This time last year we eagerly awaited the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S8, but it was released much later than expected, finally making its entrance to the market in March 2017.

Although we’re being teased again that Samsung’s latest, greatest addition to the Galaxy S range could be with us in January, say that it could make an appearance at the Mobile World Congress (MWC 2018) in February; or (shock, horror!) that we could be left dangling until March, yet again. But whatever happens with the release date, the new Samsung phone is imminent and rumours are rife about what we should expect.

According to numerous sources, the latest Samsung phone will be the first Android superphone of 2018. But what does this mean exactly? Will the all-new Samsung mobile live up to our expectations? As always, things are being kept on a down-low, but we’re bringing you the biggest pieces of gossip that are currently doing the rounds online:

 

How will it look?

An apparent photo was reportedly leaked a while ago, leading to all sorts of excitement. There have been conflicting reports about the headphone jack with some saying it’s being done away with and others confirming that – unlike our friends at Apple – Samsung have decided to keep the 3.5mm headphone jack that’ll be located along the bottom of the handset. It’s also rumoured that the new Samsung Galaxy will come with AKG Bluetooth in-ear headphones, which may be fuelling the debate.

If you like a bit of colour in your life, you’ll love the speculation that Samsung are adding a purple model, alongside the regular black, blue and gold options. Ultra Violet is the Pantone® colour of the year for 2018, so this could tie in very nicely (although the ‘purple’ rumour was doing the rounds last year with the S8, so we probably shouldn’t hold out too much hope).

 

The lowdown on the screen

Expertreviews.co.uk state that the new Samsung phone is likely to use the 18.5:9 aspect ratio that you find on the S8 and, according to a PocketNow report, Korean Media has claimed that the new Galaxy phone and the ‘Plus’ version will stick to the current screen sizes of 5.8-inch and 6.2-inch respectively.

Despite the uncertainty around screen size, we’re hoping that Samsung will stick to their Super AMOLED display, with super-vibrant, stunning visuals. Oh, and Samsung licensed a new coating in 2016 that makes water bounce off your smartphone screen – so you’ll be home and dry with the new flagship device, even if you’re caught in a downpour.

 

The full picture

Whether you’re after sultry selfies or panoramic perfection, when it comes to camera phones, the Samsung Galaxy S models are hard to beat. But what’s in store for us with the latest, greatest member of this flagship range? Again, nothing is concrete, but according to techradar.com it’s rumoured to be able to shoot amazing slow-motion video:

“A new rumor suggests the phone may come with a camera capable of 1,000 frames per second to be able to shoot super high quality slow-mo footage.”

This would be better than anything in a phone on the market right now.

Generally-speaking it’s likely that the new Samsung Galaxy phone will rival many of the top camera phones on the market, just like the S8 and the S8+. Let’s face it, the camera has steadily improved year-on-year since the launch of S6; so many online reviewers are hazarding a guess that you’ll get better performance and a wider aperture for top-notch low-light snaps. Having said this, there isn’t even a whiff of gossip surrounding the number of megapixels on offer. Boo.

The Galaxy Note 8 was the first Samsung device to offer the dual lens camera, and the Galaxy S models have been known to bring in a few of the standout features from the Note series, so the newest model could well have a dual lens in there, as well as the ‘Plus’ version.

According to gizmochina.com there are leaks that the new Samsung phone will feature a new anti-glare coating called BBAR (Broadband Anti-Reflection). We’re not sure what makes this different to most camera phones that already come with anti-glare coatings, but it’s worth keeping an eye out for.

 

Powerful stuff.

The newest model in the Galaxy series will be a flagship device, so we’re expecting powerful hardware with the latest processor from the likes of Exynos or Qualcomm offering improved battery life and performance. The S8 and S8+both have 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage, as well as microSD, but it wouldn’t be surprising if the next in the series jumps up to 6GB of RAM, especially seeing as the Note 8 already offers this.

Before Christmas, Pocket Lint mentioned rumours that we could see an increase in battery capacity for the new Samsung from 3,000,Ah to 3,200mAh.

 

Operating system

The new Samsung phones will no doubt launch on the latest Android Oreo operating system. You’ll get Samsung’s super-intuitive TouchWiz software over the top and we’re expecting the Bixby personal assistant that features on the S8 and S8+, and possibly some super-nifty extras.

 

So, what’s new for the Galaxy S?

People inside and outside of the industry are hazarding guesses left, right and centre, but if rumours are to be believed, the biggest change is an in-screen fingerprint scanner beneath the glass. And with some industry sources predicting that it’ll come with a 3D sensor front camera, we could be looking at face recognition as another option for unlocking your Galaxy. Here’s what reliable leakster Ice Universe (who’s been right with predictions about new Samsung phones in the past) had to say:

 

For now, pinning down the spec of the latest in the Samsung Galaxy range is pretty much guesswork and nothing has really been confirmed or denied by the big guys. We can expect a host of improvements over the Galaxy S8 and S8+, naturally, but we’ll just have to sit tight if we want to know more of the specifics.

We’ll keep this post updated as and when we hear more, but in the meantime, you could check out the S8 and S8 Plus to explore the Galaxy S range ahead of the new release. Otherwise, watch this space and hold tight…

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Source: Three Mobile Hub
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