Samsung Galaxy S7 Coming Soon? Here’s What the Rumor Mill Is Saying

Daniel Bean
·Assistant Editor

Ready or not, here Samsung comes.

According to reports, the Korean phone maker is planning to launch its 2016 suite of Galaxy S Android smartphones all at once — and possibly as soon as late February.

To prepare you for Samsung’s incoming flagship phone, we’ve aggregated what we believe to be the meatiest rumors surrounding the alleged “S7” smartphone. So, read up below and get ready to trade in your S6 in short order.

Galaxy S, Galaxy S edge, Galaxy S edge+

“Leaked” branding information obtained by proven smartphone intel source @evleaks indicates that Samsung intends to release two curved-screen S7 variants — the edge and S7 edge+ — alongside a conventional, flat-screen Galaxy S7 handset.

This suite of models matches Samsung’s S6 lineup from a year ago, with the difference being that Samsung may be introducing all of these devices at once, rather than months apart.

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Galaxy S6 phones. (Samsung via redmondpie.com)

For screen sizes, Samsung news site Sam Mobile is reporting that both the standard Galaxy S7 and S7 edge will pack 5.1-inch displays. The S7 edge+, the site says, will have a larger 5.5-inch screen — curved, of course.

Design

In terms of looks, the word on the street is that the Galaxy S7 should be more or less a continuation of the Galaxy S6 design, meaning it will still look rather iPhone-like.

A 3D mockup allegedly based on leaked schematics of the S7 was put together by in-the-know news outlets OnLeaks and uSwitch. Check it out below.

Less seems to be “known” ahead of time about which colors Samsung will offer on these phones. But we’re all hoping for a return of the weird mirror-finished gold, right?

Pressure-sensitive touchscreen

Apparently following Apple’s lead, Samsung is rumored to be building 3D Touch-like pressure-sensitive screens into its new Galaxy S phones.

It’s unclear exactly how these screens will be used, feature-wise, though the “leaker” of the Samsung/pressure-sensitive heads-up (in a posting to Chinese social media site Weibo) says that Samsung will be teaming with trackpad maker Synaptics to develop unique Galaxy S functionality.

USB C, iris scanner, all-day batteries

The miscellaneous — and non-iPhone-inspired — goodies we expect to see on the next Galaxy S phones include a USB Type-C connection for fast charging; some level of water resistance; an iris scanner for additional security; and much larger batteries — 3,000mAh and 3,600mAh, respectively, on the the standard- and plus-size phones.

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USB Type-C port on Letv’s Le 1 Pro Superphone. (CNET)

Like the sound of all that? Then now is the time to start setting aside some extra cash and clearing out some space in your pockets.

Email me at danbean@yahoo-inc.com. Follow me on Twitter at danielwbean.