Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is likely only a few months away from launching its latest flagship Galaxy S7 phone, and with the proximity to its release, a new range of feature rumors have started doing the rounds.

According to the proverbial “people familiar with the matter” quoted by The Wall Street Journal, the Samsung Galaxy S7 will see the inclusion of a pressure-sensitive display similar to that offered by Apple, Inc.’s 3D Touch on the iPhone 6s, along with a new high-speed charging port that is said to allow for a full day’s charge in under 30 minutes and, in some cases, significantly faster than that.

The company is also said to be considering adding a retina scanner to some versions of the Galaxy S7, although the report noted that those plans may change prior to the phone being announced.

If included, a retina scanner would allow for biometric authentication, literally scanning a person’s retina to confirm that they are authorized to use the phone and would, in theory, negate the need to support fingerprint scanning, although there’s no suggestion at this stage that Samsung would drop this feature.

In terms of form factor, it’s believed that the Galaxy S7 won’t see any significant changes from the Galaxy S6, although it is likely to scorn the traditional Micro USB connector for the newer USB Type-C plug, which is quickly shaping up to be the preferred and likely default choice for mobile phones, with new devices from Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. and LG Electronics Co., Ltd. all shipping with it during 2015.

Samsung fans may also get the gift of extendable memory with the Galaxy S7, with the claim that the non-curved version of the phone will ship with an external memory card slot.

Extra features

As we covered earlier this month, the Samsung Galaxy S7 is likely to get an upgrade under the hood as well, with the phone rumored to be shipping in two versions: one with Samsung’s new Exynos 8 Octa 8890 processor and one with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 processor.

The phone’s camera is likely to be upgraded as well, with the inclusion of  Samsung’s new BRITECELL camera sensor, which is said to be 17 percent smaller than previous units and incorporates Samsung’s new Smart WDR (wide dynamic range) technology, along with phase detection autofocus that, among other things, enables brighter images in low light conditions.

No firm date has been locked in yet for when the phone will debut, but speculation puts the launch date in February during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, with the devices themselves going on sale in mid-March.

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