The highly anticipated Samsung Galaxy S8, which is expected to debut in early 2017, will reportedly feature an "all-screen design" and could be without both a physical home button and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. Samsung fans have been eagerly awaiting the next model in Samsung's premier smartphone lineup since earlier this year when the Samsung Galaxy S7 release was marred by a string of exploding S7 handsets.
Both the Samsung Galaxy S7 and the Samsung Note 7 figured in various mishaps this year, with reports saying that several of these handsets spontaneously exploded in users' hands, causing burns and damaging property. Because of these incidents, Samsung is expected to attempt a huge comeback with the next Galaxy S flagship phone. Bloomberg reports that the South Korean tech giant is planning on a radical reboot and that it is giving the Samsung Galaxy S8 an all-screen, bezel-less design.
No physical home button?
The redesign reportedly involves removing the bezel that surrounds the display in previous Samsung Galaxy S phones. The black frame in older models housed the phones' physical home button, front-facing camera, earpiece, and proximity sensor. According to Bloomberg, Samsung will replace the physical home button in the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S8 with a virtual counterpart that will be embedded in the bottom part of the glass. The outlet also says that there will be more than one Galaxy S8 handset and that they will all feature wraparound displays. Samsung is also expected to give the Galaxy S8 an improved version of its voice assistant that is "significantly differentiated" from those existing in similar devices, such as the iPhone.
No headphone jack?
Meanwhile, SamMobile reports that Samsung is following in Apple's footsteps and will be removing the traditional 3.5 mm headphone jack from its next devices, starting with the Galaxy S8 phones. Apple did away with the headphone jack in its iPhone 7, released in September this year, replacing it with a Lightning port.
Bloomberg suggests that Samsung will release the Galaxy S8 in March 2017, following the standard Galaxy S release schedule. However, stricter testing procedures in the wake of the Galaxy S7 fiasco could delay the release of the Galaxy S8 to April.
