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Samsung is believed to be hard at work on the Galaxy smartphone S7, which is due to hit UK shelves early next year. Not much is known about the new smartphone – although there is one
heavily-rumoured feature that is sure to please Samsung fans. A new report from Italian news outlet _HD Blog_ claims the Samsung Galaxy S7 will bring back the microSD for expandable storage.
The ability to increase the available storage on the smartphone via microSD was dropped from the Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge and Note 5. Samsung ditched the expandable memory in favour of a
stylish new redesign. As a result, the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge was named the Smartphone of the Year in the prestigious T3 Awards. Alongside the return of the microSD, Samsung is rumoured to
introduce USB Type-C to the smartphone range for the first time. The new smartphone is expected to ship with either a flat 5.2inch or a curved 5.7inch Edge display. HD Blog reports the new
Samsung flagship smartphone will come with either the Samsung Exynos 8890 processor or Qualcomm Snapdragon 820. Samsung is also expected to introduce a new pressure sensitive display,
similar to the 3D Touch technology used in the Apple iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus. The South Korean technology firm has approached Synaptics, which has developed a 3D Touch alternative
called ClearForce. Similar to 3D Touch, ClearForce responds to various levels of screen pressure. The pressure sensitive technology will allow Samsung to add control options to the display
than the traditional swipe, pinch and tap used on multi-touch smartphones. Apple introduced pressure sensitive displays to its product line with the Apple Watch. The Cupertino firm
incorporated its new technology into its best-selling smartphone with the release of the iPhone 6S in September. 3D Touch allows faster access to a number of new menus baked into iOS.
Pushing harder than a standard tap on an app icon now summons a new menu of frequently used features. Pushing into documents, emails or URLs pops open a live preview. The ClearForce
technology will be able to control scrolling speeds with pressure, add new ways to zoom and pan over photographs, summon hidden contextual menus, according to Synaptics. Unfortunately the
success of the technology depends on the implementation by Samsung. Different Android manufacturers could use the technology in different ways, too. This could lead to a dramatically
different experience on Samsung, as opposed to HTC, for example. Google would have to incorporate pressure sensitive technology within its pure version of Android to create some consistency.
However Samsung has a history of making new technology popular through its Galaxy smartphone range. In recent years, the South Korean firm has helped to popularise features such as
heart-rate sensors and fingerprint readers.