What’s new, Zoonou? Device Rumours from the Test Lab – July 2017

Jordan, our in-house device expert, is back with some rumblings from the mobile and tablet world. As always, we aim to keep you up to date with how these will affect the world of development and what it means for testing and QA.

Samsung Galaxy Note 8

Despite the well publicised hardware failures of the Note 7, Samsung are firing ahead (pun intended) with the Galaxy Note 8. This could be one of the biggest comeback stories following all of the disastrous Galaxy Note 7 battery failures last autumn. Rumours suggest the Note 8 could get a powerful dual-lens camera and a massive 6.4-inch screen and keep the top-of-the-line S8 specs intact. This will be an essential addition to the Zoonou test lab.

Release date: Autumn 2017 (rumoured)

Rumoured new features:

• Infinity display. An end-to-end screen with almost no bezel
• Pixel sense 4k resolution
• 6.4 inch screen

What to look out for in Testing:

• We’ll of course be keeping our eye on any high performance apps that may be having an effect on the CPU and battery temperature!
• If Samsung go ahead with a pixel sense 4k resolution it will be good to see how websites and applications display.

Nokia 8

Nokia’s back, and it means business! Launching just after the Samsung Galaxy S8, the Nokia 8 is expected to be the upcoming Nokia flagship, running the Snapdragon 835 processor. It’s also expected to get 6GB of RAM and benefit from a 5.3in or 5.7in display. Confirmed details have been thin on the ground. Zoonou will keep you updated!

Release date: July / August 2017

Rumoured new features:

• 24-megapixel Zeiss lens camera
• Octa-core processor
• Dual-SIM 4G
• USB 3.1 Type-C

What to look out for in Testing:

• We’re very keen to see whether Nokia can compete with the big players again. Will the Nokia 8 take a regular spot in our recommended test device list?
• With dual sim functionality, it will be interesting to see how receiving and making calls on either sim will affect websites and apps running in the background.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Mini

Samsung is set to release a smaller and cheaper version of the Galaxy S8. Its latest flagship smartphones, the S8 and S8+, came out earlier this year and feature 5.8-inch and 6.2-inch screens, respectively. Both handsets rock a “bezel-less” design, with Samsung managing to maximise screen-to-body ratio by squeezing as large a display as possible into an unusually compact body. The testers at Zoonou have been very impressed with the Samsung Galaxy S8 and patiently await more updates on the expected specification of the S8 mini and a release date.

Release date: TBC

Rumoured new features:

• IT Home has claimed that the handset will have a 5.3 inch display however it will feel much like a 4.7-inch handset, thanks to that “bezel-less” design.
• The S8 Mini is expected to come with a Snapdragon 821 processor, 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, a slight step down from the S8’s Snapdragon 835 processor and 64GB of internal storage.

What to look out for in Testing:

• We’ll be looking to see how high performance apps run on a slightly slower processor.
• We’ll be keeping an eye on the overall sales. With a lower price tag and high spec, the S8 Mini is sure to be a top seller. This may well influence the scoping of future projects when selecting popular test environments.

For more information on our Device lab and the large range of devices we have available to test on, please see our Device Lab page. For more details on our compatibility testing service please contact us at info@zoonou.com and one of our team will get back to you. If you’d like to get in touch about anything else, please head over to our Contact page.

Points raised in this article are based on general rumour and should not be used as actionable advice until specifications are confirmed.

Article Published: 28/07/2017

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