Samsung Galaxy S8 rumour roundup: Face recognition, 1000 fps camera and more

Expectations around the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are reaching stratospheric levels ahead of Samsung's March 29 Unpacked event.

Samsung needs the upcoming Galaxy S8 and S8+ smartphones to be embraced warmly by customers after its reputation took a big dent due to the Galaxy Note 7 debacle and the recent arrest of their CEO on bribery and embezzlement charges.

Super slow motion 1000fps video recording

A strong rumour doing the rounds is the fact that the Galaxy S8's rear camera will come with the ability to shoot super slow motion video.

A few weeks ago, Sony introduced an entirely new camera system called 'Motion Eye'. The company has embedded fast memory right into the camera stack which allows the camera to capture super slow motion video. The technology will be seen in the upcoming Xperia XZs and XZ Premium smartphones.

"The smartphone will use a combination of the fingerprint scanner, Iris scanner as well as facial detection for user verification in services like Samsung Pay"

While Sony's 'MotionEye' camera can record video at 960fps, the Galaxy S8's 12MP rear camera is expected to up the ante with support for 1000fps video recording.

The iPhone 7 in comparison can record slow motion video at 120fps (1080p) or 240 fps (720p) making Samsung's slow motion technology up to 8 times faster than the iPhone's.

A report on Naver claims that just like Sony, Samsung has also added DRAM as a storage device between the pixel element of the image sensor and the circuit part. This allows the camera to not only shoot super slow motion video but also transmit and store images at a much faster rate than usual.

Samsung galaxy S8 vs Samsung Galaxy S7 vs Samsung galaxy S8 Plus

Exynos 8895 benchmarks leaked

The Galaxy S8  is set to be powered by Qualcomm's latest flagship processor - the Snapdragon 835 in the U.S and some European regions and the 3GHz Exynos 8895 processor in other regions including India.

While most rumours recently have been about the Snapdragon 835 version of the Galaxy S8, benchmark results of the Exynos 8895 variant of the Galaxy S8 have now leaked courtesy of a Geekbench listing from a handset identified as SM-G955F.

The numbers are pretty impressive, with a 1978 single-core score and a 6375 multi-core score. This compares favourably to the leaked benchmarks of the Snapdragon 835 version of the Galaxy S8 which got a 1929 single core and 6084 multi core score.

The 10nm Exynos 8895 not only outscores the Snapdragon 835 but also pulls ahead of the Huawei Kirin 960, which got a 1898 single core 6084 multi core score in Geekbench.

The Exynos 8895 is rumoured to feature an octa-core CPU with four high-performance custom Samsung cores and four Cortex-A53 cores for less intensive tasks.

6GB RAM variant to be China exclusive

Rumours pointing to a 6GB RAM + 128GB internal storage variant of the Samsung Galaxy S8 have been doing the rounds of the internet for quite some time now and a now a new rumor claims that the 6GB model will only be available in China.

The leak comes from a Weibo post by user Kevin Wong, who is the research director of IHS for China.

Bezel less design

The upcoming Galaxy S8 will sport a radical near bezel-less design with dual curved edges. Samsung is also ditching its iconic home button in the upcoming smartphone.

Facial recognition technology

Earlier, a report on The Investor had claimed that due to limitations with the Iris scanning technology, the company has also added facial recognition to the smartphone to aid in faster and more accurate biometric authentication.

Now, a new reports claims that the facial recognition technology will be used for mobile payments as well. The leak claims that the smartphone will use a combination of the fingerprint scanner, Iris scanner as well as facial detection for user verification in services like Samsung Pay.

The Galaxy S8 will sport a radical near bezel-less design with dual curved edges.

According to the report, the company is "already working with banks to help them embrace facial recognition systems in coming months."

This facial recognition technology will work in tandem with the 3.7MP Iris camera sensor which will be placed right next to the S8's front facing camera.

Galaxy S8 specifications

The Galaxy S8 is set to come with a 5.8' Quad HD Super AMOLED display along with IP68 dust and water resistance, Samsung Knox, Samsung Pay, Wireless Charging, 4G LTE support and earphones tuned by AKG.

Additionally, the device is rumoured to be powered by Qualcomm's latest flagship processor - the Snapdragon 835 in the U.S and some European regions and the 3GHz Exynos 8895 processor in other regions including India alongside 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage expandable via a microSD card.

On the imaging front, the S8 is said to come with a 12MP 'Dual Pixel' camera at the rear alongside an 8MP front facing camera.

The Galaxy S8+ is set to come with the exact same specifications as the S8 but with a much bigger 6.2 screen.

A new Samsung Galaxy S8 leak reveals three color options and pricing

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus (top to bottom) in black sky, orchid grey and arctic silver (left to right)

We’ve already gotten a good look at the Samsung Galaxy S8, but a new leaked image of the device shows off the colors that it will be available in when it ships to consumers in April.

The image comes from Evan Blass, who leaked the first images of the phone back in January. His new image reveals that Samsung’s next flagship phone will be available in three colors: Black Sky, Orchid Grey, and Arctic Silver.

He also tweeted that the phone will retail in Europe for €799 for the basic S8 while the S8+ will retail for €899. He also revealed the prices of some accessories for the phone: the DeX docking station, a new GearVR headset, and Gear 360 camera.

Samsung will launch the phone during an event on March 29th, and it will reportedly be available to consumers on April 21st.

Apple iPhone SE prices in India slashed, now start at Rs 19,999 with cash back offer

If you’ve been waiting for an affordable iPhone, this could be the right time to buy one. Here’s everything you need to know.

India being one of the biggest and the most lucrative smartphone markets in the world after China, manufacturers have gone aggressive in pricing their devices. The entry-level and mid-range segment is booming, and while Apple iPhones have been out of reach for many, that isn’t the case right now. Launched in April 2016 for Rs 39,000 for 16GB storage variant and Rs 44,000 for the 64GB storage variant, the Apple iPhone SE is now reportedly selling for Rs 19,999 and Rs 24,999 for 16GB and 64GB storage variants.

The news about the price cut comes from Kerala-based retailer, @itnetinfocom, with technology website TechPP being the first one to report about it. The prices are only for customers buying the smartphone using their credit or debit cards. The reduced prices are a part of ongoing offer where customers can avail maximum cashback of Rs 5,000 within 90 days of making their purchase.

In essence, you pay Rs 24,999 for the 16GB iPhone SE, and after the cash back, the effective price comes down to Rs 19,999. Similarly, for the 64GB iPhone SE, you pay Rs 29,999 up front and after the cash back, the effective price comes down to Rs 24,999. One catch though, the cash back offer is not valid on EMI-based transactions. Also, the offer is only valid till March 31, so if you have been waiting to buy an iPhone, you probably need to be quick.

What’s more, price cut makes the iPhone SE India pricing lower that what it is being sold at in the US. It is also the most powerful Apple iPhone you can get in sub-Rs 20,000 price range. One thing to note though, the discounted pricing is something that is offered by retailers and not the official revised pricing from Apple. 

Apple iPhone SE specifications and features

The smartphone features a compact 4-inch HD Retina Display. It is powered by Apple’s A9 SoC paired with M9 motion co-processor and 2GB RAM. The smartphone also includes support for always-on ‘Hey Siri’ feature. With a 12-megapixel iSight rear camera with dual tone LED flash and a 1.2-megapixel selfie snapper, the smartphone is fueled by a 1,715mAh battery. On the connectivity front, the smartphone features 4G LTE with VoLTE, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi 802.11ac and GPS. The smartphone runs on iOS 10.

Look At How Much Slimmer The Galaxy S8's Bezels Are Next To The iPhone, Pixel And S7

If you watch smartphone reviews on YouTube, you've surely heard of dbrand. The Canadian company specializes in making "skins" (aka stickers that cover the phone) that add both grip and style to smartphones, and they're always highly "recommended" by YouTube's tech community.

(I put quotation marks around the word recommended because while dbrand do make mostly great products -- I purchased a matte black dbrand skins for my Galaxy Note 7 and loved the fit and finish -- all those "I would suggest you slap a dbrand skin on the phone, link in my description below" type of shout-outs from YouTubers such as SuperSaf and Dom Esposito are almost certainly paid ads. I find it hilarious that all of them say almost the exact same thing ... C'mon, guys, mix it up.)

Anyway, since dbrand skin is by far the top skin-maker for smartphones for a few years now, it's safe to assume they have inside connections with phone companies the way case-makers like Spiegen do. That's why dbrand skin is able to take pre-orders for the Galaxy S8 already -- they probably already have very, very reliable information on the exact look and dimensions of the yet-to-be-announced phone. Dbrand is so confident, in fact, they've put the entire image of the S8 on its product page.

So I got an idea: why not screengrab the mock-up images of various phones from dbrand's site and compare them side-by-side? We already know the Galaxy S8 will have very slim bezels, but how will they look next to the Galaxy S7? Or the iPhone 7? Or the hilariously large bezel-ed Google Pixel?

You already saw up top on the main image how the S8 should look next to the S7 (please note: I purposely chose the orange skin -- which is ugly as heck in my opinion -- so the bezels would stand out), and the difference is jarring. The S7's bezels were already quite slim, and the S8 makes that looks chunky and thick.

Take a look at the S8 next to the iPhone 7 now (I've taken the liberty to scale the images so the two phones roughly approximates the real-life size differences).

The iPhone 7's three-year-old design is really showing here. But it's okay, Apple fanboys, the iPhone 8 will fix this.

Moving on... I've always thought the LG G3 was the king of small-bezels up until recently (which is very impressive considering the G3 came out in 2014), to the point that I even wrote a piece comparing the S8's build to the G3, and the side-by-side comparison sort of proves my case. Check out the G3's bezels, they keeps up quite well with a phone that will be released three years later.

Here is the S8 compared to the LG G6, which has impressively small bezels too.

Finally, onto the phone I've poked fun at the most: the Google Pixel. Look, I know the Pixel has great software and a great camera, but Ron Amadeo's theory about the Pixel's hardware is probably dead-on: Google didn't have time to design the Pixel after Huawei rejected its offer to make the phone, so Google had to settle on existing HTC parts. That explains why the Pixel has that inexplicably giant chin that doesn't even have a home button or fingerprint scanner. There is no way Google designers wanted the bottom chin to be that big; they just didn't have a choice because HTC's never been good at making compact phones. Just look at how unnecessarily large the U Ultra is .

So anyway, here's the Galaxy S8, slim bezels and all, next to the Pixel.

I'm not even a Samsung fan -- I was nitpicking on the Note 7, calling it overpriced, and criticizing Samsung's laggy software back when the phone was getting gushy rave reviews everywhere -- but the Galaxy S8 is really looking sexy. I'm going to be using the G6 and S8 as my daily drivers for a while.

The ‘Nokia’ 3310 isn’t a Nokia

.

I'm so sick of nostalgia as a ploy for profit. From the “Make America Great Again” slogan, to the endless Star Wars and X-Men movies, to the Fiat 500 and Mini Cooper. We’ve become a world obsessed with looking backward for lazy sources of joy.

And now... the “Nokia” 3310.

Don’t get me wrong, the 3310 might be a fine feature phone. I wouldn’t know, I haven’t used it. My colleagues on the ground at the big MWC show tell me it’s a “fun phone” and “solid for what it is,” which is basically a gussied-up “Nokia” 150 launched without notice in December. No, what bugs me is the audacious brand exploitation behind it.

The “Nokia” 3310 is no more a Nokia device than a Polaroid TV is a Polaroid. HMD Global Oy bought the right to use the Nokia brand and is now exploiting your longing to relive the “good ol' days” for profit. A time when most of the world’s cellphones were made by stoic Finns and coffee came from a can. The 3310 unveiled this week, however, was not built by the fine people of Salo, Finland who were laid off during the great Elopcalypse. The revamped 3310 is no heir to the inventive Nokia culture cultivated in Espoo by former CEO Jorma Jaakko Ollila. This so-called “Nokia” 3310 is no more a Nokia than the Kodak Ektra is the brainchild of George Eastman and Henry A. Strong. Nokia phones aren't making a comeback. The only thing returning is the Nokia logo slapped on a bunch of commodified rectangles as part of a brand licensing strategy.

The insufferable Hollywood and automotive retreads of the last decade have mired their respective industries in a morass of wistful mediocrity. Are we now witnessing the first pangs of a cellphone nostalgia trend? What comes after the HMD Global Oy 3310? The Lenovo RAZR? The LG Pre? The Steam Thunderbolt? Nostalgia's the card companies play after innovation dies and the patent lawsuits have all dried up. Is that really a business practice you want to support with your hard-earned monies?

I’ll happily review the new 3310 and all new HMD Global Oy phones on their merits. But I won’t give them a free emotional pass just because they sport a blocky N O K I A logo. You shouldn’t either.

I really don't get nostalgia. I, like most of you, it seems, long for originality; for invention and creativity. I get excited when something’s unique and enhances my life in new and interesting ways. I especially don’t understand nostalgia when it's applied to consumer electronics because technology doesn't age as well as Harrison Ford. I don't want to return to the Commodore computer in the age of the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti. I don't want vacuum tubes that have to warm up in my TV when a flat 4K HDR TV will boot Netflix nearly instantly. And I sure as shit won’t be placated by Snake on a Series 30+ featurephone when the Galaxy Note 8 and iPhone whatever are right around the corner.

The Zune celebrated its 10th birthday a few months ago. Do we, the consumers, really want Microsoft to believe we’re chomping at the bit for a diamond anniversary brown Zune 30?

No. Hell, no.

This limited edition all-black OnePlus 3T is going to be ridiculously rare

Only 250 units will be available to buy at Parisian retailer Colette

The OnePlus 3T is a hell of a flagship — of that we’re certain — but OnePlus does go a bit overboard with its attempts to hype the brand sometimes. The latest example is a new limited edition version of the 3T developed in collaboration with Parisian retailer Colette. The handsets costs €479 ($510), looks incredibly slick with a new all-black colorway, but will be rarer than hen’s teeth. Only 250 units will be available to buy from the Colette store in Paris on March 21st from 11AM local time.

At least “limited edition” here really does mean limited.

The special edition handset will come with 128GB of internal storage, an engraved rear case, and all the other 3T specs including 6GB of RAM, a Snapdragon 821 processor, and a fast-charging 3,400mAh battery (“a day’s power in half an hour” is the OnePlus slogan). If you want to try and grab one for yourself, first: go to Paris. Then head to Colette’s store at 213 Rue Saint Honoré on March 21st and get ready to scramble. It doesn’t half look nice though:

The limited edition OnePlus 3T

 Image: OnePlus / Colette

Apple will ditch Lightning for USB-C on new iPhones

Here’s a rumor we’ve not heard before. According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, the next iPhones will feature a “USB-C port for the power cord and other peripheral devices instead of the company’s original Lightning connector.”

The wording isn’t 100 percent clear, but the WSJ seems to be suggesting that Apple will drop the iPhone’s proprietary Lightning port in favor of the industry’s standard USB Type-C connector. It would be an unusual move for Apple, which has never been afraid of pushing its own connection standards, but not completely inexplicable. The company has already adopted USB-C on its MacBook line, and the two standards share some key features, including reversibility.

MacBook USB-C (top) vs. iPhone Lightning (bottom).

It’s also possible that the WSJ report means that USB-C will be incorporated not into the phone itself, but into its power adapters. That would mean replacing the USB-A plug on the end of the iPhone power cable with USB-C, like Apple has done with the adapters that ship with new MacBooks. This would make sense, allowing users who buy the new iPhone to charge it from their new MacBook using the cable that comes in the box. Apple’s new Ultra Accessory Connector (UAC) also makes it unlikely that the company will be dropping its Lightning port from the next iPhone.

The rest of the WSJ story is less ambiguous, and repeats a number of rumors we’ve heard before: that Apple will be unveiling three new iPhones this year, including updates to 2016’s phones and a new premium device; that one of these handsets will have a curved screen similar to those seen on Samsung’s Galaxy S7 devices; and that on one phone at least, Apple will be upgrading to OLED display technology.

The WSJ report also states that the new iPhone models “will do away with a physical home button.” We’ve previously heard this rumor from noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who suggests that one of 2017’s new iPhones will replace the physical home button with a “function area” underneath the display. He states that only one of the new iPhones will have this new feature though.

ColorWare’s retro-styled iPhone 7 Plus is beautiful and expensive

For the last few years, ColorWare has been gracing Apple’s products with gorgeous special edition paint jobs reminiscent of vintage Macintosh products. And earlier this week, the custom painting company showed off its latest retro makeover for the iPhone 7 Plus.

Like the earlier custom ColorWare designs, the iPhone 7 Plus Retro Edition is repainted in a 1980’s beige, complete with darker stripes meant to resemble the vents on older computers. And of course, the monochrome Apple logo on the back is replaced with one in the classic and iconic rainbow stripes.

ColorWare has released plenty of other retro-styled Apple gear before, including the MacBook Air, MacBook, iMac, and iPhone 6S all appearing before on the company’s site. But while those models were only sold in extremely limited quantities, the iPhone 7 Plus Retro Edition is in theory available to anyone that’s willing to buy one (although only the first 25 sold will be numbered.)

That gets us to the rough part: the cost. ColorWare’s custom paint jobs have never been particularly cheap, and the retro styling is no exception. The iPhone 7 Plus Retro Edition is only available in unlocked, 256GB model for a whopping $1,899. To put that in perspective, that’s almost twice Apple’s $969 price for the phone. It’s a price that’s almost on par with original Macintosh’s $2,495 price tag went on sale in 1984.

Price aside, though, the iPhone 7 Plus Retro is probably the nicest looking custom iPhone we’ve ever seen. Whether that’s worth the ridiculous premium to pay is up to you.

Super Mario Run is coming to Android on March 23rd

Back in January, we learned that Super Mario Run was coming to Android phones in March. Yesterday, Nintendo America has revealed when non-iPhone users will be able to play the game: March 23rd.

Nintendo launched the game in December exclusively on the iPhone, where it’s been downloaded 78 million times. Android users will get version 2.0.0 upon release, while iPhone users will get an update to the version on the same day. The update will add some new playable characters to the game.

Samsung Galaxy S8 may come with 1000 FPS recording and a 3.7MP Iris Sensor

Samsung Galaxy S8 may come with 1000 FPS recording and a 3.7MP Iris Sensor

Samsung maybe planning something revolutionary with the upcoming flagships Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus. The company may add a rear camera with embedded DRAM that can allow slow-mo recording up to 1000 frames per second.

This is not the first time that a smartphone is equipped with embedded DRAM in the rear camera, as Sony has been using this in their cameras and other products. Sony launched its flagship Sony Xperia XZ Premium with the same embedded DRAM technology giving it the ability to shoot slow motion video up to 960 frames per second.

According to the report, Samsung manufactures mobile DRAM for other OEMs and this will help the company in setting the benchmark for slow motion video capture.

Other addition that the company is planning to pack Galaxy S8 is with is a 3.7MP iris sensor. This is a bump from normal iris scanners, backing up the claims that it can perform its iris scanning and facial recognition capabilities in the upcoming flagship devices. Rumours indicate that Samsung will go with the tried and tested 12MP camera sensor for Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus.

This comes just days after the previous leak which pointed out that Galaxy S8 would arrive in two models. The standard Galaxy S8 would feature a 5.8-inch screen while the larger smartphone tagged as the Galaxy S8 Plus would come with a 6.2-inch display. Both displays would feature a WQHD+ resolution of 2,960 x 2,400 pixels and would also come with dual-edge curved displays.

HTC U Ultra Review: HTC is pulling out all stops for their latest flagship offering

HTC U Ultra Review: HTC is pulling out all stops for their latest flagship offering 

Price : Rs 59,990 

Specifications : Qualcomm Snapdragon 821,

 4GB RAM, 64GB storage + micro SD (up to 2TB with Flex storage),

 5.7-inch WQHD (2560 x 1440 pixels) Super LCD5, 

12MP f1.8 UltraPixel rear camera with OIS & PDAF, 

16MP front camera, 

3,000mAh battery.

The 5.5-inch smartphone screen is now considered mainstream. And at least in the Android world, there are many different flagships that stick to this size with unabated enthusiasm. For their latest flagship, HTC is pulling out all the stops — even going a size larger, adding a second screen, opting for a glass back instead of metal and generally doing things we thought were most un-HTC like. 

It’s a new design direction for the company and one that many have already lambasted. HTC was known for their One series of phones with beautiful aluminium shells, precise chamfered edges and a general feeling of robustness. The U Ultra, though it doesn’t skimp on features and performance, is now a glass-metal sandwich! You can get it in three colours: black, pink and a sapphire blue. The back panel is multi-layered, mineral-infused contoured glass surface that reflects light in different ways and merges seamlessly with the metal frame — HTC calls it a ‘liquid surface’. It looks superb when it’s clean — but it picks up smudges and dust in a nanosecond. Despite the size, it’s easy to pick up and hold.

Looking around the phone, you can see that it has a ‘clean’ and uncluttered design. There’s one USB-C port (no 3.5mm), dual speakers, capacitive Android buttons and a screen that takes up most of the front. The second screen sits on top, to the right of the front camer and can be controlled independently of the main screen. In the Settings, you can choose what it displays and when it switches on/off. You can also double tap the second display to take a quick glance at notifications.

One of the standout features is supposed to the smart, AI-like software features. HTC calls it Sense Companion. This is something that will learn from your routine and habits, set alarms for you, remind you about things that matter more, listen to what you say and generally make things easier. We didn’t get a chance to try out the HTC Sense Companion since that will only be available by mid March via an update. This functionality is something you can add via apps but it may be nice to have it built in and better integrated with the stock software.

Performance is top-notch, thanks to the Snapdragon 821 processor and 4GB RAM. HTC’s Sense UI remains excellent — one of our favorite interfaces apart from the bone-stock Android. Coming to the camera — this is where HTC has paid some special attention. The primary camera lets in a lot of light with that f1.8 aperture. It also has optical image stabilization, super-fast autofocus (phase detection + laser) and the app offers a bunch of modes including pro, Zoe, panorama, hyperlapse and slow motion. The camera builds on the quality of the HTC 10 and suffice to say, stands its ground with some of the best camera phones on the market like the iPhone 7, Galaxy S7, Google Pixel and OnePlus 3T. The front camera is great too: offering an UltraPixel mode that captures even candlelit scenes and a wide-selfie mode. Special mention goes to the excellent stereo speakers, Hi-Res audio capabilities, good battery life (with QC 3.0 fast charging) and high quality 4k video recording.

There are some special offers on at this time. The company is bundling complimentary 1 year insurance that covers water and physical damage. In addition, there’s a cashback of `5,990 (offer is on the full `59,990 price) when purchased with Standard Chartered credit/debit cards. However, this isn’t the first nor the only dualscreen phone available right now — LG V20 has been out for some time now and is priced at an enticing `45,000 at the time of writing. Even the HTC 10, which many would prefer because of the iconic allmetal design and excellent camera, is priced at `48,000. And you can also get similar levels of performance (minus the second screen) at half the price with the OnePlus 3T. Ultimately, while the phone is great, they need to drop the price to sub `50k levels to entice more buyers.