There's absolutely nothing different comparing to her last 2 albums.
Unapologetic :
- album shoot in August
- album finished early November
- album released November 19
Talk That Talk :
- album shoot in September
- album finished early November
- album released November 18
Now R8 :
- album shoot in December
And she's still in the studio, which is a normal thing for Rih.
It's just that we don't know the album title / cover / release date, but that's part of the "new rules". See how Rihanna surprise released the 1st single, something she has never done before.
The release date may be 2 or 3 months away, but maybe it's closer than that. We don't know. The fact that she teased the album recently by posting a pic from the album photoshoot could be a sign. Plus she made it her profile pic on Twitter & Facebook (right after TTS came out).
She would've never dropped the 1st single if a release date wasn't set, or at least if the month R8 will be released wasn't set. She's not Rita Ora.
And she would never go on a world tour (especially stadiums) if she wasn't certain to release the album before.
They're probably "perfecting" the album. Also, the fact that she's doing late night sessions for R8 while the promo period of HOME has started and others are promoting it is kinda funny.
for what ? Unapologetic 
Shes such a stan 
