For as much as Samsung gets ragged on for looking to the iPhone for design inspiration, the South Korean tech giant beat Apple at its own game when it released the alluring Galaxy S6 last year. Featured an eye-catching curved display, some critics questioned the utility of the design and were quick to call it a gimmick. That didn’t matter much, though, because most reviewers and users were big fans of the device’s sleek new design.
In fact, Samsung was completely caught off-guard by the immense popularity of the S6 edge and had to re-calibrate its supply in order to meet surging and unexpectedly high demand. One year later, when the S7 edge was released, sales of the premium model actually outpaced the flat-screened S7 model, according to reports.
With those two data points in tow, it perhaps shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that Samsung has some interesting plans in the works for its upcoming S8 models.
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According to a report from the Korea Herald, both of Samsung’s flagship devices for the first half of 2017 will sport curved displays.
“Now the Korean tech giant is promoting the curvy screen as its premium smartphone lineup’s key identity,” the report notes. “Sources said the company has already started securing display panels in two sizes — 5.1 inch and 5.5 inch — from its own display-making unit Samsung Display, the world’s sole producer of double-edged screens. “
Of course, this appears to be in line with Samsung’s roadmap given that the recently released Note 7 wasn’t available in a traditional flat-screen display model. Could this mean that all of Samsung’s high-end handsets will feature curved displays in the coming years?
As for other S8 features we’ve heard make their way through the rumor mill, word has it that Samsung’s next-gen smartphones will feature a dual-camera setup similar to what Apple implemented on the recently unveiled iPhone 7. Additionally, the S8 is said to feature an Iris eye-scanning sensor (a la the Galaxy Note 7) and an improved 8-megapixel front facing camera.
