We’ve finally received a hard date for the launch of Samsung’s Galaxy S8 flagship smartphone. A report in ETNews, in Korean, revealed a date of April 15 for the launch of “a line of smartphone products” that will have better camera hardware and new functionality.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 is expected to come with an 8 MP camera, but will additionally have an Auto-focus Actuator. The actuator’s function is to find the correct focal distance for the subject in the shot.
The same source also revealed that new Samsung A series smartphones (A5 and A7) will sport a 16 MP front camera – up from 5 MP on the current models. The A3, which is the entry-level A series model, is also getting a camera upgrade to 8 MP.
Samsung’s strategy for smartphone launches this year is to apparently release the mid-range A series models first, followed by the more pocket-friendly J series, and finally the S series, which is basically the flagship Galaxy S8.
Right now, Samsung makes the components for the rear camera, but front camera components are outsourced to small to medium-sized companies, which is what Samsung is focusing on for its 2017 smartphones. All models will likely have upgraded front camera components, which means the units themselves might be a little more expensive than their 2016 and earlier counterparts.
Of “note” is the fact that the Iris Recognition camera module is being ported over from the failed Note 7 and will feature on Galaxy S8. These components are made by external suppliers Partron and MCNEX. Samsung originally wanted a dual camera system for the rear camera on the flagship Galaxy S8, but that idea was scrapped at the development stage, said the source.
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Samsung has always maintained focus on the quality of its smartphone cameras, and with selfies having become so popular, it’s likely that the Korean electronics giant wants to exploit that market and make better front cameras than anyone else.
Obviously, their main competitor in this space is Apple, which managed to push its dual camera agenda through on iPhone 7 Plus. That’s likely to make its appearance on one of the iPhone 8 models planned for 2017, so they’re still one-up on Samsung where that’s concerned. But Samsung is upgrading the front cameras on all its 2017 models, so it should give them higher gains in the mid and low-end smartphone segment.
Samsung somehow managed to show strong revenue growth this year despite the $5.2 billion impairment from the Note 7 recalls, and a lot of support came from strong SD card sales and the OLED display division.
It would seem that Samsung is nearly back on track with its smartphone agenda for 2017 even though they weren’t able to release the Galaxy S8 earlier than schedule, as rumored earlier.
READ: Samsung Aims to Sell 60M Galaxy S8 Units, Apple Aims for 80M for iPhone…
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