While Apple fans still have about six months of thumb-twiddling left to endure before the hotly anticipated new iPhone 8 is finally revealed, Android lovers are now just two weeks away from Samsung’s official Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ unveiling. Of course, BGR already exclusively unveiled the Galaxy S8 earlier this month, albeit unofficially, and there really isn’t much mystery left at this point. In fact, a series of recent leaks have already detailed nearly all of the most exciting new features coming to Samsung’s next-generation Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ flagship phones, and in this post we’ll run through what are shaping up to be the 10 hottest new features we can expect from Samsung’s new Galaxy S handsets.
Design
Samsung’s new Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ will boast what is unquestionably the most elegant and impressive smartphone design we’ve seen thus far. The oblong home button will be removed from the front of the phones, and the bezels above and below the screens will be narrowed significantly. As a result, the S8 duo will come closer than any widely available phones ever have to achieving the all-screen design we’re all waiting for.
Display sizes
Beyond the fact that the screens will take up more of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ faces than any previous-generation models, they’ll also be substantially bigger without increasing the overall footprints of the devices themselves. The smaller Galaxy S8 will have a 5.8-inch screen stuffed into a phone that’s just a bit larger than Apple’s 4.7-inch iPhone 7, and the Galaxy S8+ will cram a massive 6.2-inch display into a phone that’s roughly the same size as the 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus.
You can see size comparisons right here.
Display resolution
So we know the designs are impressive and we know the displays will be larger, but there’s more good news: both phones will reportedly pack WQHD+ resolution. That means Samsung is cramming a whopping 2960 x 2400 pixels into its new flagship smartphones.
Curved display on both models
One last bit about Samsung’s new Super AMOLED screens — they’ll both be curved this time around. Everyone loves the rounded front and back on Samsung phones like the Galaxy Note 7 and Galaxy S7 edge, but last year Samsung included a flat display panel in the smaller Galaxy S7 model. In 2017, that will no longer be the case.
Iris scanner
Another very cool feature coming over to the Galaxy S8 lineup from the Galaxy Note 7 is the iris scanner, which will allow Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ users to unlock their phones with a quick eye scan. The S8 duo might also include the Note 7’s secure folder, so the iris scanner will likely be able to grant users access there as well.
Upgraded cameras
Samsung’s Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 edge and Galaxy Note 7 all shared the same rear camera in 2016, and it was one of the best cameras that has ever appeared on a smartphone. This year’s Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are expected to include even better 12-megapixel Dual Pixel rear cameras, and the front-facing 8-megapixel cameras are rumored to offer improved low-light performance as well.
Desktop mode
Samsung’s new Galaxy phones will include a nifty new feature that allows users to plug them into a dock in order to power a new desktop experience. When connected to a monitor, users will be able to run Android apps on the big screen and multitask to their heart’s content.
This is an interesting one, since a similar feature on another smartphone has completely failed to draw any attention whatsoever. Of course, that other smartphone was the Windows-powered HP Elite x3, and we established a long time ago that no one wants Windows on a smartphone.
New processors
The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ will be the first new smartphones from a big-name vendor to be powered by next-generation 10nm processors. In the US, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 will run the show, and the international S8 models will be powered by Samsung’s own Exynos 8895 chipset. We can expect more power and better efficiency than we’ve ever seen in any Samsung smartphone to date.
Beast mode
Speaking of power, the new Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ will reportedly include a special new mode that cranks up the juice and delivers maximum sustained performance when the user wants more power at his or her fingertips.
Better battery life
Last but most certainly not least, we can expect bigger batteries (reports say 3,000 mAh in the Galaxy S8 and 3,500 mAh in the S8+) as well as faster charging from Samsung’s new flagship phones, in addition to better efficiency from the new 10nm processors.
