We haven’t even seen this freaking thing and we already feel as though we’re familiar with all of its most intimate details. Detail surrounding Samsung’s next flagship continues to spill out like an oil company that has decided to just pay the fine afterwards, shedding new light on the body and speakers and pointing (again) at a 3D Touch-like feature.
It’s A Date?
First up though is a possible launch date for the Samsung Galaxy S7. Earlier reports claimed that we might see the phone as soon as December this year but a new report, via Korea’s ET News, says that Samsung will be announcing the phone, and its various flavours, in January this year. They’re expecting to make the move some time before Mobile World Congress, which would make sense if they’re hoping to scoop all the attention for themselves in the run-up to MWC 2016.
Sand And Sound
When they do announce the Galaxy S7, you can expect the phone to have a glass body once again. It’s not all melted sand though, a magnesium alloy chassis will also be in evidence according to a report from China. The result of this marriage of materials would be a tougher, more premium phone so you can guess how keen we are for the report to be accurate.
Another Chinese report claims that the Samsung Galaxy S7 will be launching with improved sound, thanks to a new chip – the SABRE 9018AQ2M – said to form part of the internals. Samsung is thought to be mulling buying the Tidal music streaming service, making talk of an improved audio experience very interesting indeed.
The Force Is Everywhere Today
Which brings us neatly round to 3D Touch again. Samsung might be replicating the iPhone’s 3D Touch (or Force Touch, if you prefer) using a technology called ClearForce but there’s also evidence that Samsung have been after the feature for a while. A patent application, dated to April last year, has turned up. In the application, Samsung wants to get a display to perform different functions based on the amount of pressure put on the screen – the same thing as Apple’s feature, essentially. What they’d do with the patent isn’t clear and Samsung have said nothing about it so far so they might just be covering their bases for now. Especially if they opt for ClearForce instead of developing a 3D Touch competitor in-house.
Source: SamMobile 1, 2, 3