Samsung today introduced its two new flagship smartphones Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+ for the year 2017. The Galaxy S7 Edge gets two successors, which differ mainly by the display size: the Galaxy S8 has a 5.8 inch display while the Galaxy S8+ has a 6.2 inch display. Both the display of the S8 and the S8+ is rounded on both sides, a version without edge display is no longer available. The highlight is certainly the almost frameless design of the Samsung Galaxy S8, the display occupies nearly the entire front, the frames above and below the display are significantly thinner compared to the Galaxy S7. It’s said the Galaxy S8 would be available in the market at the end of April 2017.
Design and display
Visually, the Samsung Galaxy S8 and the Samsung Galaxy S8+ differ only in size. The S8 dimensions are 148.9 x 68.1 x 8.0 millimeters and weight is 152 grams, the S8+ dimensions are 159.5 x 73.4 x 8.1 millimeters and weighs 173 grams. The display has an aspect ratio of 18.5: 9 on both devices, so the devices are very narrow compared to 16: 9 devices with the same display diagonal. For comparison: an iPhone 7 with 4.7 inch display (16: 9) is only 0.8mm narrower than a Galaxy S8 with 5.8 inch display.
The design is broadly similar to that of the Galaxy S6 Edge and Galaxy S7 Edge, the device consists largely of glass, only the frame is made of metal. However, due to the large display, the home button has given way to software buttons and the fingerprint sensor has been placed on the back side of the camera.
Technology and software
The Samsung Galaxy S8 is one of the first smartphones to support LTE Category 16. This allows extremely high speeds to be reached via the mobile network, depending on the extent of the network up to 1 Gbit/s in the downlink. As a processor, there is a octa-core Samsung Exynos 8895 with 64Bit, 4 x 1,7 GHz and 4 x 2,3 GHz. In other markets a Qualcomm chipset is installed, the performance should be comparable. The memory is 4 GB and the internal memory measures 64 GB (UFS 2.1 technology, via MicroSD expandable). The Galaxy S8 have versions with single sim and dual SIM functionality for different markets and carriers, the sim type is Nano-SIM.
The back camera of the Samsung Galaxy S8 offers a resolution of 12 megapixels and has an f1.7 aperture. The sensor works in the 4: 3 format, who would rather take photos in the 16: 9 format, has to deal with a lower resolution. The camera on the front takes photos with up to 8 megapixel resolution and also offers a f1.7 aperture.
In the WLAN area, the Galaxy S8 offers a very modern equipment. The 802.11ac standard is supported with MU-MIMO antenna technology, in combination with a modern MU-MIMO router, you should get significant speed advantages. The Galaxy S8 also supports NFC and Bluetooth 5.0 as well as various satellite navigation systems.
As an operating system, Android is used in version 7.0, of course again with a Samsung-adapted surface. The always-on display has been adapted in such a way that a home button is also visible when the display is switched off, since the physical home button has been lost in comparison with its predecessor.
Battery
The Samsung Galaxy S8 has – like the Galaxy S8+ – a permanently installed battery, which cannot be removed. The capacity is at the S8 3.000 mAh, while in the S8+, it is 3,500 mAh. The two devices support wireless fast charging as well as fast charging via the USB type C connector. By the way: in contrast to the Apple iPhone 7, Samsung Galaxy S8 does not have the 3.5mm audio jack connection, so you can use normal headphones and is not dependent on adapter or Bluetooth.
Price and availability
The two versions of the Samsung Galaxy S8 can be pre-ordered from now on and until the 19th of April in the Samsung Online-Shop as well as www.4gltemall.com . From the 28th of April, the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ will be available in the colors “Arctic Silver”, “Midnight Black” and “Orchid Gray”.