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Samsung Galaxy S8 Leak Ahead Of Release Date Confirms How The Phone Will Look

By Josh Moorcroft
Published on: 23:27 PST, Feb 28, 2017

A promotional image for Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S8 smartphone has surfaced online, ahead of the phone’s official reveal later this month. The image gives the clearest look yet at Samsung’s upcoming flagship smartphone, despite details around the device’s capabilities still being very thin on the ground.

According to TechRadar, the well-known smartphone leaker Evan Blass has released what appears to be the most complete render of the upcoming Galaxy S8 yet. The render shows a design with extremely thin bezels and something of a long narrow body. The phone also appears to bring with it the curved display of previous Galaxy models, like the Note 7 and S7 Edge. However, it’s safe to assume that Samsung won’t want a repeat of the Note 7’s release when they make the S8 available to consumers.

From the leaked design, it also appears that Samsung is preparing to finally ditch their iconic home button, in order to reward more real estate to the screen. What’s more, the phone’s power/lock button appears to have shifted from its usual position on the device’s right side to under the volume rocker on the left side. That being said, according to CNET, there’s still a button on the right side, which could be dedicated to the long rumored Samsung AI assistant, said to be called Bixby, which Samsung hopes will rival Apple’s Siri.

Samsung is said to be preparing to officially reveal their upcoming flagship smartphone at an event on March 29. Eagle-eyed readers will notice that the date displayed on the leaked render is March 29, suggesting it was lifted straight from promotional material intended to be used at that event.

Earlier this week, two videos surfaced appearing to show the upcoming Samsung handset. The leaked footage appears to show a device not all too dissimilar to the aforementioned leaked render of the Galaxy S8 from Evan Blass. However, the videos also appear to confirm that Samsung will again release two iterations of its upcoming smartphone, the standard Galaxy S8, and a larger Galaxy S8 Plus. However, both devices are said to this time benefit from Samsung’s curved display technology, with the S8 Plus simply being a larger variant.

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It’s now safe to assume that Samsung will announce its next flagship handset on March 29, however, eager fans won’t be able to get their hands on the phone until April 21. There’s typically a month’s grace period between Samsung announcing their devices and release so that aforementioned April 21 date seems completely feasible.

However, Samsung is going to face more competition than ever before with the release of the Galaxy S8 this year. The recently announced LG G6 and BlackBerry KeyOne look set to compete with Samsung when it comes to narrow bezels and large screen real estate. However, it looks set to be Apple who will once again give Samsung their toughest competition. The California-based tech giant is expected to announce a complete overhaul of their incredibly successful iPhone line later this year, with the release of the iPhone 8.

What’s more, Samsung is starting the 2017 smartphone race at something of a disadvantage, following the release of last year’s Galaxy Note 7. Whilst the phablet was largely well received by critics, Samsung was forced to suspend sales of the device following reports that some units were creating excessive heat, causing them to set on fire.

The Samsung Galaxy S8 will be announced on March 29 and is expected to be released the month after on April 21.

[Featured Image by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]

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