Samsung Galaxy S8: Release date, headphone jack, camera, code names and more

The Samsung Galaxy S8 is likely still almost six months away, so that means that everyone is talking about it now.

And with details about the upcoming phones making the rounds, why wouldn't they be? Already, information regarding screen size, the headphone jack (or lack thereof) and release date are out there for all to see, so we've rounded it all up here. 

1. According to reports...the Galaxy S8 will sport a 5.5-inch AMOLED screen with 4K display (806 ppi pixel density) and feature an iris scanner...the device will feature dual-rear camera -- a 12MP S5K2L2 sensor and a 13MP sensor made by Sony...and an 8MP front-snapper

2. There are also speculations...that Samsung's next-generation smartphone will come in two variants -- one with a 5.1-inch screen and another with a 5.5-inch screen. Both...are expected to have edge screens

3. Are the headphone jack wars upon us? A...report suggests that Samsung is "actively and aggressively" looking into the development of its own proprietary headphone jack...It is suggested the new headphone jack won’t be USB-C

4. Sources say it will...be incompatible with the iPhone...Samsung is supposedly of the hopes that...manufacturers will get behind this new no-Apple-allowed proprietary jack and give it preference over Lightning headphones...leaving iPhone users with older, less interesting audio products.

5. It appears as though the internal codenames for the two versions of the Galaxy S8 are simply Dream, and Dream2...These are the codenames, but the model numbers are said to be SM-G950 and SM-G955.

6. It has been anticipated that the smartphone will be launched on the 26th of February, 2017...Samsung usually announces their gen-next S series smartphones one day before...Mobile World Congress...It looks like the Samsung Galaxy S8 too, will follow the same trend.

7. It is likely...the next handset will have a similar price to its predecessor, meaning...the smaller version could be priced somewhere between $649 and $699...The larger version will likely sell for $749 to $799.

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Apple Now fixes 'bricking' update flaw

Apple says it has fixed a problem that was “bricking” people’s devices while updating to the latest operating system.

Complaints from iPhone and iPad users updating to iOS 10 flooded social media after the software was rolled out on Tuesday.

Discussion around the issue was trending on social media - but Apple said it was limited to a “small number of users”.

Bricking is a term used to describe devices that have been rendered unusable due to a software or hardware fault - as in, the device is now as useful to you as a brick.

The firm apologised to affected customers.

"We experienced a brief issue with the software update process, affecting a small number of users during the first hour of availability,” an Apple spokeswoman said in an emailed statement.

"The problem was quickly resolved and we apologise to those customers.

"Anyone who was affected should connect to iTunes to complete the update or contact AppleCare for help."

The roll out of iOS 10 comes a week before the iPhone 7 goes on sale. In the mean time, existing owners of Apple devices vented their frustration at the problem.

"Currently sitting here with a bricked iPhone full of photos with a recent family visit,” wrote Courtney Guertin on Twitter.

Teething

It is not the first time Apple has had teething problems in rolling out major updates.

When users tried to update to iOS 5 in 2011, high demand appeared to be behind users getting multiple error messages when trying to update.

More recently, in February this year, Apple faced criticism after an update started bricking devices if they had been repaired by a company other than Apple.

Apple apologised for the problem and issued a software update to fix the issue.

It said Error 53, as it became known, was in fact security measure designed to make sure the fingerprint sensor on the device had not been tampered with.

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