Latest Galaxy S8 rumors: 4K display, powerful GPU, 4200 mAh battery, 30 MP camera

[XAMI]

In light of the continuing Galaxy Note 7 debacle, Samsung will probably be relieved to find that some of the spotlight is starting to point at its next smartphone, the Galaxy S8. A new leak reported by Sammobile suggests the handset will pack some seriously powerful hardware, allowing it to produce high-quality VR and 4K experiences.

The report claims that the S8 may come with an Exynos 8895 SoC featuring ARM’s new high-end Mali-G71 mobile GPU. Built using the company’s new Bifrost architecture, the 16nm graphics chip is clocked at 850 MHz and offers up to 20% better energy efficiency, 40% better performance density and 20% external memory bandwidth saving compared to the Mali-T880 GPU found in the Galaxy S7.

The Mali-G71 is also compatible with Vulkan, OpenGL ES 3.2, GPU Compute, and Android RenderScript APIs.

Speaking about its cutting-edge chips back in May, ARM executive vice president and president of product groups, Pete Hutton, said: "This technology can make engaging with 4K video, virtual reality, and augmented reality an everyday experience on a mobile device."

Other rumors reported by Tech Updates claim the S8 will ship with a 5.2-inch display with a resolution of 2160 x 4096 – an increase over the 1440 x 2560 found in the S7. It’s also said to feature a 30MP rear camera with optical image stabilization, a 9MP front-facing snapper, a 4200 mAh battery, retina and fingerprint scanners, 64GB or 128GB storage, a microSD slot, and a mini projector.

While some of these rumors are quite probable, such as the scanners and microSD slot, others, like the 30MP camera, should be taken with a big pinch of salt.

Like its predecessor, we'll probably see the S8 announced at Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress trade show in February, with the handset launching a couple of months later. As for the price, it’s been suggested that Samsung is eying the $850 mark. Let’s hope there are no problems with that rumored massive battery.