As per David Ruddock of Android Police, Samsung is planning on ditching the hardware navigation buttons on the Galaxy S8. Instead, the company plans on switching to on-screen navigation keys. The display will also offer some kind of 3D Touch-like functionality.

In addition, he says that the soft keys will be customisable and that by removing the hardware navigation keys, Samsung would be able to reduce the bottom bezel on the Galaxy S8 by a fair bit. As for the fingerprint scanner, Ruddock says that Samsung will move it to the back of the handset.

Samsung has used hardware navigation keys on its flagship Galaxy S devices right since their inception. So, if the above rumor pans out to be true, it sure will be an interesting design departure for the company. Rumors do point to Samsung aiming for a very high screen-to-body ratio, something like the Mi Mix.

https://twitter.com/RDR0b11/status/814230053349249024

Ruddock is not 100 percent sure about the credibility of the source and he cannot verify the above news from his other sources, so he recommends taking this rumor with a pinch of salt — something that one should do with every rumor.

Thanks to its curved AMOLED display, the Galaxy S7 edge already had a decent screen-to-body ratio. So, it will be interesting to see how Samsung manages to reduce it even further with the Galaxy S8 without making the phone an ergonomic disaster to use.

While Samsung usually unveils its flagship Galaxy S handset at MWC, the company might buck that trend this year. Post the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco, Samsung wants to ensure that the S8 goes through a strict QA process which can delay its launch by a month or so.