Galaxy S3 to be launched on May 22: Leaked photo
Now this is the kind of news we like to hear – a thread just popped on Reddit, with what seems to be a press photo of the Samsung Galaxy S3. The image contains a lot of juicy details, including a supposed Galaxy S3 release date: May 22, at the Samsung Unpacked event in London. The May 22 date fits perfectly with earlier bits of news, including Samsung’s statement that the Galaxy S3 will debut sometimes in the first part of the year, closer to the actual availability of the product.
Now, we’ve seen mockups and renderings of the Galaxy S3 before, including some really bad ones. But to us, this latest supposed leak definitely looks legit. First, you can notice the logo of Weber Shandwick Worldwide, a PR company that collaborated with Samsung in the past. Of course, anyone could have looked up Samsung’s public relation partners and slap a logo over a picture. But there is more. The image seems professional; if someone made this up in Photoshop, he or she spent many hours to make it look so legit. Everything, from the quality of the rendered screen, to the small details on the phone, such as the lower (and upper!) front speakers, seems to indicate that we are looking at the real deal.
As AndroidAndMe’s Taylor Wimberley notes, Samsung Unpacked will fall right between CTIA Wireless show at the beginning of May and Google’s I/O event at the end of the month. Could Samsung be trying to hog the spotlight (light it needs to) by launching their new flagship right between two major events? It’s definitely possible.
The home button is back, dedicated camera button, edge-to-edge screen
Let’s analyze the image that made its way to Reddit. First and most obvious, Samsung’s trademark rectangular home button is back. Right beneath it, on the lower bezel of the phone, we can see a speakers grill. But, if you mess around with the levels in Photoshop, you can reveal what seems to be another speakers grill, on the upper side of the phone. Stereo speakers? Perhaps.
Next, we have a big rocker on the left side and a dedicated camera button on the right side. That dedicated button was high on many fans’ wish list, and it seems that Samsung has listened. The S3 seems to be very thin (except for the camera bulge), and, if our eyes are any good, it seems to have tapered sides. We wonder how comfortable to hold it will be.
Onto the screen – it’s almost edge-to-edge, and looks gorgeous. It’s probably an Super AMOLED HD display. By reducing the width of the side bezel to a few millimeters, just enough to ensure you can hold the phone comfortably, Samsung has probably managed to maximize the surface of the touchscreen display, without making the actual phone too big to use. It’s hard to tell, but it could be a 4.65-incher or even a 4.8-incher (what earlier gossip suggested.) The phone in the image does seem to have a relatively long form-factor.
Specs wrap up
The image does not provide us any information in terms of specs, except perhaps the resolution of the screen. But here is what the rumor mill has produced so far, when it comes to Galaxy S3 specs:
- Quad-core processor – Exynos 4412 with ARM Mali-400 GPU
- 4.8-inch Super AMOLED HD display
- 8MP rear-camera, 2MP front-camera (as suggested by a supposed image taken with the SGS3)
- 2GB RAM
- 4G/LTE
- Ceramic Case (almost certain, several rumors indicate it)
What do you think?
So, the Samsung Galaxy S3 is finally getting closer, and this time, it seems it’s for real. The Reddit image sure look real, but we can’t guarantee that it’s not the work of some very crafty prankster.
Let us know what you think. Is it the real deal? Would you like a Samsung Galaxy S3 like the one in the image?
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