Many experts had speculated that Samsung is just going to release one flagship smartphone this year, the Galaxy S8. However, that turned out to be hogwash as Samsung confirmed that they do plan to launch the next Note later in 2017 as always. The rumors are already going around about the "Note 8," even when the S8 itself is still months away from being launched! Nevertheless, here are a few of the most popular rumors that are going around about the next Galaxy Note from Samsung.

The Iris Scanner

This one is almost a safe bet as we are quite confident that an improved version of the iris scanner which we already saw on the Note 7 earlier in the year will make its way to the Note 8. In fact, it should also be a part of the S8 as well.

Dual Rear Camera

The Korean Herald had already reported that the dual-lens module with 20-mp sensors is going to be a part of the S8. If that turns out to be true, then the Note 8 will definitely have it as well.

AI Assisted Digital Assistant

It is no secret now that Samsung is going to launch a personal digital assistant (Bixby) very soon and when it does, we are sure that it will make its way onto the Note 8 as well, unless something unexpected happens of course.

4K display for VR

The Galaxy S8 was rumored to sport a 4K display, but recent reports are suggesting that Samsung may stick with the tried and tested 2k display instead. This has led many to believe that Samsung is reserving its 4K Super AMOLED display for the next Note device with advanced VR capabilities.

8GB of RAM

To be honest, we think that this one is a stretch and 6GB of RAM is much more likely to be the Note 8's RAM capacity than 8GB. Then again, you may never know!

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

We knew that a Blue Coral version of the Galaxy S7 Edge was coming, but now it's almost here. The new color variant will be launched tomorrow in South Korea. While a new color is usually not something that receives too much attention, the Blue Coral is more than just a color. It is reminiscent of the Note 7 which met its untimely death as a result of faulty engineering. Samsung has used the same popular blue color that it had used with the Note 7 to make the new variants of the S7 Edge more appealing to their customers. As the holiday season approaches, it would be interesting to see if the new release manages to make up for at least some of the sales loss that Samsung is sure to suffer due to the absence of the Galaxy Note 7.

The smartphone on its own however, will not be different from all the other color variants in any way. It will come in 32GB and 64GB variants via SK Telecom, LG Uplus and KT in South Korea. The back cover of the S7 Edge will sport the Blue Coral color with Rose Gold rims. The front bezels too will be blue, just as the back. As it will even be priced in the same manner as the existing S7 Edges, will you be opting for one?

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

Contrary to what we had been led to believe previously, a new report/rumor is indicating that the release for the Galaxy S8 will be delayed till April. As per the report, the delay is brought on to absolutely ensure the safety and quality of the product on release. Samsung had officially stated earlier that "Currently we do not have any plans to release Galaxy S8 early." We were led to believe that this means Samsung will stick to their usual routine of releasing the next Galaxy device a day prior to the MWC in Barcelona. Whether that happens or not, remains to be seen now.

We also have news that Samsung may begin to put together the prototypes and begin testing the S8 from January, after receiving the first order of the necessary parts from its supply chains in the same timeline. Mass production of the final build should begin around the month of March after two months of testing. If you are not yet aware of all else that the rumors are predicting about the Galaxy S8, take a look here. Keep in mind though, nothing is confirmed as of yet.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

Samsung's headquarters in Seoul, South Korea has been raided by the country's national prosecutors yesterday. The raid was part of the investigation that was put into place after Samsung Electronics was accused of transferring money to Choi Soon-sil via her daughter. Choi Soon-sil is a close associate/friend of President Park Geun-hye, in addition to being a religious/cult leader. She is accused of using her connection to the President to both influence politics, as well as seeking business "donations" from different organizations.

The accusation against Samsung dictates that a business which is co-owned by Choi Soon-sil and her daughter Jeong Yu-ra had received over €2.8 million/$3.1 million/£2.5 million from Samsung Electronics to fund Ms Choi's horse riding courses in Germany. Although Samsung did confirm the raid, on being prodded further regarding the matter, they opted to state "no further comment."

It seems like Samsung just can't catch a break in 2016. After the international Note 7 disaster, this political scandal will only hamper the already tarnished reputation of Samsung even further. Nevertheless, it is being investigated to see if Samsung was "victimized" through political pressure.

Source

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

In spite of Samsung's best efforts to keep things silent, rumors about the upcoming Galaxy S8 are plenty. In fact, you can almost make a complete specifications chart based on what the rumors are providing. However, they are only rumors and therefore, are perfectly capable of being absolutely wrong. We had heard previously that the S8 will feature a 4K display to make VR more enjoyable on the device, but the latest ones are reporting that the S8 will continue to use a Quad High Definition or 2K display just as its predecessors before it. This might actually be a good decision as a 4K display can put tremendous strain on the battery.

We have now heard it multiple times that the S8 will feature a full-screen dual curved display without any physical Home buttons whatsoever. In confirmation to that rumor, new reports are suggesting that none of the Samsung's suppliers have received orders yet for supplying the parts that would be necessary to construct the iconic Samsung Home button. This leaves us to speculate that the fingerprint scanner which has so far been embedded into the Home button will be replaced with an optical fingerprint sensor or may be an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner. We will keep you updated as we hear more.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)