SAMSUNG GALAXY S8
- INTRODUCTION
Click This Link GALAXY S8
The Samsung Galaxy S8 is Samsung's first major design change since the Samsung Galaxy S6, when Samsung went with premium materials like metal and glass to construct a beautiful device. And beautiful these devices are. Both feature curved edges on both sides so there is no longer an 'edge'-specific model. The S8+ otherwise has the same features and specs at the S8 except for a larger display and battery.
The display is the hallmark of the two phones - tall and narrow, pixel-rich and covering as much of the phones as possible. The aspect ratio is the odd bit here, though we've been prepped by the LG G6's 18:9 already - Samsung's panels are in an even more unorthodox 18.5:9 ratio. The two are super AMOLEDs, of course.
Samsung is one of the first, if not the first, to launch with the latest Snapdragon 835 chipset. As every other year, there will also be an Exynos version for some markets.
The camera sensor for the S8 duo appears to come from the S7 and Note7, but with promised tweaks in processing (Pixel-like image stacking) the camera should be even better. And we're digging the bump in front camera resolution - it was high time Samsung decommissioned those 5MP selfie shooters.
Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ at a glance
- Body: Polished aluminum frame, Gorilla Glass 5 front and back; IP68
- certified for water and dust resistance. Arctic Silver, Orchid Grey, Black
- Sky, Maple Gold, and Coral Blue color schemes.
- Display: 5.8"/6.2" Super AMOLED, 2,960x1440px resolution, 18.5:9 (2.06:1)
- aspect ratio, 571/529ppi; HDR 10 compliant (no Dolby Vision).
- Rear camera:12MP, f/1.7 aperture, dual pixel phase detection autofocus, OIS;
- multi-shot image stacking; 2160p/30fps video recording.
- Front camera: 8MP, f/1.7 aperture, autofocus; 1440p/30fps video recording.
- OS/Software: Android 7.0 Nougat; Samsung Grace UX; Bixby virtual assistant;
- Smart Connect, Smart Connect Home
- Chipsets: Qualcomm Snapdragon 835: octa-core
- CPU (4xKryo 280 + 4xCortex-A53), Adreno 540 GPU. Exynos 8895: octa-core
- CPU (4x2nd-gen Mongoose + 4xCortex-A53), Mali-G71 GPU.
- Memory: 4GB of RAM (6GB option for some markets, probably later down the line); 64GB storage; microSD slot for cards up to 256GB, UFS cards support.
- Battery: 3,000mAh/3,500mAh Li-Po (sealed); Adaptive Fast Charging (same as S7); QuickCharge 2.0 support; WPC&PMA wireless charging.
- Connectivity: Single-SIM, Dual-SIM available in certain markets; LTE-A, 4-Band carrier aggregation, Cat.16/13 (1Gbps/150Mbps); USB Type-C (v3.1); Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac; GPS, Beidou, Galileo; NFC; Bluetooth 5.0.
- Misc: Fingerprint reader; iris recognition/face recognition; single speaker on the bottom; 3.5mm jack; bundled AKG headphones.
Samsung is also big on iris recognition, though it could have used a better ambassador for it than the Note 7. It is what is. Let's hope it's good enough for us to stop kvetching about that unconventionally placed fingerprint sensor.
A few other check boxes in the specsheet sure won't leave us complaining - the IP68 rating (should be mandatory on flagships, really), 3.5mm headphone jack (let's not go there again), and USB-C port (USB-C on all the things, already). AKG headphones also sound nice. Having them in the box, that is, we haven't actually heard them play.
It's also the year of crazy display ratios, because that's what happens when you stretch a display to cover most of a phone's face, without actually making the phone that much larger. LG went with 18:9 on the G6 (which every 5th grader would tell you is 2:1), but Samsung has now one-upped them, or rather half-upped them - the S8 and S8+ come with even more bizarre 18.5:9 screens.
Resolution is 2,960x1440px on both and Samsung said in a press briefing that's half a million pixels more than your average QHD panel (2,560x1,440px). They're being modest though - 400 by 1,440 amounts to 576,000 pixels.
Display diagonals are 5.8 inches for the small vanilla S8, and 6.2 inches for its plus-sized brother. We tried to stress in our LG G6 review that diagonals are in no way directly comparable between different aspects, so let's dwell a little on the S8s'.
The small one, and you'll appreciate that it is indeed small when you read the numbers, should theoretically measure 132.5 x 64.4mm, while the 6.2-inch Plus should be 141.6 x 68.9mm. Compare that to the 16:9 5.5-inch Galaxy S7 edge and its calculated dimensions of 121.8 x 68.5mm - the 6.2-inch display of the Galaxy S8+ is barely any wider. In fact, the 5.8-inch S8's display is less than a millimeter wider than the 5.1-inch S7.
The displays on the S8 duo are obviously taller - to the tune of 2 full centimeters in the case of S8+ vs. S7 edge. The S8's panel is only some 11mm taller than the S7 edge's, but the phone itself isn't. You know what that means - so long, home button.
A staple of Samsung smartphone design, the home button has been there since the original Galaxy S, but is now falling victim to the trends of the day. There's no room for a whole physical button on a phone that's all about the display ('Infinity Display' Samsung has named it). Well, then, the home button goes on the display. There. Settled.
A pressure sensitive area in the lower part of the display acts as the home button now, even when the phone is asleep- there's an always-on icon that indicates where you need to press. A haptic feedback motor twitches when you do so, informing you that it knows it's been summoned. It's a really positive feeling, and doesn't come off as if you are compressing the phone.
- Design, display, hardware, continued
The fingerprint sensor had to go somewhere, so it's been relocated to the back. And boy is it an odd location. It's not placed along the central axis, so it favors right-handed operation - it's more natural to reach out with your finger diagonally across the back than on the same side. Of course, there are vastly more righties than lefties in the world, but here's one righty that uses his phone mostly with the left hand.
Then there's the matter of smudging your camera, when feeling your way to that sensor. The camera is even less raised now (otherwise a good thing), which makes the hunt for the sensor that one bit more likely to result in tapping on the lens.
You won't necessarily need to do it all that often, as the S8 and S8+ come with the Note7's iris recognition tech. Once you get used to it, it could make the fingerprint sensor redundant for the mundane task of unlocking, and only remain to be used for Samsung Pay or other app-related security features. Not that you couldn't use your eyes for the former, as well.
Samsung Galaxy S8+
To read your irises Samsung has fitted a dedicated camera, making the cameras on the front officially two (the 8MP selfie camera being the other one). That makes for a pretty crammed top bezel, which also needs to house the earpiece, the ambient light and proximity sensors, a notification LED, and the IR illuminator that enables the iris scanning to work in the dark. Good thing then that all S8s regardless of back color will sport black faceplates - imagine the Swiss cheese that bezel would have been if it matched the body paint job, all dotted with sensor cutouts.
There's nothing below the display, not even a logo - some folks hate the Samsung badge on the front, so they should be happy. The others won't bat an eyelid, we gather.
Believe it or not, a lot of what's different about the S8 compared to last generation is on the frame. And the frame itself, for that matter. Where the S7's was matte, this generation gets a shiny polished treatment. While the impact on aesthetics is debatable (we're not ones for too much bling), what should be pretty universal is the dings and scratches this new finish will inevitably accumulate over time. We'd be happy to be proven wrong, but...
Samsung Galaxy S8+
So a shiny finish, that's it? No. The Bixby virtual assistant gets a dedicated button on the left side of the phone, right underneath the volume rocker.
On the bottom of both phones you'll find a 3.5mm headphone jack - thank you, common sense. Early rumors had it removed from the Galaxy S8, but there - it turns out they could find the space. There's a USB-C port in here too - Samsung took the plunge into the already widely adopted standard with the Note7, and we figure it's going to stick with it from now on.
The loudspeaker is down below, still a single one, which would inevitably force those of us with a YouTube binge-watching habit to reach for the headphones more often than not.
Samsung Galaxy S8+
The Galaxy S8 and S8+ still carry the same IP68 rating for dust and water resistance as the S7 duo. We're happy that ingress protection is becoming the norm in the high-end segment - when you're paying top dollar, it's good to know that your phone can survive the occasional (of course, accidental) skinny dipping. Samsung doesn't say anything about salt water, though - LG insists the G6 is seawater safe.
Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ • Galaxy S7 and S8+
The weather sealing hasn't resulted in unnecessary thickness either. On the contrary, the phones feel spectacularly thin. The curved display and rear panel certainly help in this respect - the sides of the frame are only a fraction of what the calipers show when measuring the phone in the center.
It's also not the easiest to pick up off a table. That's been a key complaint about the S7 edge's design, though admittedly the Note7 was better in this respect and so are the new S8s, so that's partially resolved. That said, the meatier sides of the G6 are hard to beat.
User interface
The Galaxy S8 and S8+ run on Android 7.0 Nougat complemented by a Samsung custom overlay on top that's become known as Grace UX. Introduced on the Note7, it was later brought to the A (2017) series (where it was bolted on top of Marshmallow), and now we see it on the S8.
A much sleeker UI, Grace UX replaces the tainted TouchWiz that some folks like to bash just for kicks now, based on early releases when the hardware wasn't powerful enough to support all the features Samsung crammed in it. Anyway, our experience with Grace has been positive and there's no reason to expect less than that from the S8 in the long run.
Lockscreen • App drawer • Folder view • Quick toggles
There are a few design tweaks for the new generation, naturally. Icons are even more rounded now to better match the display corners (or, rather, lack thereof). The app drawer is evoked with an upward swipe, Pixel-style.
Custom multi-window is more powerful than Nougat's native one • There's pop-up view too
The navigation buttons have gotten a fresh look, and whaddayaknow, Samsung's done the unthinkable and made them customizable - you can now have the back key on the left and the task switcher on the right like Google would have it.
Settings: Display (note the resolution) • Navi-bar • Security • Face recognition
Samsung Connect is a new service that gives you control over all your smart devices and appliances from within the same hub without having to juggle several different apps. Like any self-respecting such solution should, it allows you to set up automated sequences of actions so can execute a whole pre-determined routine in one go.
Bixby
Bixby is Samsung's all new personal assistant - apparently, you can't go without one if you are trying to push a high-end smartphone in today's market. At least this one has a name unlike Google's utterly impersonal 'Assistant'.
Samsung's mantra when making Bixby was that "whatever you can do with touch, you can do with voice". You can also mix and match types of input - whether it is talking, tapping or typing (they could have come up with a TTT trademark here, and we appreciate they didn't), Bixby will use contextual cues to figure out what you're trying to get at. For example, if you ask it to "call David", and have multiple Davids in the phonebook, it'll ask which one in particular.
You summon Bixby either with a trigger word or with that dedicated hardware button on the left - a simple press brings you a Bixby Home screen, similar to Google Now's. In there, you'll be greeted by a summary of your agenda, weather and upcoming reminders.
Bixby home • Bixby settings
Press and hold is the action if you want to talk to the assistant. It can do simple tasks like adjust screen brightness or engage the blue light filter, even take a selfie - this command results in launching the camera app with the front facing cam active. If there's something that's not explicitly stated, it'll try to figure it out from the context, and ask questions to fill in the blanks.
Bixby Vision uses the camera and can translate for you between 52 languages in real time. You can point it at landmarks around you and it'll provide information, you can scan QR codes and business cards, or point it at a product and it'll guide you in the right direction to get one. Basically, it's a lot like a better version of the Google Goggles app, with some Translate thrown in for good measure.
Bixby can also set reminders for you. Much like Google Now, those can be location based - say you run out of cat litter and set up a reminder to notify you when you're at the particular store. Also if you have a daily routine, where you call to check in with somebody at a set time, the phone can remind you in case you've missed the mark.
Camera samples
Not an awful lot of opportunities for picture taking, but we still took a few snaps. Mind you, the firmware on the devices these samples were shot with is likely not final, so don't judge them too harshly. That, plus the fact that the lighting is far from ideal in a couple of them.
Every hero needs a sidekick and every flagship needs accessories. Samsung has been offering exclusive companions since the Galaxy S III - whether it's cases, docking stations, wireless chargers, VR headsets, or even some premium headphones - there is always something to consider for your new Galaxy S phone. And the Galaxy S8 and S8+ are no exceptions. Samsung will be selling quite a few cases, a compatible Gear VR, a new wireless charger, and a very interesting DeX station that turns the Galaxy S8/S8+ into a mighty desktop computers. So, let's start with that, shall we?
Samsung DeX Station
Do you remember the Microsoft Display Dock for the Lumia 950 series? It's a rather compact dock for easy monitor, keyboard and mouse connection and it offered desktop Windows experience. Now Samsung has the same thing, but thanks to the new Galaxy S8 hardware it should provide a better experience with the desktop Android OS.
Samsung DeX Station
The DeX Station itself is nothing special - it's a dock, all right, with USB Type-C for charging, an HDMI port, an Ethernet port, and two USB ports. Upon connection to the DeX you'll be greeted by your wide lockscreen and you can bypass it with face recognition security - there is no need to input your PIN code or password.
Using DeX
The desktop interpretation of Android looks a lot like Windows 10 and works pretty much the same way. Samsung has worked with Microsoft and Adobe for app optimizations, so you can expect Windows 10-like experience with MS Office and Adobe Lightroom, among other apps, on the DeX mode.
A Remote Connection to Windows PC
Samsung also demonstrated a remote connection to a Windows PC, which worked flawlessly, at least in the demo we saw. It seemed Microsoft and Samsung put some work into this and it may actually pay out very well in the future.
Samsung Gear 360
There is a new Gear 360 camera, which is much smaller than the old orb-like model. It supports 4K capturing, 1080p streaming, and 720p 360-degree video streaming via the Galaxy S8/S8+. The HD VR streaming is done with the help of the Galaxy S8's powerful processor, which stiches the picture from the two sensors together.
Samsung Gear 360
Samsung wanted you to have an actual stand with your Gear 360, but one that not stands in the way of pocketability - that's in case you are wondering about the new design.
The new VR camera indeed looks better and is much smaller. The bottom is grippy and should allow for the Gear 360 to stand finally and secure on any surface.
Samsung Gear VR
You bet there is a new Gear VR model with the new Galaxy S8. It has backward compatibility all the way back to the Galaxy S6, so it comes with two holders. The headset itself looks a lot like the previous models and has touch controls on its side.
Samsung Gear VR
The bundled controller is new, although not entirely as it was already announced at the MWC. It's basically a smaller model of the Oculus controllers minus the grip. There are the keys for navigation, a touch-enabled surface, and even the triggers. Samsung consider this addition as an essential part of the VR experience, which was missing from its older bundles.
The new controler
Indeed, the new Gear VR suits the Galaxy S8 well and is very comfy. The controller is welcome, of course, and it would be great if Samsung gave those as freebies with the pre-orders, wouldn't it?
Gear VR and its controller
Samsung Galaxy S8 cases
LED View Cover - the nicely looking LED covers are returning with the Galaxy S8 and S8+ in a variety of colors.
LED View Covers
The flip wallets are back, too.
Flip Wallet Cases
There are the traditional transparent Clear Covers, as well.
The clear covers are on the right
You can also choose from colorful lineup of back soft back covers, very pleasant on touch. Those seem to be replacing the leather covers.
There are regular plastic covers with rubber finish, too.
The new cases to replace the leather ones • there is plenty of them • regular cases
The keyboard covers are back. If you want to have a physical keyboard, because sometimes usability is more important than looks, you can have it on both the S8 and S8+.
Keyboard Cover
And finally, there is the brand new 2Piece Covers for the S8 and S8+. If you opt for one, you'd be getting a top and bottom plastic pieces to snap on your phone painted in different colors. We find those odd, if not borderline grotesque. Maybe they will appeal to the younger generation, who knows.
2PIECE Cover
Samsung Battery Pack
Finally, Samsung introduced a refresh of its portable battery with 5,100 mAh capacity. It is capable of fast charging and may turn as a great companion to your Galaxy.
The portable battery
Samsung Wireless Charger
And here is the latest Samsung Wireless Charger with fast charging.
Visit This Link >>>Galaxy S8>>>
No comments:
Post a Comment