Samsung Galaxy S8 Release Date Rumors: Homebutton, Bezel-Less Smartphone May Be Delayed

Samsung’s Galaxy S8 may allegedly get rid of the home button, according to a Bloomberg report. The new rumored design will allow for a screen that covers all the front edges, sources with direct knowledge told Bloomberg .

Samsung currently uses OLED screens that extend around the sides of the smartphone, but still has borders on the bottom and top of the devices for the use of cameras, speakers and home button.

Getting rid of the home button on the Galaxy S8 is an effort to keep the smartphones smaller while still growing the display size, sources revealed.

Headphone Jack

Following Apple, Samsung might also get rid of the S8’s headphone jack, according to recent rumors. The company will allegedly move toward creating a proprietary USB-C headphone connector, other reports say.

Galaxy S8 Delay?

After the Samsung Galaxy 7 recall over devices catching fire, the company is adopting tougher testing procedures to avoid another disastrous situation. Although the company is aiming to release the S8 in March, the smartphones could be delayed until April, sources told Bloomberg .

Samsung suffered its worst decline in smartphone sales after problems with its Galaxy Note 7, tech research firm Gartner said in November. Samsung phone sales fell in the third quarter of 2016 by 14.2 percent year over year, the company’s worst performance ever, Gartner said.

Meanwhile, iOS achieved its strongest rate of growth in two years, the latest Kantar Worldpanel quarterly numbers show. iOS grew 7 percent from last year, 33.5 to 40.5 percent in U.S. smartphone sales.

Apple’s success may have been fueled by the Galaxy Note 7 recall and because consumers saw the removal of the headphone jack on the iPhone 7 as a “non-issue.”