Samsung is making sure people forget about last year’s exploding Note 7 phablets.
After its embarrassing September recall of all Galaxy Note 7 smartphones, the company has now launched the long awaited S8, dubbed to be the iPhone killer, to lure fans back.
At its Galaxy Unpacked 2017 event in New York on Wednesday, Samsung showcased its latest Galaxy S-series smartphones, the 5.8-inch S8 and the 6.2-inch S8+.
”The Galaxy S8 and S8+ are our testament to regaining your trust by redefining what’s possible in safety and marks a new milestone in Samsung’s smartphone legacy,” said DJ Koh, president of Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics at the event.
So what does the phone look like?
S8 is the first Samsung phone that will come with an Infinity near bezel-less, dual curved quadHD display, meaning that the large screen will take up almost all the front of the phone (It has an 83 percent screen-to-body ratio and and Super AMOLED panels).
With an all-screen display, the home button on the front of the phone has been replaced by a fingerprint scanner on the rear.
In its first-look review, Forbes called the display stunning.
”Clear, crisp and now certified as HDR ready. From a purely first-look perspective though, these are nice phones to hold”, the review says.
More NEW features..
It’ll be the first phone with Samsung’s new artificial intelligence service, Bixby, which has functions including a voice-commanded assistant system similar to Apple’s Siri.
However, The Washington Post quotes, Thomas Husson, principal analyst at Forrester as saying he is ‘skeptical’ about Samsung’s software and the company’s ability to strike deals with other companies to support Bixby.
Well, apart from that, there is also a new facial recognition and iris scanner that lets users unlock their phones by looking at them.
Samsung’s Galaxy S8 series is also the first to debut with the all-new Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor. The company says that the Galaxy S8 and S8+ feature the “industry’s first 10nm processor, enabling heightened speed and efficiency.”
Other specifications to look out for
The phone, otherwise, retains the familiar features from the Galaxy S7, including a 12-megapixel camera, water and dust resistant body and wireless charging.
- On the front, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ have an 8-megapixel camera with autofocus. And yes the phone does have a headphone jack still!
- The phone will be available in five colours: Midnight Black, Orchid Gray, Arctic Silver, Coral Blue and Maple Gold.
- Both the phones come with 4GB RAM and 64GB of internal memory which is expandable by up to 256GB via a microSD card.
- While the Galaxy S8 has a 3,000mAh battery, the Galaxy S8+ has a larger 3,500mAh battery.
What do critics say?
As of now, it’s too early to give an objective reply. But, most of the reviews so far are pretty positive.
An Independent review says that the phone’s features are absolutely cutting-edge and put the South Korean company ahead of the game. The phones look and feel just great and there is an awful lot to like about the headsets, says the review.
The bezel-less display has certainly generated a lot of attention. CNBC says that the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are easily the best-looking smartphones of the year so far.
So far, the phone looks good. Analysts say that Samsung just needs to avoid the same battery problems that plagued the ill-fated Galaxy Note 7.
How much does it cost?
Galaxy S8 is priced at 809 Euro( Rs. 57,200) whereas the S8+ retails for 909 Euro (Rs. 64,200)
When will it be released?
The Samsung Galaxy S8 will go on a sale from April 28. However, the first pre-ordered phones will be sent out as early as April 20.