Samsung Galaxy S8: Specs to expect from the flagship include 4K screen and dual camera setup

Samsung may be dealing with a mammoth recall crisis for its Galaxy Note 7 but that has not stopped the world's largest smartphone maker from working on what it does best, mobiles. In an attempt to put the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco behind and focus on displaying cutting edge technology in the phone business, the company is reportedly focusing its research on its next flagship release, the Galaxy S8.

The Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge were very well received. Its strong sales propelled the company to greater heights with solid sales. But the recent Galaxy Note 7 recall has put a significant dent on the Korean electronic maker's reputation and the company wants to counter that with the Galaxy S8, which is due to release in 2017.

IBTimes UK brings you a detailed breakdown of all the major specifications and features to expect from the phone:

Design and Build

The S series from Samsung has had a more or less static design apart from the introduction of curved edged screens. The S8 is also expected to have a similar design with a metal build and the IP68 waterproof technology that makes it completely dust resistant and offers protection from immersion in water with a depth of a little more than 1m.

The biggest addition to the S8 design, however, is likely to be the possible removal of the headphone jack just like Apple did for the iPhone 7. A recent report had claimed that Samsung is also planning to ditch the 3.5mm port and introduce a rival to Apple's lighting connector.

Screen, Display and Resolution

The display technology for the S8 is expected to be groundbreaking with some sources claiming that it might be the first mainstream smartphone maker to incorporate a 4K display. Most of the speculation on the advanced displays started when Samsung showcased a 4K display prototype at the Display Week conference in San Francisco which was 5.5-inches in size. The size makes it a perfect fit for Samsung's S series. Here are some of the other features of that display

Resolution: 3840 x 2160 – 4K
Pixel Density: 806 PPI
Visible-light intensity: 350nit brightness
Range of colours: 97% colour gamut

Although a 4K display for a mobile phone may seem too much, the company is looking to promote the use of VR technology through the impeccable display. Along with this the screen of the S8 is expected to be curved on both sides as Samsung may completely do away with flat screen models.

"Samsung has considered that it would make the edge display as the identity of the Galaxy S smartphone lineup if the company can provide consumers differentiated user experience through software and user-friendly functions (for the curved screen)," Koh Dong-jin, the head of the tech giant's mobile business had told Korean Herald earlier.

Processor

An increasingly competitive smartphone environment has caused OEM's like Samsung to try and procure the best hardware they can for these devices.

For its processor, the Galaxy S8 is expected to pack an Exynox 8895 chip featuring ARM's new Mali-G71 graphics unit (GPU). The Mali-G71 is 1.8 times powerful than the Mali-T880 MP12 GPU currently on the Galaxy S7 range. The GPU is specially designed to endure high-end mobile graphics delivering up to 20% better energy efficiency, 40% better performance and 20% external memory bandwidth saving when compared to mali-T880.

Samsung in the past has introduced two different processors for different regions. Apart from the Exynox model the Galaxy S8 is also expected to have another variant, a Qualcomm Snapdragon one.

RAM, ROM and OS

When the Galaxy Note 7 was introduced it was anticipated to pack 6GB of RAM. Disappointingly it did not and those obsessed with multitasking started searching for higher RAM phones. Although it is not a guarantee that a high RAM capacity will necessarily give you a faster performance, consumers tend to rely on specifications most of the time.

Although there is no word on RAM capacity, if the S8 wants to beat competition especially from its Android counterparts it has to introduce 6GB of RAM on the device. The OnePlus , Xiaomi Mi 5S and Asus Zenfone 3 Deluxe already have this capacity.

There are no specific reports on internal storage options but looking at the Galaxy S7 and Note 7 range a 64GB capacity seems most likely. The OS on the phone as per the expected release date of the phone should be Android 7.0 Nougat along with an upgraded TouchWiz.

Camera

A post on Chinese social media Weibo had indicated that the upcoming flagship will have a rear dual camera set-up like the iPhone 7 Plus and the Honor 8. The exact specification for S8's cameras module are not known yet but some rumours suggest a 12-megapixel sensor as seen on current Galaxy flagships accompanied by a 13 MP secondary sensor.

Battery

Given what has happened with the Note 7, Samsung will be making sure that it does not make any mistakes this time when it comes to the S8 battery. While overheating of phones may be a common phenomenon it is taxing for those in particular that have low battery capacity yet are forced to run high resolution graphics and support faster RAM capabilities.

The Note 7 had a 3,500mAh battery capacity and the S7, a 3,000 mAh. But the S8 is supposed to have a 4K screen and a much faster GPU which will require a much better battery capacity than the Note 7 as well.

Pricing and release date

Samsung has had a more or less steady range it tends to stick to when unveiling its S series flagships. The S8 is expected to be ranging from anywhere between $700 (£539) to $800 depending on the nature of upgrade it brings.

As for the release date, in past years the Galaxy S series phone shave been launched either in February or March. The last two releases in fact took place at the Mobile World Congress prompting speculation about a similar release date in 2017.