Samsung Galaxy S8 Rumor Update: S8 Plus, US Launch Date, Murata Batteries, Rear Fingerprint Scanner

As Samsung gears up to lauch its flagship device — theGalaxy S8 — leaks and rumors have been gaining momentum. The smartphone is expected to launch either on March 29 or in the first week of April and the most recent rumor claims that the S8's batteries might be supplied by Japanese firm Murata.

S8 Batteries

Samsung will get batteries from the Japanese manufacturer, which also manufactures batteries for Sony’s Xperia smartphones, claimed a report in the Korea Economic Daily Thursday, citing an industry source.

The company was earlier rumored to source the batteries from LG, but according to the report, the company will outsource between 2 to 8 percent of its battery production to Murata and the remaining will be manufactured by Samsung SDI, the company's subsidiary.

In the past, Samsung manufactured its own batteries, but following the Note 7 fiasco, when reports of the device bursting into flames forced Samsung to recall every Galaxy Note 7 smartphones sold, the company is expected to tread its feet lightly when it comes to manufacturing batteries.

S8 Plus

Samsung is expected to break the trend with the Galaxy S8 and instead of the Edge variant of its flagship, which has been there for the past two generations of the device, the company is expected to come with a larger variant called the S8 Plus.

While the flagship device is expected have a 5-inch display, the Plus handset is expected to have a 6.1-inch display, which will make it larger than the Note series.

If the Galaxy S8 Plus rumor turns out to be true, it would be interesting to see how it plays out against the Galaxy Note 8, expected to release later this year.

Rear Fingerprint scanner

Reports had indicated in the past that Samsung might go for a display-embedded fingerprint scanner. According to some leaked photos, the scanner might be placed next to the camera on the rear of the handset instead, something similar to that of Google's Pixel and Pixel XL devices.

US Launch Date

The smartphone is expected to launch in the U.S. on March 29, according to reports, which might get pushed to the first week of April.