As Samsung looks at another flagship launch at the end of this month, smartphone enthusiasts have started speculating on the near future of the high-end market. The Galaxy S8, from what we know so far, will be a big success story. Carefully crafted, the device is said to have all the makings of a perfect a flagship. But, with a lot to come this year, Samsung’s play in the smartphone arena still remains to be seen, especially against Apple.
Though we will not see a new iPhone before September, the South Korean giant is doing everything it can to reparate the damage done by Galaxy Note 7. It aims to deliver the perfect value, not just with S8, but even with the next Note, which would also be coming later this year.
To keep things in perspective, here’s what you can expect from the three biggies: the Galaxy S8, Note 8, and iPhone 8.
Design Language
Months before its launch, Samsung Galaxy S8 started surfacing on the internet, making news across the globe. The device appeared in a bunch of press renders and live leaks, showcasing a glass-and-metal body with no home button and nearly no bezels. In fact, Samsung’s teaser for the March 29 unpacked event also pointed towards a bezel-less metal body.This would be their first phone without a home button, but clearly, that’s something the tech giant is willing to sacrifice to push design innovation.
Moving a step ahead, Galaxy Note 8 is also rumoured to ditch the home button for a bezel-less glass-and-metal body. The device is expected to follow the design strategy of S8 Plus, with an internal S-Pen and new colour options in the lineup. The beast would be big for sure, but we still have to wait for a more to leaks, to outline the specifics on the design front.
The iPhone 8, on the other side, is rumoured to bring a major revamp in many ways, possibly with a mixture of metal and glass or with a curved display. Apple is not a big fan of yearly design updates, but this year marks the 10th birthday of the iPhones, which means there would some fireworks with a new and better design language or some quirky colour options.
Display
This is where things get a little tricky. After a long run with flat screened devices, Samsung has finally decided to do away with flat displays, roping in curved EDGE Super AMOLED panels for S8 and possibly Note 8 too. While S8 would sport a 5.8-inch Quad-HD display, it’s sibling, S8+, is believed to showcase a much bigger 6.2-inch. This would essentially remain same for Note 8 as well, a would fancy a 6.2-incher panel but with a 4k resolution.
Meanwhile, Apple is expected to launch 3 iPhone 8 models, one with a standard 4.7-inch display and two bigger 5.5-inch and 5.8-inch panels. The American giant has always been innovative and this time, it is rumoured to be adopting curved OLED panels to incorporate a wrap-around, bezeless display in a unique curved glass bodyshell. However, rumours suggest that only one model, priced at premium, will bear the OLED display, as Apple is unable to source curved OLED panel for every model.
Among other tidbits, iPhone 8’s screen resolution would be 1920 x 1310 pixels, and home key and the fingerprint scanner are said to be embedded under the display glass.
Internals Under The Hood
From what we know, Galaxy S8 and Note 8 will deploy top-tier Exynos chipsets, with few Snapdragon variants for some specific countries. Samsung has recently announced Exynos 8895, which, in our opinion, would be just the right candidate to power S8 and Note 8. Galaxy S8 would pair the chip with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage, while Note 8 is likely to deploy the same processor with a whopping 6GB RAM and 128GB inbuilt storage.
Even the iPhones are due for a major performance upgrade this year. As per rumours, Apple is expected to use a faster and more power-efficient A11 chip, with 3GB RAM on both iPhones. We don’t expect to see 4GB RAM until next year, but yes, there might be some storage upgrades with a new 64GB variant in place of 32GB.
Battery Backup
All three flagships will bring sufficient juice for work and play, but the reports have been conflicting. Samsung Galaxy S8 is expected to run on a 3,000 or 3,250mAh battery, while its bigger variant, S8+, is likely to accommodate a beefier 3,500 or 3,750mAh battery. Even Galaxy Note 8 will be using a massively powerful battery, possibly around 3,750mAh. Either way, all three Galaxy would keep things up and running even after an entire of work and play.
Though we expect no big changes, preliminary reports have suggested that one of the upcoming iPhones will bear a 2,700mAh L-shaped battery, endowing more juice for seamless performance. Of course, there will be some tweaks, but in our opinion, the power-efficiency of iPhones is mainly driven by iOS and their processor.
So, this is what you can expect from Samsung and Apple this year. On March 29, Galaxy S8 will steal the show with its superb performance and good-looks, but this does not mean you won’t get another WOW phone until next year. Apple iPhone 8 and Note 8 have been in the pipeline for months and will show up sooner than you expected – possibly around September-October.