In the game of rumours, Samsung certainly generates an awful lot of them, and there’s another two coming out, just days after the inclusion of S-Pen compatibility, and after an earlier rumour about the demise of the physical home button. This time around, it’s the capacitive keys that are rumoured to go as well, and a bit of me-too-ism with Samsung reported to have wireless earbuds in the works, like Apple’s AirPods.
First the capacitive keys. Some Samsung users love them, others hate them, but one thing’s for sure, they’re not as customisable as the on-screen navigation keys we’ve come to expect from virtually every other Android phone. Well, it seems Samsung might finally have given up on all of its physical keys, losing the capacitive keys and the physical home button, moving to a fully on-screen experience.
This could really reduce the size of Samsung’s bottom bezel, leaving either (a) more room for screen, or (b) an overall smaller phone, which might be welcome given the Galaxy S7 Edge’s enormous length.
The second rumour relates to audio. We’ve already heard that Samsung might be dropping the earphone jack on its next flagship, and now it seems we know why, with the rumoured release of a pair of truly wireless earbuds. This isn’t new for Samsung, with their Gear IconX already on the market, but these new earbuds would probably be much more like Apple’s AirPods; focused on audio and battery life, and leaving the fitness functions for the phone or other hardware.
We don’t know much more at this stage, such as whether they’d be in the box with the new Galaxy S8 or sold separately, pricing, availability etc or even confirmation of the product at all. However, with CES just days away, MWC just under two months away, and a possibly-delayed Samsung event in April, I suspect we’ll know soon enough.
