Best daily deals

Affiliate links on Android Authority may earn us a commission. Learn more.

Today’s Galaxy S8 leaks: Images of black version - 6GB of RAM in China - facial recognition

Today we have a nice selection of S8 leaks, including new images of the glossy black version of the device, some clarification on the RAM amount, and details on how the phone will use facial recognition to facilitate mobile payments. Let’s dive in!
By
March 16, 2017

As the most popular Android smartphone, the interest for Samsung’s Galaxy S8 is sky-high, which explains why leaks about it just keep springing.

Today we have a nice selection of S8 leaks, including new images of the glossy black version of the device, some clarification on the RAM amount, and details on how the phone will use facial recognition to facilitate mobile payments. Let’s dive in!

New images

The Black Pearl version of the Galaxy S7 Edge was really well-received, and it looks like Samsung will keep the luscious finish as an option for the new Galaxy S8 and/or Galaxy S8 Plus.

New images that leaked on Weibo give us a close look at what seems to be the glossy black Galaxy S8 Plus. There’s not much new to talk about in the pictures, but it’s still nice to get another confirmation of all the previous leaks, as well as a close-up of the controversial rear-mounted fingerprint sensor. As a reminder, Samsung opted to place the sensor near the camera only after its initial plan to embed the sensor in the display fell through.

6GB of RAM? Only in China

The next report could settle contradicting rumors about the RAM memory that Samsung will equip the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus with.

According to Kevin Wong, head of research at analysis firm IHS China, the international version of the Galaxy S8 will ship with 4GB of RAM. Only the version sold in China will offer 6GB of RAM (and presumably 128GB of onboard storage).

It wouldn’t be the first time Samsung releases special versions of its smartphones to cater for the massive Chinese market. Considering that the local market is very sensitive to raw specs and that Samsung already sells phones with 6GB of RAM there – e.g. the Galaxy C9 Pro – it seems plausible that the Chinese Galaxy S8 will be beefier than the international counterpart.

Pay with your face

Finally, Bloomberg has a scoop on the authentication technologies the Galaxy S8 would use for security and, in particular, for mobile payments.

The phone will reportedly use a combination of fingerprint sensing, iris scanning, and facial recognition to determine the identity of the user. We already knew about the first two, but details about the facial recognition tech haven’t leaked so far.

Iris scanner in action on the Galaxy Note 7

We’ve previously heard that the Galaxy S8/Plus would be able to unlock in under 0.1 seconds using the iris scanner (similar to the ill-fated Note 7) and facial recognition.

According to sources cited by Bloomberg, facial recognition will not be present on the phone from day one. Instead, the feature will be added “within months” of the phone’s release, presumably through an OTA update.

When lighting conditions are too poor for facial recognition to work, the iris scanner will kick in. Meanwhile, facial recognition could provide authentication even when the user wears eyeglasses or in other situations when the iris scanner won’t work well.

Facial recognition has been used for securing Android phones for years, but the technology isn’t considered secure enough for critical applications. Samsung wants to use facial recognition for payments, so it’s possible that the Korean giant achieved a breakthrough in the area. Samsung is in talks with banks to deploy the technology, but this kind of arrangements tend to be lengthy, so facial recognition for payments will take a few months to nail.

What do you think of these leaks? Let us know your thoughts!