Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus release date, specs rumors: leaked render hints at dual-camera setup; device won't launch at MWC 2017

Georgia Gana Monday, January 23, 2017

A promotional image for the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge. The next-generation flagship devices, the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus, will be released later this year. | Samsung

More details about the Galaxy S8 Plus, the larger variant of Samsung's upcoming flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S8, have seemingly been revealed courtesy of a newly leaked render. Combined with previous leaks about the highly anticipated device, consumers are getting a clearer picture of what the South Korean tech giant has up its sleeve for the 2017 flagship device.

These past few weeks, most of the leaks and 3D renders have been for the Galaxy S8. It is only now that tech enthusiasts are learning more details about the Plus variant of the next-generation flagship device.

In photos published by GSMArena, a render of the back panel of the Galaxy S8 Plus previews some of its features. First, the device's back panel has a wider hole compared with the Galaxy S8. This seems to support the speculation that only the Plus variant will be equipped with a dual-camera setup. Also, based on the button placements, the leaked render seems to add more weight to the rumor that Bixby, Samsung's new virtual personal assistant, will have its own dedicated button.

However, unlike the Galaxy S8 renders, the Galaxy S8 Plus does not have a speaker grill on the top of the device. The Galaxy S8 was touted to have stereo speakers both at the top and bottom of the device.

Excitement over the arrival of Samsung's next-generation flagship devices has been palpable as it has been widely reported that the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus will be launched at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona next month. This was plausible since the South Korean tech giant introduced its previous flagship devices within the same time frame.

Unfortunately, according to Reuters, Samsung Mobile head Koh Dong-jin has just announced their upcoming devices will not be unveiled at the annual trade show. The executive also did not give a new release window for the Samsung Galaxy S8 launch. It's possible that Samsung is erring on the side of caution given the fallout caused by the Galaxy Note 7 phablet and its exploding batteries.

The Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus are still expected to arrive sometime in 2017.