Samsung Galaxy S8 news and rumors

Samsung Galaxy S8 release date

It's too early to get too specific about release dates, but the Samsung Galaxy S8 is bound to launch in early 2017, since the beginning of the year is typically when Samsung rolls out its new flagships.

We can hazard a guess that it will arrive at or around MWC 2017, which is taking place from February 27 to March 2.

Samsung Galaxy S8 news and rumors

There's very little Samsung Galaxy S8 news so far, but we have heard a few things. For one Samsung is said to be working on a new camera, which will be between 18 and 24MP and have a wide f/1.4 aperture, where the Samsung Galaxy S7 has a narrower f/1.7 one.

That extra width could allow more light in and the jump in megapixel count could allow for more detailed images, though while Samsung is apparently working on this camera it hasn't been specifically linked to the Galaxy S8 yet.

We could also see an iris scanner in the phone, as Samsung has been spottedimporting iris scanning modules and has registered trademarks for "Samsung Iris" and "Samsung Eyeprint". There's no reference to the S8, but any iris scanning tech from the company is bound to land in a flagship.

We can also take a look at Samsung Galaxy Note 6 rumors to get some clues about what specs the Samsung Galaxy S8 might be packing. That phone is rumored to be coming with 6GB of RAM and if it does we'd wager the Samsung Galaxy S8 will too.

What we want to see

1. More built in storage

Samsung pleased many with the reintroduction of a microSD card slot in the Galaxy S7, but with just 32GB of built in storage, a substantial chunk of which was used by the OS, it was much needed.

Hopefully the Samsung Galaxy S8 will keep the card slot but add more built in storage. If Apple offers phones with 128GB built in Samsung can too. That way buyers will have more storage to play with, without having to fall back on the usually slower speeds of microSD cards.

2. Fewer fingerprints

The Samsung Galaxy S7 is a triumph of design and looks absolutely stunning, or at least it does until you start using it, at which point it very quickly starts picking up fingerprints.

So we really hope the Samsung Galaxy S8 avoids that. The design doesn't need to radically change, but some sort of fingerprint-repellent coating would do wonders.

3. Longer battery life

The Galaxy S7's battery life was a significant improvement on the S6's, but it's still a phone that you'll typically be charging nightly.

That's one of the few areas where it's no better than much cheaper handsets and ideally we want a phone that can comfortably last at least two days. Hopefully the Samsung Galaxy S8 will be that phone.

4. A lower price

As a premium handset the Samsung Galaxy S7 goes a long way to justifying its premium price. But when you consider that many high-end Chinese phones and even fairly big name handsets like the OnePlus 2 launched for far cheaper, it's hard not to wish it was a little more affordable.