Samsung took wrap off its 2017 flagship android smartphone, the all new Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ (Plus). On a quick glance, the mobile features Infinity Display, bezel-less design, Snapdragon 835 SoC, water and dust resistance, Dual Pixel rear camera, defense-grade security platform, and finally 4G LTE with VoLTE support.
As for the pricing, the Samsung Galaxy S8 will come with a price tag of $720 or around Rs 46,700. Whereas the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus will cost you around $840 or Rs 55,000, a flat 10K extra. Do note that Samsung has yet to announce the pricing of the mobiles for India market. Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus will be available worldwide from 21st April 2017. You can choose the mobiles from five colour options – Midnight Black, Orchid Gray, Arctic Silver, Coral Blue and Maple Gold.
Design and Display
Both Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus embraces the Infinity Display with its bezel-less design, full-frontal and the edge-to-edge screen. There is no buttons or harsh angles on the front. The home button and navigation buttons are removed and now part of the screen itself. According to the company, the mobile boasts an 83 percent screen to body ratio.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 flaunts 5.8-inch Quad HD+ Super AMOLED curved display with a pixel density of 570 ppi. Whereas the bigger brother Galaxy S8 Plus flaunts a 6.2-inch Quad HD+ Super AMOLED curved display with a slightly lower pixel density of 529 ppi. It’s one of the first mobile devices to be certified by the UHD Alliance as Mobile HDR Premium. The screen is well protected with Corning Gorilla Glass 5.
Performance
Talking about performance, the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus packs one of the powerful chips inside. The devices feature industry’s first 10nm processor or the Snapdragon 835 processor. The Samsung Galaxy S8 will be powered by a 2.3GHz Quad + 1.7GHz Quad/octa-core Snapdragon 835 processor coupled with 4GB of RAM. Whereas the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus got a slightly overclocked 2.35GHz Quad + 1.9GHz Quad/Octa-core Snapdragon 835 processor coupled with same 4GB of RAM. Do note that, international versions and probably Indian version of Galaxy S8 will most likely pack an updated Exynos chip.
To store all your media content, the mobile carries 64GB of internal storage. You can further expand the storage up to 256GB using microSD card. The Indian version of Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus will probably come with Hybrid SIM slot. So you can either have dual SIM or choose to have a one Nano SIM and one MicroSD card.
Camera and Photography
To capture those memorable moments, Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus comes with a 12-megapixel Dual Pixel rear camera. The exact camera module packed in the Galaxy Note 7. It got a brighter F1.7 aperture and larger 1.4um pixel sensor offering supreme image quality under low light conditions. With Pro Mode, you can manually adjust ISO, Shutter speed, Exposure, Colour tone, Manual focus, and WB (White Balance). The camera also features ‘selective focus’ mode that enables you to choose the depth of field after taking a shot.
On the front, the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus got an 8-megapixel camera for your wide angle selfies. It features F1.7 aperture, smart autofocus and 80-degree wide-angle lens.
Connectivity and Battery
As for connectivity, the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus supports high-speed 4G LTE Cat 16 network that works with every telco’s 4G bands in India. In addition, it also supports VoLTE for HD voice and video calling. Other connectivity option includes 3G and 2G network support, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz), Bluetooth v5.0, ANT+, NFC and USB Type-C. As for fueling the devices, the Galaxy S8 packs a 3000mAh battery, whereas the Galaxy S8 bundles a bigger 3500mAh battery on the back. Both mobiles support fast charging in wired and wireless mode. Both mobiles run on Android 7.0 Nougat out-of-the-box with TouchWiz UI on top.
For audiophiles out there, both Galaxy mobiles pack ultra high-quality audio playback (UHQ 32-bit) and DSD support. Samsung is also packing a premium Pure sound earphone by AKG with every Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus.
Extras
The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus got tighter security features with its iris scanner and fingerprint scanner. This biometric authentication coupled with Samsung’s security solution Knox makes the S8 is one of the best-secured android device once can buy. The fingerprint scanner is now on the back of the phone next to the camera.
Adding a convenient mobile payment solution, both Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus will come with full support for Samsung Pay. Samsung Pay supports credit card, debit card, Paytm digital wallet and even UPI payments. Both mobiles are IP68 rated, so they are water and dust resistant from every corner.
The Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus comes packed with Samsung’s Bixby AI assistant. It’s somewhat similar to Google Assistant, but much more integrated with several Samsung native apps and features. The Contextual awareness capabilities enable Bixby to offer personalised help based on what it continues to learn about your interests, situation and location.
Another great feature packed in Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus is the Samsung DeX. A unique solution that transforms your smartphone into a desktop by providing a secure desktop-like experience. In addition with Samsung Connect, you can manage all your IoT devices through a single app.