Samsung Galaxy S8 Active leaked, dual-curved screen ditched for durability

The rugged and outdoor version of Samsung's latest flagship smartphone, called the samsung galaxy S8 Active, has now emerged via a new leaked photo online. Similar to previous "Active" models, the yet-to-be-announced offering should still be the same, in terms of its internals, as the Galaxy S8. However, Samsung will be redesigning it to feature shockproofing, waterproofing and dust proofing based on the IP68 specification.

First look at the device

The first image of the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active was spotted on the Wireless Power Consortium website, with the unit bearing the model number SM-G892A. Unlike the regular Samsung Galaxy S8 version, the Active model looks like it is ditching the curved screen of its more vulnerable sibling to ensure that it can withstand harder blows.

While a curved screen that has been tucked in into the metal frame does provide enough durability, the move to completely abandon it may have been necessary to provide the best crack resistance to the screen as possible. Fortunately, the screen itself still sports the company's spectacular screen to body ratio, which is achieved by its ultra thin bezels.

Ultra-rugged design

Emphasis on the Galaxy S8 Active's construction is of course for its ability to survive the harshest of elements and abuse. The device should be able to survive being dropped numerous times as well as being submerged in water for a limited amount of time. Fortunately, Samsung has opted to keep the same sensors at the top of the device as well as its lack of a home button at the bottom. Previous Active variants actually sported physical capacitive home, back, and menu keys to provide extra durability.

Expected hardware specs

Seeing as that the new model will still be based on the standard Galaxy S8, the Active model should still be sporting the same internal hardware. There will, of course, be some minor changes, which could include a bigger battery.

The previous Galaxy S7 Active model actually sported a larger battery than its standard sibling, which might be the same case with this year's Active variant.

The S8 Active is expected to be coming with the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor paired with 4 GB of RAM. The camera setup will likely still remain the same with a 12-megapixel sensor at the back and an 8 megapixel unit up front.

Given that the image was spotted on the group behind the Qi wireless charging standard, the S8 Active will likely be coming with a wireless charging feature as well. The rugged new smartphone is expected to be unveiled very soon. Customers in the US will likely only able to get it from AT&T, the only carrier in the country with the rights to sell "Active" models of Samsung's flagships.