Galaxy S8 may feature facial recognition for mobile payments

The Galaxy S8 is expected to add facial recognition technology for mobile payments, a feature that would make it stand out among the rivals including Apple's iPhone.

This feature is part of Samsung's efforts to introduce a streamlined design for the upcoming handset to regain consumers' trust following the Note 7 debacle.

People having knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg that the new Galaxy handset would pack fingerprint, iris and facial detection to verify mobile services like Samsung Pay. The company is said to be working with banks to help them adopt the facial recognition technology in the coming months.

Unlike the previous Galaxy models, which used facial recognition to unlock the device, the Galaxy S8 would be the company's first to employ the same technology to verify payment methods.

The company has been working to improve its facial recognition technology over the years, the sources told Bloomberg. The iris and facial detection work in conjunction with each other. While phones rely on iris detection in challenging situations like low light conditions, unlocking the phones with facial recognition is faster along with more accuracy.

A notable addition in the S8 is the use of home-grown voice assistant dubbed Bixby, said the sources, adding it won't borrow any features from Viv Labs that Samsung acquired last October.

The S8 is said to feature a full-screen front, without a physical home button offering a better viewing experience. The virtual home button would be fixed somewhere in the lower part of glass. In terms of screen technology, the smartphone is likely to sport a power-efficient OLED screen.