Samsung is gearing up for the blockbuster release of its next flagship smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S8 --- with the hopes of luring back millions who seem to completely abandon the brand in the wake of Galaxy Note 7's debacle.

Bearing in mind that the Galaxy S8 will act as a saving grace for the now controversy-plagued brand, Samsung is expected to equip the upcoming smartphone with an array of awe-inspiring specs and features --- including a larger display and more powerful hardware as compared to its precursors. While multiple reports allude the Galaxy S8 as a game-changer for the smartphone realm, a recently surfaced report indicates that the highly anticipated smartphone could ditch a slew of much-lauded features.

Among all top-drawer features that the Samsung Galaxy S8 is rumored to come with next year, the all-new Viv smart assistant is probably the most striking; it is deemed as Samsung's version of Siri on Apple's iPhone. If latest rumors doing rounds online are anything to go by, Google has interfered with this launch --- citing the licensing deal that allows Samsung to run Android Nougat in its next flagship device.

The deal, centering on a patent-sharing agreement between the search engine giant and the South Korean handset maker, came to fruition back in 2014. The deal implies that Samsung Galaxy S8 will feature the current assistant included in Google's latest mobile OS: the Android Nougat.

This leaves Viv completely ignored, even if Samsung is planning to use it as part of making discovery and search on their device smarter --- something Google Assistant is not created to do, Edison Investment Research analyst Richard Windsor told The Register. Viv is trotted out as a smart assistant that understands intricate questions and context, but regrettably, Samsung will not be able to utilize this functionality on Android devices.

In other news, the Samsung Galaxy S8 is likely to become the first smartphone to come out with Bluetooth 5.0, SamMobile reported.

The recently announced Bluetooth 5.0 offers two times faster speed, four times the range, and room for eight times larger broadcast messages as compared to Bluetooth 4.2. Moreover, Bluetooth 5.0 warrants interoperability with other wireless technologies.