Samsung Galaxy S8 First Look: 90 Percent “Infinity Display” Shows Less Bezel; Back Has Weird Fingerprint Sensor Placement

Ladies and gentlemen, your new Samsung Galaxy S8.

This is the Samsung Galaxy S8, launching March 29 https://t.co/lQZ0K0q2MA pic.twitter.com/dlusRMX4YH

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) January 26, 2017

Mobile Reporter and Venture Beat correspondent Evan Blass tweeted a filtered photo of the purportedly new Samsung Galaxy S8. The photo shows two units of the smartphone, one set up with the screen facing in front and one showing the phone’s back. According to Blass, this smartphone will look very different from Samsung’s past flagship phones, citing someone familiar with the South Korean giant’s plans.

“Because they lack the traditional navigation buttons found on handsets in this line’s first seven years, they will both feature displays even larger than Samsung’s traditionally oversized second-half flagship, the Galaxy Note.”

Ben Sin for Forbes said the photo looks legit, considering the fact that it is in line with a previous report published on The Guardian. The display at 18:5:9 is purportedly a deviation from the industry standard of 16.9, and curves downwards on both sides of the smartphone.

Blass also noted that charging of Galaxy S8 will be via a USB-C port, which is placed at the bottom of the smartphone next to a 3.5 millimeter jack. The selfie cam is also an improvement, from 5MP in S7 models to 8MP for S8 variants. All front and back cameras are equipped with f1.7 focal ratio lenses.

But the biggest issue, at least for Sin, is the placement of the fingerprint sensor at the back. As also noted by Blass, this can present problems, especially for short-fingered people.

“That is really high up on the phone, and it's off center. All other phones with rear fingerprint sensors has it under the camera, at the center. That's because that's where our finger naturally rests when holding the phone,” Sin noted.

Samsung S8 is slated for a March 29 launch, which will happen in New York, Blass said.