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Samsung Galaxy S8: Leaked photos reveal phone's best features days ahead of launch

Leaked Samsung Galaxy S8 pictures - Evan Blass
Leaked Samsung Galaxy S8 pictures - Evan Blass

Days before Samsung is due to unveil its Galaxy S8 smartphone, leaked pictures and a video showing off the phone have emerged.

The leaks reveal the device, set to be launched on March 29, will have an edge-to-edge screen, no home button and a dedicated button for the Bixby smart assistant. 

A video claiming to show an early copy of the phone shows Samsung may have moved the fingerprint sensor to the back of the device to make room for the larger screen. 

The phone takes it look from the premium Edge version of Samsung's previous Galaxy models, which had curved edges to give the screen an infinity appearance. 

The video also shows off Samsung's latest innovation Bixby for the first time. The Korean electronics giant announced its first AI assistant earlier this month and teased that it will offer users "a new way to interact with their phone". 

Bixby will have its own dedicated button on the S8, according to leaks, and will be able to support users in tasks as they ask.

Separately, leaked pictures of the Galaxy S8 show that it could come in at least four colours including black, grey, silver and gold. 

As yet unconfirmed rumours suggest the S8 may have a pressure sensitive OLED screen, which could be 4K. The S8 will reportedly be 20pc more energy efficient and 11pc faster than the S7. 

It could also have the ability to connect to a monitor, a feature that appears to be available in Google's upcoming Android O software. But Google has only just released the developer preview of O, making it highly likely that the S8 will run a modified version of last year's Android Nougat. 

At a glance | Google’s Android Nougat

How much will the Galaxy S8 and S8+ cost? 

Prominent leaker Evan Blass reported that the S8 will cost €799 (£690) and the larger S8+ model €899, which is €100 more than its predecessor, the Galaxy S7.

It is not clear what the UK prices will be and whether or not they will increase due to currency fluctuations. According to gadget retailer MobileFun, the S8 will cost £799 and the S8 Plus £899 in the UK.

When will it be unveiled?

Samsung is expected to launch the new phone at an event in New York on Wednesday. The company has traditionally unveiled its flagship handsets at Mobile World Congress in February, but this year delayed the launch following the global recall of its Galaxy Note 7 phone. 

A battery fault in the Note 7 caused the phone to overheat and in some cases explode, forcing Samsung to halt production and recall all of the devices. 

 

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