【2012 Archives】

If all the leaks012 Archivesto believed -- and they all seem to paint the same picture -- Samsung's next flagship phone, the Galaxy S8, will be hot fire.

The only thing that looks bad -- and I must emphasize looksbecause I haven't held an S8 in my hand -- is the placement of the fingerprint sensor.

The earliest rumors claimed Samsung would remove the home button and embed the fingerprint sensor underneath the screen, but a new leak from @evleaks suggests this won't be the case.

As shown in the image below, the S8's fingerprint sensor will be located to the left of the rear camera, like so:

It's never too early to start shopping for cases for your next phone(s). pic.twitter.com/pFzYtmauxv

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) February 18, 2017

Rear-positioned fingerprint sensors aren't something to freak out about -- phone makers have put them on the back for years -- but the location of the sensor on the S8 worries me.

Whereas most phones with rear-positioned fingerprint sensors place them in the center and belowthe camera (as seen on the LG G6, which is the lower phone in the image above) for better index finger reachability, the S8 seems to place it much higher.

Assuming the dimensions of the S8 are pretty similar to the S7 or S7 Edge, this will indeed make the fingerprint sensor much harder to reach.

Not only that, but there's a greater chance that you'll miss and touch the camera and smudge up its lens with your greasy fingers.

That said, maybe I'm wrong and the sensor isn't hard to reach for. That, or maybe the S8's iris sensor will actually be a solid replacement this time around, unlike its wonky implementation on the now dead Note7.

Even though Samsung's next flagship Android phone will skip this year's Mobile World Congress (though there will reportedly be some kind of teaser), a steady stream of leaks have basically given us a look at the device from all angles:

China protective film manufacturers exposure Galaxy S8 pic.twitter.com/8VOXpikUsc

— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) February 21, 2017

Samsung's expected to announce the S8 at the end of March and launch the phones some time in April. Let the hype begin!

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