Samsung Galaxy S8 series set for India launch next week; here's what you need to know about Galaxy S7 successor

Launched last month at New York City, Samsung Galaxy S8 series is all set to debut in India next week.

Reliable sources have confirmed to International Business Times, India that Samsung will be hosting a mega product launch event in New Delhi on April 19 to announce the official price and availability details of the Galaxy S7 successor.

We believe, Samsung Galaxy S8 is most likely to hit Indian stores on April 21. As far as pricing is concerned, it is expected to cost around Rs. 50,000 (including taxes), as the US-bound models' prices start at $720 (approx. €669/Rs. 46,706).

If the Galaxy S8 is manufactured in Samsung India's plant, then the price of the devices will be on par with international pricing structure, as the company need not have to pay custom import duties.

Also read: Top 5 mid-range Android smartphones with impressive features that you can buy right now

For those unaware, Samsung's Galaxy S8 comes in two variants — one, 5.8-inch Galaxy S8 and a bigger 6.2-inch Galaxy S8+ (or Plus). It comes with an all new design language boasting super AMOLED-based Infinity display, a bezel-less, full-frontal, edge-to-edge screen having WQHD+ (2960x1440p) resolution. With extended display, Samsung has incorporated virtual home button right on the screen.

Another key design change includes translocation of physical finger print sensor (seen in Galaxy S7 series) to back of the device, right beside the camera module.

Like Galaxy S7 series, the new Galaxy S8 series also comes with IP68 water-and-dust certifications meaning, it can survive five feet underwater for close to 30 minutes. Device owners can take it for a dip in the swimming pool and also take photos and take calls, as well.

Most notable aspect of the Galaxy S8 series is the Bixby digital assistant. It is capable of supporting almost every task that the application is capable of performing using the conventional touch gesture command. [Note: Samsung has confirmed that the Bixby will have limited features such as Vision, Home, and Reminder, at the launch. But, the most important Bixby Voice feature will only be made available in coming months.]

In the front display panel, the company has incorporated an 8MP snapper with f/1.7 aperture, wide FoV (Field of View) lens, a Iris scanner with face recognition technology.

On the rear, Galaxy S8 series houses 12MP dual-pixel camera with f/1.7 aperture at the top center, a LED flash to the left side, fingerprint scanner to the right and a heart-rate sensor below.

It is powered 10nanometer class octa-core processor with Android Nougat OS. Depending on the region of sale, Samsung Galaxy S8 will come in two sub-variants based on CPUs. The new phones heading to the US (probably to China, as well) will have Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 octa-core System-on-Chip (SoC). Whereas, the ones sold in Europe, India and rest of the regions, they will have Samsung's own Exynos 9985 series processor.

Also read: Samsung Galaxy S8: Top 8 trump card features that make Galaxy S7 heir superior to Apple iPhone 7 series

The new Galaxy S8 also boasts Samsung DeX feature. Users, with the help of the display dock, can convert the phone into a mini-computer via DeX. It will offer new adaptive user experience on a big screen with optimised look and behaviour of apps as per usage preferences of the customer to provide a PC-like experience.

Watch this space for latest news on Samsung Galaxy S8 series.

Also read: Samsung Galaxy S8 vs Galaxy S7: Is it worth the upgrade?

Key specifications of the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+: