Galaxy S8 Good And Bad News

For months Galaxy S8 leaks brought nothing but good news. But following confirmation of its bizarre fingerprint reader placement, a Samsung official has now delivered more bittersweet news…
   Speaking to Korean news outlet News1, an unnamed “senior Samsung official” revealed the Galaxy S8 and larger Galaxy S8 Plus will have 5.8-inch and 6.2-inch displays respectively. This is achieved through Samsung drastically cutting back the top and bottom bezel sizes to squeeze these monstrous displays into chassis roughly the same size as the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge.

Galaxy S8 concept render based on the latest leaks. Image credit: Benjamin Geskin

News1’s information ties in with leak after leak we have seen from case makers who usually attain handset dimensions early so they can prepare their accessories.
That’s the good news, but the bad news is of real concern. According to the same official, News1 says Samsung has decided to fit the Galaxy S8 with a 3000 mAh battery and the Galaxy S8 Plus with a 3500 mAh battery. Both handsets were rumoured to have 250 mAh more than this.
And this is a problem. Why? Because while their next generation Exynos and Snapdragon chipsets will be more power efficient than last year, displays remain the number one drain on battery life and they will be massive. Furthermore look at last year’s phones: the 5.1-inch Galaxy S7 had a 3000 mAh battery and the 5.5-inch Galaxy S7 Edge had a 3600 mAh battery.

Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Edge leaked fascias suggest two stunning new smartphones but will their batteries be large enough? Image credit: DforDesign

Consequently Samsung will have to work some magic if the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus aren’t going to disappoint customers who year-after-year cite better battery life as their number one request.
And this leaves me feeling a little less optimistic about the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus than I did a few weeks ago. We know the phones will look great, but:

1. Unlocking will be a pain to anyone without long fingers (there will be an iris scanning but it’s a three step process that is difficult to do on the move)
2. RAM is apparently unchanged at 4GB while rivals look at 6GB+
3. There’s been conspicuously little about camera upgrades (dual cameras are out) and now...
4. Battery life is worrying

So while at launch I expect the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus to be the best phones on the market, with the radical iPhone 8 / iPhone X and Google Pixel 2 and Pixel XL 2 coming later this year, I do wonder for how long…