent respectively. The Mi MIX has a screen to body ratio of 91.3 percent.

In other Galaxy S8 news, the smartphone will reportedly come with what is being described as “Beast Mode”. Samsung trademarked the term in the European Union, but there is no concrete evidence as to what Beast Mode could entail. It stands to reason, however, that it could possibly crank up the performance of the Galaxy S8’s SoC to full power (although we’d hope that such action wouldn’t turn the device into a Galaxy Note 7-esque hand grenade).

The Samsung Galaxy S8/S8 Plus is rumored to include Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 835 processor, 6GB RAM, a 2560x1440 display, up to 256GB of onboard storage and a USB-C port for connectivity/charging. It’s also been reported that the smartphone will lack a 3.5mm headphone jack (a move that Apple took a lot of heat for with the iPhone 7 family).

Tags: Samsung, krx005930, galaxy s8, snapdragon 835, beast mode

Brandon Hill

Brandon received his first PC, an IBM Aptiva 310, in 1994 and hasn’t looked back since. He cut his teeth on computer building/repair working at a mom and pop computer shop as a plucky teen in the mid 90s and went on to join AnandTech as the Senior News Editor in 1999. Brandon would later help to form DailyTech where he served as Editor-in-Chief from 2008 until 2014. Brandon is a tech geek at heart, and family members always know where to turn when they need free tech support. When he isn’t writing about the tech hardware or studying up on the latest in mobile gadgets, you’ll find him browsing forums that cater to his long-running passion: automobiles.

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