Samsung Galaxy Note 7 issues led to speculations that the Galaxy S8 and S8 Edge will be released earlier than usual this coming 2017. However, it appears that Samsung will not be rushed into another mistake again.
The company is ready to come back with a, but the road won’t be as easy thanks to the much-anticipated OnePlus 4 – a phone that is expected to take over from the latest OnePlus 3T. Samsung Galaxy S8 should be announced at the upcoming MWC 2017 event to be held on 27th February. This is to mean that the phone should be ready for shipping two weeks from this date, or even earlier.
As for OnePlus 3T, it was released in June this year, as a result, we also suspect that OnePlus 4 will be released around the same time in 2017. The details about these two phones are still vague, but there is no doubt that the battle is going to be a lot hotter than this year.
In a new Weibo leak, OnePlus has massive plans for its sixth smartphone in a very short history that dates back to 2014. Apparently, the base model of the upcoming OnePlus 4 will carry 6GB RAM while the high-end variant will come with 8GB RAM. There are reports that the two might also be further differentiated by their processors, with the former shipping with a Snapdragon 830 as compared to the Snapdragon 835 on the latter. As for Samsung Galaxy S8 Edge, reports point towards a 4GB RAM alongside a Snapdragon 830 SoC.
It gets even better for rumored OnePlus 4 as reports add that the flagship may come with a dual-lens camera setup to take care of the mixed and augmented reality abilities of the phone. Rather than come with a metallic body, the new phone will carry a glass body, 128GB storage and surprisingly, a smaller 5.3-inch 2K AMOLED screen. The battery unit will get a bump from the 3400mAh used on the OnePlus 3T to 4000mAh.
If OnePlus thinks Samsung will easily be beaten, well, it better think twice. A leaked render of the Galaxy S8 Edge shows off a phone that is “crafted to perfection.” You get a 5.5-inch 4K AMOLED screen alongside a dual-lens camera setup. As usual, the front panel will have no side bezels, but this time the phone should be thinner than the current S7 Edge.
As for the battery, OnePlus 4 should stay ahead of the game in terms of capacity thanks to the rumored 3650mAh unit of the Galaxy S8 Edge. However, Samsung should easily come out on top with its removable battery unit as opposed to the non-removable unit on the OnePlus flagship.
When it comes to pricing, OnePlus always wins. The latest OnePlus 3T has a price tag of $479 for a 6GB/128GB smartphone that is powered by Snapdragon 821 SoC. The phone has 16MP sensors on both sides and even though it is only beaten by Android Nougat that runs on the latest Google Pixel and Pixel XL, it still rocks in terms of price vs specs combination.
This is what will be happening with the OnePlus 4, with the price likely to escalate slightly to the regions of $500. Just recently, Samsung released a coral blue version of the Galaxy S7 Edge. Unlike OnePlus, Samsung only changed the color of this phone and kept all the internals locked. This also meant that the price of the phone didn’t change – you still need to part with at least $770 for the 32GB model. So, with the Galaxy S8 Edge, expect just about the same price, if not higher.
Keep in mind that this report is based on rumors, speculations and leaks from different sources and not Samsung or OnePlus. As a result, take it with a grain of salt, at least until any of them speaks out.