14 DAY TRIAL // It seems that rumors regarding the Galaxy S8 have started to pour in on a daily basis, and the latest refer to the physical buttons found on the upcoming smartphone. Many have stated that Samsung will ditch the physical home button on the S8, in order to ensure a better screen-to-body ratio.
The latest rumor comes from David Ruddock from Android Police and regards Samsung’s intention to switch to software navigation keys on the Galaxy S8. These keys will have 3D Touch-like functionality, which would mean that Samsung plans to use a pressure-sensitive screen on the phone.
3D Touch functionality is already built into Android Nougat and offers users some degree of customization. Soft keys would allow a more sleek design for the Galaxy S8 and make the phone’s lower bezel significantly slimmer.
The Galaxy S8 is rumored to come with an S Pen
The removal of the physical home button raises the question regarding the placement of the fingerprint sensor. Some rumors say that Samsung could actually incorporate the scanner under the display, using the recently launched first optical fingerprint scanner for smartphones by Synaptics. However, others say that the fingerprint scanner might be relocated to the back of the phone, but that remains to be seen.
Aside from this, the Galaxy S8 might borrow some features from the late Galaxy Note 7, as some stated yesterday that Samsung might provide the S Pen as an external accessory for the upcoming phone. In addition, the Galaxy S8 is said to come with Bixby virtual AI assistant that integrates with the device’s core applications. The smartphone is also rumored to come with 8GB of RAM and UFS 2.1 flash storage.
Samsung is expected to announce the Galaxy S8 during an event in April, which gives the company plenty of time to conduct thorough pre-release quality testing, as to avoid a situation similar to what happened to its latest flagship.
Source: Galaxy S8 will completely ditch hardware navigation keys, Samsung is switching to all soft keys with 3D touch-like functionality. — David Ruddock (@RDR0b11) December 28, 2016