Samsung Galaxy S8 Release Date Rumors, Specs, Hardware: It Isn't Even April Fools

Sep 28, 2016 10:57 AM EDT

A Weibo leak has pointed to the Samsung Galaxy S8 as the natural and logical answer to the question, “What comes after the Samsung Galaxy S7?” The Samsung might be reeling from the potential financial fallout of over a billion dollars in the latest quarterly earnings call from the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 recall effort, but this does not mean that life stops there for the South Korean conglomerate. In fact, first rumors have already started to build up concerning the Samsung Galaxy S8.

Some might say that the Samsung Galaxy S8 rumors are just the tonic that Samsung needs in order for the world to look beyond the Galaxy Note 7 recall, being a red herring in Samsung’s cause. Others might think that the Galaxy S8 will see an earlier than expected launch as part of an effort to make up for lost Galaxy Note 7 sales. If that were to be true, then we would certainly keep our fingers crossed that the Galaxy S8 would not end up with similar battery woes as with the Galaxy Note 7.

The very same Weibo leak also points to the Galaxy S8 launching in April next year, where it should burn a $850 (775 Euro) hole in your pocket for an unlocked device. This is pretty much in line with the annual product cycle for Samsung’s flagship device.

Alleged Galaxy S8 hardware specifications point to a 5.2-inch 4K display, a 3.2GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 6GB of RAM, a choice of either 64GB or 128GB memory, dual microSD card support, a 30-megapixel camera, a 9-megapixel front-facing camera, and a 4,200 mAh battery.

Hmmm, no dual cameras at the back to keep up with the iPhone 7 Plus, the Xiaomi Mi 5S Plus and the Huawei P9? Perhaps that is something that will still be able to change since nothing is set in concrete at the moment, being very early days. Still a dual camera feature would go a long way in helping Samsung maintain its lead at the top of the flagship phone market.

Other alleged specifications of the Galaxy S8 include Corning Gorilla Glass 5.0 glass, a fingerprint scanner, an iris scanner, wireless charging capability, rapid charging support, and a built-in mini projector. The integrated mini projector does sound rather far out, and it would not do the 4,200 mAh battery much good at all in the long run, too. However, the rumored dual microSD card support will definitely do it a world of good in memory expansion.

Needless to say, one should take all of that with a grain of salt. These hardware specifications are outrageous to say the least, and how slim can the Galaxy S8 get with all of that packed within? All in all, we will simply have to wait and see. If the Android 7.0 Nougat-powered Samsung Galaxy S8 were to be a reality in April next year, surely the coming six months ahead of us would see a whole lot more rumors and leaks to substantiate this rather tall tale at the moment.