Samsung outs its Galaxy S7 Edge, then scrubs the evidence

Samsung may have spilled the beans on the existence of a Galaxy S7 Edge phone.

Images on a Samsung developers site made reference to the expected-but-still-only-rumored Galaxy S7 Edge, as well as to the Galaxy S6 Edge and S6 Edge Plus, both of which launched last year. Those images were apparently then tweaked to remove the reference to the S7 Edge.

The Edge differs from other phones because its display wraps slightly around subtle curves on both sides of the device.

Dutch website Galaxy Club, which took screenshots of the developers site before the reference was yanked, posted the images on Tuesday. The images also include ones of an upcoming feature that will appear once Samsung upgrades its phones to the Android Marshmallow operating system. The feature is a vertical, narrow strip of info that will appear along the Edge's side that can be swiped to reveal more details such as sports scores and stock quotes. The S7 Edge would almost certainly arrive with Marshmallow.

The images did not reveal exactly how the design for the S7 Edge may differ from the S6 Edge.

Whatever its specs turn out to be, the Galaxy S7 Edge faces the tough task of lighting a fire under Samsung's smartphone sales. Last year's Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge couldn't do it, and the company's mobile device sales slipped 3 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier. Meanwhile, Samsung must contend with surging Chinese upstarts Xiaomi and Huawei and the expectation that Apple will make a splash with its iPhone 7.

Samsung has already set a launch event for February 21 when it's expected to unveil the Galaxy S7 and the S7 Edge. Rumors say the S7 and presumably the S7 Edge may sport a larger screen than the 5.1-inch Galaxy S6. The phones might also take a page from Apple's 3D Touch feature by including a pressure-sensitive screen.

Beyond offering a fingerprint scanner, the S7 lineup may add a retina scanner that would let you unlock the phone by gazing at it. The microSD card slot, which was removed in the S6, could also return.

Samsung declined to comment. "It is our general policy not to comment on any device that has not been officially announced," a company spokesman said Wednesday.

:story: c|net