More leaks of the Samsung Galaxy S8 are appearing as each day draws nearer to its official launch that’s happening on 29 March 2017. We’ve seen press renders and now we get to see more hands-on leaks that apparently came from a case making company.
This time we get a closer look at the rear where it houses the camera, heart rate sensor and the new fingerprint sensor. While other manufacturers like Huawei are beginning to move the biometric component to the front, Samsung has removed its iconic home + fingerprint sensor for a clean new look. This helps to reduce the bezels around its edge-to-edge display, giving the Galaxy S8 a higher screen to body ratio.
The button to the right of the main camera is the new fingerprint sensor which some speculates could work as a home button. The Galaxy S8 will definitely use on-screen buttons, so we are not sure if the rear “home” button is necessary at all. The benefit of having a front fingerprint sensor is the ease of unlocking when the phone is lying flat and the new placement could be troublesome since you’ll need to pick up the device in order to unlock using your fingerprint. Furthermore, the off-centre placement of the rear-mounted fingerprint sensor could also lead to unwanted smearing of the camera lens since both are placed side by side.
Perhaps, Samsung is pushing for better unlocking methods like the Iris scanning feature that was introduced with the Galaxy Note7. As seen in this frontal shot, you can see a busy row of sensors and cameras at the top. An infrared light is visible which is used for iris scanning, allowing it to work even in total darkness.
You’ll also notice a visible home icon at the bottom of the lock screen on the previous photo. This is same “home” icon as seen in this picture when the phone is active. We are just guessing here, but there’s a possibility that the Galaxy S8 retain a front fingerprint sensor using an ultrasonic unit underneath the display. Personally, we still prefer to have the fingerprint sensor in front and it’s more practical when using Samsung Pay.
As reported earlier, the Galaxy S8 will still retain a headphone jack and it charges via USB Type-C. Don’t expect any front-facing stereo speakers as Samsung is still going for a down-firing speaker design. However, you can expect some audio enhancement and possibly bundled earbuds from AKG.
