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Samsung is set to pull back the curtain on its new Galaxy S7 phone this weekend. Several of the phone’s reported specs have already leaked, and now a video and images apparently offer a close-up.
Blog site Android Authority released the video and images Wednesday, citing an anonymous “insider.” The source also noted that the Galaxy S7 will be dust resistant and waterproof, or actually immersible up to a certain level of water.
The phone, which will come with Google’s Android 6.0 Marshmallow software, will revive the microSD card slot that was missing in the S6 and will offer a 12-megapixel camera but one with larger pixels for better image quality, the site said.
Whatever its new features, the Galaxy S7 needs to revive consumer demand after last year’s Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge failed to provide a boost to Samsung’s soft smartphone sales. The company has been hurt by budget-friendly Chinese phones on the low end and by Apple’s iPhone on the high end.
Samsung is still the top smartphone vendor worldwide and saw a 14 percent year-over-year gain in units shipped last quarter, according to research firm IDC. But Samsung’s market share inched up only 1.5 percent for the quarter compared with the same period a year earlier. Its total shipments for 2015 were up just 2.1 percent from 2014.
Android Authority’s source says the phone will not feature a reversible USB Type-C connection, which had been rumored.
One of the images leaked by Android Authority shows the front of the phone with a home screen displaying some of the default apps. Next to the phone is a single tray that holds both a microSD card and a SIM card. The other image shows the back of the phone with the rear camera. Overall, the body design is similar to that of the Galaxy S6.
A 15-second video briefly shows someone swiping across the screen, opening the Flipboard app and then offering a peek at the back of the phone.
Samsung will host an event Sunday at the Mobile World Congress, where it’s expected to unveil the Galaxy S7 and its curved-edge counterpart the Galaxy S7 Edge.
The company declined CNET’s request for comment on the latest alleged leaks.
