Samsung Galaxy S8 a S8+ (PODROBNÉ RECENZIA)

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ (DETAILED PREVIEW)

The fans of modern technology have finally gotten their wish. The most anticipated smartphone of the first half of 2017, the high-end Samsung Galaxy S8, was officially unveiled at two simultaneous events held in London and New York. The conference has confirmed the previous leaks about its slim, nearly bezel-less design, screen size, Bixby AI assistant, and the global release date, slated for April 28. Let’s take a closer look at what is probably going to be the smartphone of the year, what makes it different from the Galaxy S7, and the final price. The article also covers some other Samsung news, namely the Samsung Gear 360 spherical camera, Samsung Gear VR headset, and the DeX Station dock.

Samsung Galaxy S8 – A smartphone with Infinity Display

The first thing you notice when looking at the Samsung Galaxy S8 is its giant display that takes up almost the entire front. The lion's share of that is the so-called Infinity Display, almost entirely bezel-less. The impressive thing is that Samsung has managed to enlarge the display without increasing the overall phone dimensions to any significant extent.

The leaks got right the size of the phone's Super AMOLED display (5.8” and 6.2”), as well as its 2960 × 1440p resolution. The Galaxy S8 also has a new 18:5.9 screen aspect ratio. The screen is longer and more narrow than in its predecessor, which means less scrolling when reading long texts and the option to use two apps at the same time. According to the Samsung representatives at the unveiling, the screen also sports more vibrant colours and HDR support.

Do we know the release date and price?

Prior to the official unveiling, rumours were flying that the Galaxy S8 will be significantly more expensive than its predecessor. The truth is somewhere in the middle. The cheapest version of the Samsung S8 is indeed more expensive than the Galaxy S7. On the other hand, the Galaxy S8 does not distinguish between the basic version and the Edge version with a curved display, which brings us to a pleasant surprise. Although even the cheapest version of the Galaxy S8 features an attractive 3D panel, its price tag is slightly lower than the launch price of the last year’s Samsung Galaxy S7 edge.

Remember the Xiaomi Mi Mix? This was the first phone offering superslim bezels, stealing the Galaxy S8’s thunder. Unfortunately, almost half a year later, the phone remains unavailable for a large part of the world due to a limited production capacity. Samsung took pains to avoid a similar fiasco, so expect to see the Galaxy S8 and S8+ on the shelves starting with April 28.

Galaxy S8 and S8+ technical specifications vs Galaxy S7 edge

Type	Samsung S8	Samsung S8+	Samsung S7 edge
Display	5.8"	6.2"	5.5"
Resolution	1440 × 2960	1440 × 2960	1440 × 2960
Pixels per inch	570 ppi	529 ppi	534 ppi
Processor	Exynos 8895	Exynos 8895	Snapdragon 820, Exynos 8890
RAM	4 GB	4 GB	4 GB
Internal storage	min. 64 GB + memory card	min. 64 GB + memory card	min. 32 GB + memory card
Camera	12 Mpx f/1.7	12 Mpx f/1.7	12 Mpx f/1.7
Front camera	8 Mpx	8 Mpx	5 Mpx
Dimensions	14.89 x 6.81 x 0.8 cm	15.95 x 7.34 x 0.81 cm	15.09 x 7.26 x 0.77 cm
Weight	155 g	173 g	157 g
Fingerprint scanner
Iris scanner
Facial recognition

Samsung Galaxy S8 vs iPhone 7

Type	Samsung S8	Samsung S8+	iPhone 7	iPhone 7 Plus
Display	5.8"	6.2"	5.5"	5.5"
Resolution	1440 × 2960	1440 × 2960	1440 × 2960	750 x 1334
Pixels per inch	570 ppi	529 ppi	534 ppi	326 ppi
Processor	Exynos 8895	Exynos 8895	Apple A10	Apple A10
RAM	4 GB	4 GB	2 GB	3 GB
Internal storage	min. 64 GB + memory card	min. 64 GB + memory card	32 GB, 128 GB, 256 GB	32 GB, 128 GB, 256 GB
Camera	12 Mpx f/1.7	12 Mpx f/1.7	12 Mpx f/1.8	12 Mpx f/1.8
Front camera	8 Mpx	8 Mpx	7 Mpx	7 Mpx
Dimensions	14.89 x 6.81 x 0.8 cm	15.95 x 7.34 x 0.81 cm	13.8 x 6.71 x 0.71 cm	15.8 x 7.79 x 0.73 cm
Weight	155 g	173 g	138 g	188 g
Fingerprint scanner
Iris scanner
Facial recognition

Samsung Galaxy S8 edge? Absolutely not, as both the Galaxy S8 and S8+ feature a curved screen

Both version sport a curved screen with superslim bezels, so if you want a phone with a classic flat screen, you are out of luck. Similar to the LG G6, the Samsung S8 display is rounded at the corners, which nicely enhances the overall design. The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are stunningly beautiful and in our opinion, look much better than the older Galaxy S7 and S7 edge.

The fingerprint scanner is now on the back of the phone

The Samsung Galaxy S8’s giant screen and small body mean that the fingerprint scanner had to be moved on the back of the phone. Many will consider it a disadvantage, as you can no longer unlock the phone without taking it into your hand. Others will argue that it’s no big deal and having the scanner near the rear camera makes sense.

What about the physical home button?

Since the fingerprint scanner is now on the back, does that mean the home button is gone too? Not quite. The bottom part of the Samsung Galaxy S8 display is pressure sensitive, so if you press it, it will take you to the home screen. This is useful if, for example, you are watching a movie in full-screen mode with softkeys enabled. Now you no longer need to call them up, because you can simply press the display. An elegant and practical feature to be sure. Additionally, the gesture is accompanied by a slight vibration, similar to what you can find in the newer iPhone models.

Perfect design and material quality

Physically, the Samsung S8 seems almost perfect. The aluminium frame sports front and back glass panels that shimmer when the light hits them. The sides are rounder compared to its predecessor and Samsung promises that the curved back is more comfortable to hold than the Galaxy S7. Unlike the S7’s matte frame, the S8 sides are glossy. As expected, the phone is IP68 certified against dust and water and also retains a 3.5 mm headphone jack, which you can find at the bottom along with one speaker and a new USB-C connector.

Iris scanner and facial recognition

Another important new feature of the Galaxy S8 is an iris scanner and facial recognition. The manufacturer promises faster phone unlocking, since the only thing you have to do is to look at your phone screen. Another way to unlock the display is via the iris scanner, which is a feature we know from the last year’s Galaxy Note 7. The jury is still out on whether it will work properly if the user wears glasses, however. Expect us to address this point in our review.

The S8 front camera has seen plenty of improvement

Samsung took care to spruce up the camera functionality as well. Following its predecessor, the S8 has kept a 12 Mpx sensor resolution, f/1.7 aperture, PDAF (Phase Detection Auto Focus), and optical image stabilisation. The camera can also record in 4K or slow motion. Contrary to the rumours, however, the phone cannot capture video at 1,000 fps.

The biggest change has occurred in the front camera, which now features a 8 Mpx sensor, perfect f/1.7 aperture and autofocus. With the Samsung Galaxy S8, selfie fans can look forward to some truly amazing results.

Bixby voice assistant is smart

Even before the unveiling, we knew the name Samsung chose for their own intelligent voice assistant – Bixby – and similar to Apple's Siri, Google Assistant or Amazon's Alexa, Bixby enables an advanced interaction with the S8. It can assist you as a tourist guide or help you with shopping, to name just a few. Samsung representatives have also promised a more intuitive control. Naturally, Bixby will be available not only for the S8, but also for future Samsung devices.

The performance of Galaxy S8 beats the competition

As expected, the S8 will be powered by an Exynos 8895 or Qualcomm Snapdragon 835. In the case of Europe it'll be the former, which is supposed to be slightly more powerful than the Snapdragon 835 that is heading to North America. Both the chips are, however, made using the advanced 10nm process and compared to its predecessor in Samsung S7, promise to increase both performance and graphics. The S8 also boasts 4 GB RAM and 64 GB of internal storage, which can be expanded by up to 256 GB with a microSDXC card.

Samsung's Gear 360 spherical camera

In addition to their new smartphone flagship, the Korean number one have also unveiled other interesting gadgets, one of them being the Samsung Gear 360 (2017) spherical camera with two 8,4 Mpx sensors and up to 4K resolution. Compared to the older variant, it offers an improved design and allows you to share content in real time. It will be available starting with April 28.

Samsung's Gear VR goggles return with a motion controller

Samsung have also improved their Gear VR glasses by adding an all-new motion controller to the mix. Apart from the controller, featuring a touch pad for your thumb and a button for your index finger that you can use for immersive action in shooting games for instance, the design hasn't changed much from its predecessor.

Samsung's DeX Station can turn the S8 into a PC

Samsung DeX, or Desktop Experience, is similar to Microsoft's Continuum, allowing you to morph into a desktop PC-like environment when you connect your S8 or S8+ to a monitor. The DeX dock looks like a candle holder in which you simply insert the phone and connect a monitor, keyboard and mouse.

The welcome screen and the interface with icons and support for third-party apps pop up on your monitor. With the Microsoft Office Mobile package for example, you can now use its capabilities fully on your Samsung Galaxy S8. The Samsung DeX Station will be, like the S8 itself, available starting from April 28.

Comparing Samsung Galaxy S8 and iPhone 8 will no doubt be interesting

Samsung have hit the nail right on the head with the S8. They have finally realised, it seems, that in order to keep pace with China, they need to come up with some serious innovation. And they did! It will probably take some time before there's an Android smartphone that can offer as much as the S8. For example, the Huawei P10 is great but perhaps except for a lower price, it cannot put up a fight with the S8. And if smartphones such as the LG G6 or Sony Xperia XZ Premium don't take us completely by surprise, we will probably see yet another fight between Samsung and Apple. We still don't know much about the iPhone 8, but there are speculations about a bezel-less OLED display design as well as wireless charging with a range of several metres.

We cannot wait to test the S8 in a full review. In cooperation with the Gear VR glasses and the DeX Station dock, the Samsung Galaxy S8 may well become a flawless smartphone. Expect to see it on the shelves starting from April 28.

What do we know about the Samsung Galaxy S8

The Galaxy S8 is Samsung's flagship model for 2017 and some making up for the failed Galaxy Note 7 is definitely in order. The official presentation was scheduled for March 29 in London, while the S8 and S8+ are due to go on sale on April 28. The S8 will be priced at €799, while its bigger brother, the Galaxy S8+, will cost €899. As the leaked images below suggest, we can look forward to six colour options: black, white, blue, silver, gold and black pearl. Moreover, some selected markets will be offering also pink and purple models.

The official Samsung S8 promo

Samsung promise a revolution in the concept of smartphones, with the most prominent feature being the bezel-less design.

The official S8 renders

So which colour is the right one for you?

The Galaxy S8 will be available at the end of April

The S8 was originally expected to be introduced at the MWC in Barcelona, where its predecessor, the Galaxy S7, saw the light of day last year. But since Samsung can't afford to repeat any of the failure associated with the Note 7, they've postponed the release date by a few weeks, which gives them some additional time for testing the components. Pre-orders are likely to start on April 7, while the actual launch date is set to April 28. According to some sources, the Samsung flagship will be available a week earlier, on April 21. It is also noteworthy that in China there're already S8 clones available, which are almost indistinguishable from the original. The specifications and other details are unknown, however.

The new flagship of the Korean manufacturer comes once again in two models (the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+), with larger diagonals compared to their predecessors. And since Samsung used a nearly bezel-less and curved design, you don't need to worry that the models would no longer fit in your hand, quite the contrary. The S8 and S8+ now boast 5.7" and 6.2" respectively, while the phone dimensions remain similar to the predecessor.

The expected Samsung Galaxy S8 specifications

Display: 5.7" (S8), 6.2" (S8+), curved Super AMOLED display with a minimal resolution of 2960 × 1440 px, Gorilla Glass 5
Camera: 12 Mpx, dual-pixel PDAF, f/1.7 OIS, HDR, 4K video, supposedly slow-motion videos at a frequency of 1000 frames per second
Front camera: 8 Mpx, AF, f/1.7, QHD video
Processor: Snapdragon 835 or Exynos 8895
Memory and storage: 6 GB and 4GB of RAM, 64 GB of UFS 2.1 internal storage, microSD cards (up to 256 GB)
System: Android 7.1.1 Nougat
Safety: The fingerprint scanner on the back, an iris scanner
Connectivity: LTE, WiFi ac/b/g/n, Bluetooth, GPS, NFC, Samsung Pay, USB-C, 3.5mm headphone jack
Battery: 3250 mAh (S8), 3750 mAh (S8+), wired and wireless charging

An unprecedented bezel-less design

The mentioned hardware specifications push the performance bar a little higher, so it's possible that the S8 will surpass the performance of its long-standing rival, the current generation of iPhone.

Let's take a closer look at the S8's display, which is newly expanded to provide an almost edge-to-edge design, with its edges rounded. The transition from the PenTile to full RGB matrix promises an improvement, which will come in handy when used with the VR glasses. It goes almost without saying that the S8 will be using the pressure-sensitive technology, sometimes reffered to as force touch, which has already been used by Huawei for their premium model, P9 Plus.

Since the display will now occupy approximately 90% of the front side the home button will be removed and the fingerprint scanner moved to the back, near the camera lens. We're already looking forward to a much higher accuracy of fingerprint recognition, because with the S7 it was far from perfect. At the same time, we like the transition to the reversible USB-C connector as well as preserving the 3.5mm jack.

The Samsung Galaxy S8's first official image

Below you can see the first press image of the front side of the Galaxy S8 (or perhaps Galaxy S8+), which is to be used in commercials. The infamous Evan Blass with his @evleaks account on Twitter supplied the photo with a comment, "I think this is what you've been waiting for."

What we can see on the picture is probably the lock screen, which will welcome the users after the display is turned on. We can clearly see an elegant design of the "Infinity Display", with thin frames above and below. At the same time we can notice a hardware button on the left side, which will probably be used to activate the Bixby voice assistant.

Minimising the frames simply means a larger screen in a compact body: 5.7" and 6.3" is a significant leap forward compared to its predecessor, the Galaxy S7. The increase in screen size while maintaining the phone dimensions is no doubt an improvement and it's likely that the S8 will be competing, perhaps also with the LG G6 for the best bezel-less design.

The S8 interface

Below you can also see the home screen and the S8's thin edges. On the bottom of the screen there are software drivers; on the left-hand side of the phone, there's the button to start Bixby, while on the bottom side of the phone, there's a USB Type-C port, along with a 3.5mm jack and a main speaker.

More recent leaks show more screenshots of the interface, including the revised application icons, which are now more unified and rounded.

The Galaxy S8 comes with an AI voice assistant, Bixby

We can probably also expect the introduction of a voice assistant with artificial intelligence, Bixby, who will be competing with the Google Assistant, Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa. It is rumoured that Bixby has the potential to surpass its competitors in terms of both intelligence and speed. We already know that he will allow you to voice control native applications or make online payments. In addition, he will support 7 languages (English, Chinese, French, Italian, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish).

What's also interesting is the information regarding the S8's ability to scan your surroundings and subsequently look up the identified objects on the Internet. Also, Samsung Pay allows you to easily pay for the searched-for products if need be. It might be also possible to use the S8 for text recognition, not unlike what Google Goggles offer.

Moreover, Samsung has promised to provide an exceptional camera performance. So you can look forward to super slow-motion video shooting at up to 1000 frames per second. The iPhone 7, in contrast, can shoot videos at 240 fps.

An alternative to Samsung Hello and Continuum

The Samsung Galaxy S8 should also come up with an alternative to Microsoft's Continuum – Samsung Desktop Experience. This feature lets you connect the phone to a monitor and use it like a regular desktop computer that runs Android. Simply connect a wireless mouse and keyboard to the DeX dock.

Other speculations include Samsung Hello, which should be an alternative to the Google Now information system. Samsung have already applied for an EU trademark for this name, but we can't tell whether it will be used for similar purposes as Google Now.

Comparing the S8 with the iPhone 8?

Even though the iPhone 8 won't be unveiled until September, we can indulge in speculations. For example, we know that Apple, too, plans to switch to a nearly bezel-less design. Additionally, a breakthrough technology for wireless charging with a range of several metres is another feature that Apple may include in their long-awaited flagship. And so is the iris scanner, which, however, was included already in the failed Note 7 by Samsung.

Samsung S8 rumours and speculation

Following the immensely successful Galaxy S7 series was never going to be easy, so Samsung seems to be focusing all its resources to make sure the Galaxy S8 launch is a success. The official unveiling took place on March 29, with two simultaneous events held in London and New York. The official specifications are out, so now we can look back at the leaks and see how much of the speculation was on point.

The Galaxy S8 is greatly anticipated not only by the Samsung shareholders, but also by demanding smartphone users. Leakers speculated the Galaxy S8 would follow in the S7’s footsteps, featuring both a standard version and an edge version. The basic version was expected to have a 5.1” display with qHD resolution, while the larger model Galaxy S8 edge would offer a 5.5” 4K screen.

What did we expect from the Samsung Galaxy S8?

Uncompromising hardware equipment featuring a dual camera
Flawless technical design
Top-notch 4K display in the Galaxy S8 edge model
Samsung Gear VR support for a whole new level of virtual reality
Latest Android OS and excellent support in the future
Various colour options
Broad selection of accessories

Potential Samsung Galaxy S8 problems and issues

Rushed development and various “growing pains"
Limited availability for the more advanced model
Insufficient reasons to make the transition from the excellent Galaxy S7

Galaxy S8 represents

The South Korean manufacturing giant has announced that each year it shall focus on launching only one main phone. The S8 is clearly their priority for this year. What can we expect? The new model seems to retain the best of the last generation specifications – a metal body with increased water resistance, high-capacity battery, and wireless charging.

A lot was expected from the camera. The one in the Galaxy S7 still ranks among the best on the market, even 8 months after launch. The leakers correctly predicted the phone’s Dual Pixel rear camera, so the Samsung fans can look forward to some really great features and shots.

The Samsung flagship products always feature the best hardware available and the Galaxy S8 is no exception. Its 4 GB RAM ended up being a tad lower than expected, but even that should ensure fluid user experience, seamless 4K video playback and solid VR performance.

The heart of the phone is a Snapdragon 835 processor, a step forward compared to the rumoured 3 GHz Exynos 8895. The new processor supports phenomenal mobile performance. The phone security features came as no surprise, consisting of a fingerprint and iris scanner, also found in the Galaxy Note 7. The reviews praised its exemplary performance at good ambient lighting, to the point it could correctly recognise even a person wearing prescription glasses.

Revolutionary display

Samsung, or rather one of its divisions, supplies displays for its main competitor, namely Apple. It is rumoured that Apple had ordered a revolutionary display rounded at all four sides for its new iPhone 8. This meant that Samsung could very well use this technology for their own products in some form. It was thought to be unlikely that the S8 would have it, due to its fast approaching launch date, but the eventual S9 is all but guaranteed to jump on this elegant display trend.

Galaxy S8

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ (DETAILED PREVIEW)