Samsung Galaxy S8
The Samsung Galaxy S8 is without a doubt the most beautiful, polished phone I've ever held. These words were true when I first reviewed it in April, and are still true a month on. I do have some additional insights since then -- scroll down a bit for those.
Phones have become a little stale. Whether it’s an iPhone 7, Huawei P10, Sony Xperia XZ Premium or any other flagship phone, they all look and feel the same. But just when I thought a phone couldn’t surprise and delight us any more, the Samsung Galaxy S8 has proved us wrong.
From the moment we picked up the S8, we realised it was even more special than we expected. This is a phone that feels innovative, a phone that we can’t help but recommend – even if it will set you back £689/$720.
It's incredibly expensive in a world where mid-range phones are more than good enough to handle most tasks people like... but the second you pick it up it's easy to see why.
The Samsung Galaxy is a phone that's unlike anything you'll have seen on the market. It's just stunning.
OK, so the S8 is pretty. But it's also the most important Samsung phone right now, at least until the Galaxy Note 8 comes along. It's been helping restore buyers' confidence after the double Note 7 battery disaster (the S8's apparently selling like hotcakes), and it's a chance to cement the Samsung name as the top Android brand against upcoming rivals: the pure Android Google "Pixel 2," squeezable HTC U11 and cut-price OnePlus 5. It helps that soon, you'll be able to use the Galaxy S8 in Google's Daydream headset.
What makes the Galaxy S8 so special is this: A tall, narrow shape that fits snugly in my palm and curved sides that scream "classy." And the screen? 5.8 inches of colorful gorgeousness with a display that stretches from edge to edge with just a whisper of a bezel. For its looks alone, Samsung's flashiest phone lands at the top of the class. Trust me, when you see the S8 and larger, pricier S8 Plus, you're gonna want to put your hands all over them.
Samsung Galaxy S8 Design
Nothing comes close to the Galaxy S8 design-wise. It’s the best-looking phone I’ve ever seen, leaving every other handset trailing in its wake.
The curved rear, as seen on the Galaxy S7, nestles perfectly in your palm, while the glass shimmers as the light hits it. The device is available in three colours – a dark black, bright silver and a grey with a blueish tinge – with no ugly white front plate in sight.
The way the Samsung Galaxy S8 is put together has to be the defining feature of the handset. It looks like a phone that's been brought back from the future, a device that we've been crying out for a phone manufacturer to be brave enough to put together.
The glass is curved on both sides, with the popularity of the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge convincing the South Korean brand that the time is ripe to make all its flagship phones look rounded and glossy, with the Edge screen now there by default.
The volume rocker and standby switch are joined by a new button on the side. This is a dedicated Bixby button – which I’ll cover in more detail in the Software section – and while it shows Samsung is taking its new virtual assistant seriously, it feels too much for Bixby to have its own button.
The S8 is thin and incredibly light at 155g, but it feels sturdy and precisely made. The last time Samsung opted for a huge change of direction with its flagship, many of the basic features were lost in the transition. Thankfully, this isn’t the case here. A microSD slot continues to sit tucked away with the nano-SIM, the criminally underrated Qi wireless charging is also present, and the device is IP68 water- and dust-resistant too, so it will survive a dunk in water for 30 minutes to depths of 1.5 metres.
The fingerprint scanner is now on the back, but awkwardly placed next to the camera rather than below it. Right-handed users are likely to smudge the camera when using it. This is our main bugbear in terms of the design and it should really be below the camera, despite creating an unsymmetrical look.
As you'd expect the Galaxy S8 is fully dust and waterproof like its predecessor so has an IP68 rating. That extra button you see on the left side of the phone is to quickly launch Bixby, Samsung's artificial intelligence assistance -see the software section for more on this.
Samsung Galaxy S8 Display
The Infinity Beyond the bezel Display sets a new standard for uninterrupted, immersive experiences. It enables an expanded screen size without necessitating a larger phone. So while the view is grander, Galaxy S8 and S8+ feel small in your hand, making them easy to hold and use.
Not only has Samsung crafted what is, in my opinion, the best-looking phone out there, but it’s slapped on the finest display too. Although, when you consider that Samsung has demonstrated the best screen tech for a number of years, this isn’t really a surprise.
There’s more to the display than just the curves. First, it has a new aspect ratio of 18.5:9, rather than 16:9. This means it’s taller, essentially giving you more space in a body that isn’t that much bigger than that of the S7. While the Galaxy S7 had a 5.1-inch display, the S8 bumps that to 5.8.
Like the majority of Samsung phones, the panel is AMOLED and has a slightly odd quad-HD+ 2960 x 1440 resolution. It’s also ‘Mobile HDR Premium’ certified, so you’ll be able to stream HDR (high dynamic range) shows from Amazon Prime and Netflix when those apps are updated. Arguably, HDR is the most important evolution in TV tech is recent years, offering better contrast and a brighter picture.
The colors are rich, the black and white contrast is immaculate, and everything just looks so pin-sharp. Streaming content in HD is a dream, and anything that's saved onto the device looks great.
In a move that’s surely to try to stretch out the fairly small 3000mAh battery, when you unbox your Galaxy S8 it will be set to display at 1080p rather than quad-HD. Most people probably won’t notice the difference – and that’s fine. But I’d suggest hopping into Settings and switching things up. Downscaling can leave some apps with oddly big fonts and a softer look on texts and icons; considering you’re spending £600/$700+ on a phone, you’ll probably want it to look its best.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 is the best phone out there for media binging, and I’ve started picking it up instead of my iPad when I want to watch something on the go. There’s a clever mode called ‘Video Enhancer’, which boosts the contrast and brightness in certain apps – Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube and so on – to give a pseudo-HDR effect. I wouldn’t recommend keeping it on all the time, due to the increased battery drain, but it does make a fantastic display even better.
Samsung OS used to be one of Samsung’s weaknesses, and although far from being one of the company’s strengths in the S8, improvements are clear to see.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 is one of the most powerful phones , and if anyone who doesn't buy a Samsung because of the user interface is living in past.
In fact, the software layer on top of Android 7.0 is good-looking and functional. Icons are more mature, and the on-screen buttons – a first for a Samsung S-series phone – are angular and edgy.We're particularly a fan of the haptic feedback you get when you push the virtual home button, which can be accessed even when the display is off.
Things are miles better now in the interface, and Samsung has worked hard making everything appear where it should.
The left-most homescreen is Bixby’s home – but mostly, it just mimics Google Now. It will throw up some news, maybe a reminder to ring Mum, and push some funny YouTube videos, but we’ve seen this all before. You can’t even talk to Bixby yet, which appears to be a basic omission – and when it finally does arrive later in the spring, it will be limited to US English and Korean.
If Bixby was as powerful as the brand was promising it eventually will be, the interface would be even less of a thing to talk about, as you could just bark all your commands at your phone and it would do what you needed.
But for now you have to keep exercising those digit muscles and swipe around the display to order your favorite takeaway.
Bixby does have one redeeming feature. In the camera app, it will let you snap a picture of an item and use the AI to either find similar items, or get you a link to buy it. Again, this isn’t new, but at least there’s some use there.
Another new software feature is ‘DeX’. I like to think of this as ‘Microsoft Continuum, if it wasn’t terrible’.
Like Continuum, DeX requires a sold-separately dock that connects to an HDMI-equipped monitor and turns your Galaxy S8 into a mini-PC. The dock also has power, two USB-A ports and an Ethernet connector, along with a smattering of fans in the base to keep the phone from becoming too hot.
If you connect the phone via the USB-C port inside the cradle, a new desktop – which looks a lot like Windows 10 – pops up. Your apps are displayed in a very familiar layout and there’s a software dock along the bottom that lets you access all the phone and text functions of the phone.
You can also use it with a wireless keyboard and mouse and once the phone is docked you'll get a custom desktop-style interface where you can open and resize apps in separate windows like you would on a PC or laptop.
The demonstration appeared to work very well and could make the Galaxy S8 a decent productivity device for anyone wanting to do general, basic office work. Samsung has even optimised its own browser so it loads the desktop version of websites.
What makes this so much better than Continuum is app support. Apps are resizable and bounce between phone and tablet versions depending on how much you stretch them, and you can multiple apps open at the same time.
Samsung has done a great job to make the transition from a 16:9 aspect ratio to the 18.5:9 here as seamless as possible. Most Android apps scale perfectly, but you can manually stretch those that don’t. Most of the games I’ve tested needed to be manually stretched, but I’d happily take this over having two black bars at each end.
Samsung Galaxy S8 Performance
Both are the fastest CPUs out there, built using a 10nm production process for improved efficiency. There’s 4GB of RAM – any more is basically pointless for a phone at this stage – and it has a roomy 64GB of internal storage with support for up to 256GB microSD cards.
In terms of benchmark performance, the Galaxy S8’s multicore score of 6,295 in the Geekbench 4 overall performance test was more than 50 percent higher than that of its closest Android competitor, the Snapdragon 821-powered Google Pixel XL (4,146), and more than 15 percent better than the iPhone 7 Plus (5,392). Its single-core score was 1,846, which is a good deal lower than the iPhone 7 Plus’ single-core score of 3,533, although that's to be expected because the S8's Snapdragon 835 features eight cores, compared with four cores in the iPhone 7's A10 Fusion chip.
The Galaxy S8's graphics power was also quite impressive, as it hit 36,508 on 3DMark's Ice Storm Unlimited test. The iPhone 7 Plus came the closest to matching the S8, with a score of 36,104, while other Android adversaries, like the LG G6 (29,611) and the Google Pixel XL (28,182), were farther behind.
Another future-looking feature is Bluetooth 5.0, which you won’t be able to take advantage of fully until relevant devices with it are released. But, for now at least, you can finally pair two Bluetooth-enabled devices to the S8 at once and play music through both of them.
Nothing seems to make the Galaxy S8 break sweat – but that in itself isn’t a big deal any more. The £400 OnePlus 3T will handle most tasks you throw at it, as will the £160 Moto G5.
The Galaxy S8 is a fast handset – but I increasingly expect that, rather than being surprised by it. The chip-makers are advancing much faster than the apps for these flagships, and it does feel as though much of the power available here is probably wasted.
Samsung Galaxy S8 Camera
The S8 is a sizeable improvement over the S7 in almost every area, but the camera has received the fewest upgrades – on paper, at least. There’s no dual-sensor system here, no wide-angle lens or variable aperture. Instead, there’s a single 12-megapixel sensor behind a wide f/1.7 lens that uses the same Dual Pixel tech as the S7.
Samsung hasn't made a big song and dance about battery life on the Galaxy S8. This may be partly due to the fact it has the same 3,000mAh capacity as its predecessor.
The Galaxy S8 has a 3000mAh battery – one suspects this would have been larger were it not for the Galaxy Note 7 fires and explosions forcing Samsung to play it safe with the S8. However, given that's the same power pack as seen in the S7, and larger than the one in the S6, it should last just fine.
But can a phone with a 5.8-inch quad-HD+ HDR-ready display really last the whole day on a 3000mAh battery? That’s the same size of battery that managed to make it through just a day on the 5.1-inch Galaxy S7.
The answer is yes – but it isn’t so straightforward. The fact is that, more than ever, how long the battery lasts will depend on how you use the phone. You can change the performance, the screen resolution, whether or not brightness is boosted when you’re watching videos, and each of these will affect the battery in different ways.
Samsung has also thrown in fast and wireless charging (using any popular wireless charging standard around), and you've got loads of ways to make sure you don't run out of power with this handset.
Battery life will always be better when a phone is new and unused but we are, nevertheless, impressed with the Galaxy S8. It lasted almost 48 hours (including two nights) albeit with fairly light usage so on average we expect a little over 24 hours.
Samsung Galaxy S8 Biometrics
Life is so much easier and simpler without the trouble of having to remember one more password, one more PIN. And that's why the Galaxy S8 and S8+ come with three easy ways to unlock your phone.
We were worried that the fingerprint sensor’s placement right next to the camera on the back of the Galaxy S8 and S8+ might be a problem. And it was, initially. Because the sensor is fairly narrow, it’s difficult to target it without looking.
Samsung appears to have prioritised the symmetry of design over functionality here, so most users will be making the camera lens grubby when reaching for the sensor. The scanner is fast when it works, but the placement and size of it make it frustrating in use, especially with a case on.
The firm says you won't need the fingerprint scanner as much because of the improved Iris scanner which debuted on the Note 7. While this works, it's still frustrating to use a lot of the time as you'll need to hold the phone up like you're taking a selfie, hold it the right distance away and require things like good lighting.
If you're bothered about security then the Galaxy S8 is likely to be a bit annoying, with the best options being a pattern or numerical PIN rather than the more advanced biometrics.
Facial recognition – despite being the default out of the box – is a non-starter for us. The phone fails to recognise your face far too often, it doesn’t work in low light, and it can be spoofed by a photo. Nope, not happening.
There's nothing more infuriating about this feature than the fact you can't see if you're 'positioning' your face correctly. There's definitely an angle to hold it at that's optimal... but you have no idea why.
What users now expect from flagship phones – and what Samsung had done perfectly before – is a simple, muscle memory action that opens your phone. No extra pressing, no having to interact with the phone to open it up – just one single press to be securely into your handset.
The workaround we ended up with (as we’re not leaving our phones unlocked, which is what some might be tempted to do) is to use Smart Lock, where you can set up trusted places or connected devices to confirm your identity.
This means that if you leave your phone lying around at work or at home someone can jump right into it though, so you’re basically just preventing a thief from being able to access data if you lose the Galaxy S8 anywhere.
Samsung Galaxy S8 Price
The Galaxy S8 isn't as expensive as some feared, costing £689 with the Plus model costing an extra £90. That's still pretty pricey, though, and a fair chunk more than the Galaxy S7, which launched at £569.
You can order the S8 directly from Samsung or Carphone Warehouse. You can also order it on contract from as little as £37.99 per month from EE, Vodafone and O2 (through Carphone Warehouse) or from Three
The slightly good news is that you’re at least getting a 64GB version of this phone in all territories; the presence of a microSD slot means Samsung won’t be launching multiple variants of the phone in different regions, instead offering a decent amount of storage as standard and giving users the option to add to that if they so wish..
However, if you’re not desperate to own the Infinity Display on the Galaxy S8, then there’s not a lot of reason for you to buy this phone. The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is very similar in a lot of ways, and while it’s chunkier and less powerful, for most tasks it’s more than up to the job.
The camera is great, the screen is still tip-top, and things like high dynamic range in the display quality don’t really matter at this nascent stage in the tech’s life.
Samsung has thrown the best of every component it can into this phone, and it performs brilliantly as a result. Get over the high price and learn to live with the erratic iris scanner and you’re holding one of the best phones ever made.
In the end, however, whether you need to spend £600/$700+ on a phone is really the biggest barrier here. You can have a perfectly serviceable phone for £160 with the Moto G5, or for £200 with the Lenovo P2, or for £400 with the OnePlus 3T.
But, the Galaxy S8 genuinely feels like an upgrade from any other phone We’ve used in a long time. And for me, that makes it worth splashing out
The Best and Most Beautiful Phone Ever
Phones have become a little stale. Whether it’s an iPhone 7, Huawei P10, Sony Xperia XZ Premium or any other flagship phone, they all look and feel the same. But just when I thought a phone couldn’t surprise and delight us any more, the Samsung Galaxy S8 has proved us wrong.
From the moment we picked up the S8, we realised it was even more special than we expected. This is a phone that feels innovative, a phone that we can’t help but recommend – even if it will set you back £689/$720.
It's incredibly expensive in a world where mid-range phones are more than good enough to handle most tasks people like... but the second you pick it up it's easy to see why.
The Samsung Galaxy is a phone that's unlike anything you'll have seen on the market. It's just stunning.
OK, so the S8 is pretty. But it's also the most important Samsung phone right now, at least until the Galaxy Note 8 comes along. It's been helping restore buyers' confidence after the double Note 7 battery disaster (the S8's apparently selling like hotcakes), and it's a chance to cement the Samsung name as the top Android brand against upcoming rivals: the pure Android Google "Pixel 2," squeezable HTC U11 and cut-price OnePlus 5. It helps that soon, you'll be able to use the Galaxy S8 in Google's Daydream headset.
What makes the Galaxy S8 so special is this: A tall, narrow shape that fits snugly in my palm and curved sides that scream "classy." And the screen? 5.8 inches of colorful gorgeousness with a display that stretches from edge to edge with just a whisper of a bezel. For its looks alone, Samsung's flashiest phone lands at the top of the class. Trust me, when you see the S8 and larger, pricier S8 Plus, you're gonna want to put your hands all over them.
Samsung Galaxy S8 Design
Immerse yourself in a bigger view that still fits comfortably in your hand. Galaxy S8 and S8+ break free from the confines of bezels, offering a smooth, uninterrupted surface that flows seamlessly over the edges. To do this, we completely redesigned the phone from the inside out. And we embedded the home button under the screen, where it stays hidden until you need it. So you get a bigger, unobstructed view without a larger phone.
Nothing comes close to the Galaxy S8 design-wise. It’s the best-looking phone I’ve ever seen, leaving every other handset trailing in its wake.
The curved rear, as seen on the Galaxy S7, nestles perfectly in your palm, while the glass shimmers as the light hits it. The device is available in three colours – a dark black, bright silver and a grey with a blueish tinge – with no ugly white front plate in sight.
The way the Samsung Galaxy S8 is put together has to be the defining feature of the handset. It looks like a phone that's been brought back from the future, a device that we've been crying out for a phone manufacturer to be brave enough to put together.
The glass is curved on both sides, with the popularity of the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge convincing the South Korean brand that the time is ripe to make all its flagship phones look rounded and glossy, with the Edge screen now there by default.
The volume rocker and standby switch are joined by a new button on the side. This is a dedicated Bixby button – which I’ll cover in more detail in the Software section – and while it shows Samsung is taking its new virtual assistant seriously, it feels too much for Bixby to have its own button.
The S8 is thin and incredibly light at 155g, but it feels sturdy and precisely made. The last time Samsung opted for a huge change of direction with its flagship, many of the basic features were lost in the transition. Thankfully, this isn’t the case here. A microSD slot continues to sit tucked away with the nano-SIM, the criminally underrated Qi wireless charging is also present, and the device is IP68 water- and dust-resistant too, so it will survive a dunk in water for 30 minutes to depths of 1.5 metres.
The fingerprint scanner is now on the back, but awkwardly placed next to the camera rather than below it. Right-handed users are likely to smudge the camera when using it. This is our main bugbear in terms of the design and it should really be below the camera, despite creating an unsymmetrical look.
The Infinity Beyond the bezel Display sets a new standard for uninterrupted, immersive experiences. It enables an expanded screen size without necessitating a larger phone. So while the view is grander, Galaxy S8 and S8+ feel small in your hand, making them easy to hold and use.
There’s more to the display than just the curves. First, it has a new aspect ratio of 18.5:9, rather than 16:9. This means it’s taller, essentially giving you more space in a body that isn’t that much bigger than that of the S7. While the Galaxy S7 had a 5.1-inch display, the S8 bumps that to 5.8.
Like the majority of Samsung phones, the panel is AMOLED and has a slightly odd quad-HD+ 2960 x 1440 resolution. It’s also ‘Mobile HDR Premium’ certified, so you’ll be able to stream HDR (high dynamic range) shows from Amazon Prime and Netflix when those apps are updated. Arguably, HDR is the most important evolution in TV tech is recent years, offering better contrast and a brighter picture.
The colors are rich, the black and white contrast is immaculate, and everything just looks so pin-sharp. Streaming content in HD is a dream, and anything that's saved onto the device looks great.
In a move that’s surely to try to stretch out the fairly small 3000mAh battery, when you unbox your Galaxy S8 it will be set to display at 1080p rather than quad-HD. Most people probably won’t notice the difference – and that’s fine. But I’d suggest hopping into Settings and switching things up. Downscaling can leave some apps with oddly big fonts and a softer look on texts and icons; considering you’re spending £600/$700+ on a phone, you’ll probably want it to look its best.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 is the best phone out there for media binging, and I’ve started picking it up instead of my iPad when I want to watch something on the go. There’s a clever mode called ‘Video Enhancer’, which boosts the contrast and brightness in certain apps – Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube and so on – to give a pseudo-HDR effect. I wouldn’t recommend keeping it on all the time, due to the increased battery drain, but it does make a fantastic display even better.
Samsung Galaxy S8 OS
The Samsung Galaxy S8 is one of the most powerful phones , and if anyone who doesn't buy a Samsung because of the user interface is living in past.
In fact, the software layer on top of Android 7.0 is good-looking and functional. Icons are more mature, and the on-screen buttons – a first for a Samsung S-series phone – are angular and edgy.We're particularly a fan of the haptic feedback you get when you push the virtual home button, which can be accessed even when the display is off.
Things are miles better now in the interface, and Samsung has worked hard making everything appear where it should.
The left-most homescreen is Bixby’s home – but mostly, it just mimics Google Now. It will throw up some news, maybe a reminder to ring Mum, and push some funny YouTube videos, but we’ve seen this all before. You can’t even talk to Bixby yet, which appears to be a basic omission – and when it finally does arrive later in the spring, it will be limited to US English and Korean.
If Bixby was as powerful as the brand was promising it eventually will be, the interface would be even less of a thing to talk about, as you could just bark all your commands at your phone and it would do what you needed.
But for now you have to keep exercising those digit muscles and swipe around the display to order your favorite takeaway.
Bixby does have one redeeming feature. In the camera app, it will let you snap a picture of an item and use the AI to either find similar items, or get you a link to buy it. Again, this isn’t new, but at least there’s some use there.
Another new software feature is ‘DeX’. I like to think of this as ‘Microsoft Continuum, if it wasn’t terrible’.
Like Continuum, DeX requires a sold-separately dock that connects to an HDMI-equipped monitor and turns your Galaxy S8 into a mini-PC. The dock also has power, two USB-A ports and an Ethernet connector, along with a smattering of fans in the base to keep the phone from becoming too hot.
If you connect the phone via the USB-C port inside the cradle, a new desktop – which looks a lot like Windows 10 – pops up. Your apps are displayed in a very familiar layout and there’s a software dock along the bottom that lets you access all the phone and text functions of the phone.
The demonstration appeared to work very well and could make the Galaxy S8 a decent productivity device for anyone wanting to do general, basic office work. Samsung has even optimised its own browser so it loads the desktop version of websites.
The Galaxy S8 goes boldly forward into a new era of speed, thanks to Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 system on a chip (at least in the U.S.; in other regions, the S8 will have Samsung's Exynos 8895 chip). The S8 also comes with a healthy 4GB of memory, 64GB of storage (twice the amount you get from base models of the LG G6 and the Google Pixel) and microSD card expansion for people who need even more space.
Downloads, charging, and switching from app to app are all accomplished at incredibly fast speeds. Thanks to the most advanced 10nm processor: It's the world's first and it's on the Galaxy S8 and S8+. And because the Galaxy S8 and S8+ are meant to take spills, splashes, and dunks, you can keep going even in the rain—or in the shower.
The Galaxy S8's graphics power was also quite impressive, as it hit 36,508 on 3DMark's Ice Storm Unlimited test. The iPhone 7 Plus came the closest to matching the S8, with a score of 36,104, while other Android adversaries, like the LG G6 (29,611) and the Google Pixel XL (28,182), were farther behind.
Another future-looking feature is Bluetooth 5.0, which you won’t be able to take advantage of fully until relevant devices with it are released. But, for now at least, you can finally pair two Bluetooth-enabled devices to the S8 at once and play music through both of them.
Nothing seems to make the Galaxy S8 break sweat – but that in itself isn’t a big deal any more. The £400 OnePlus 3T will handle most tasks you throw at it, as will the £160 Moto G5.
Samsung Galaxy S8 Camera
The S8 is a sizeable improvement over the S7 in almost every area, but the camera has received the fewest upgrades – on paper, at least. There’s no dual-sensor system here, no wide-angle lens or variable aperture. Instead, there’s a single 12-megapixel sensor behind a wide f/1.7 lens that uses the same Dual Pixel tech as the S7.
Most smartphone cameras work best during the day. But your life is 24/7. SoSamsung built a camera that works day and night, and Samsung made it even better for the Galaxy S8 and S8+. The front and rear cameras are so fine-tuned that your photos come out bright and clear—even when there's very little light.
The most important tweak comes in the form of Samsung's new multi-image photo processing, which mimics the operation of the Google Pixel's HDR+ mode by taking multiple pictures when you press the shutter, selecting the best one, and enhancing that image with extra details and info from the remaining two pics.
The Galaxy S8, like the Google Pixel, shows it’s as much about the optics and sensor as how the software and image signal processor (ISP) work together. The photos achieved by the Galaxy S8 are truly stunning, and it’s a huge jump from the already excellent Galaxy S7.
The first thing you’ll notice about the camera is just how fast it is. A double-tap on the power key opens the camera quicker than any other phone, and focusing is equally snappy. I’ve probably taken over 1000 photos with the Galaxy S8, and no more than two or three have had to be deleted because they were either out of focus or the sensor had focused on the wrong spot. That’s incredible for a phone – even Google’s Pixel.
It’s a versatile camera too, whether you’re taking landscape shots or portraits in daytime or at night. The fantastic auto-HDR mode – something that’s turned on by default and I would suggest keeping on – levels out exposure and contrast when there’s bright sunlight, leaving you with intensely colourful shots. Sometimes you’ll find the colours more vibrant than they actually are, especially on the already quite saturated display, but that isn’t something I necessarily dislike.
The most important tweak comes in the form of Samsung's new multi-image photo processing, which mimics the operation of the Google Pixel's HDR+ mode by taking multiple pictures when you press the shutter, selecting the best one, and enhancing that image with extra details and info from the remaining two pics.
The Galaxy S8, like the Google Pixel, shows it’s as much about the optics and sensor as how the software and image signal processor (ISP) work together. The photos achieved by the Galaxy S8 are truly stunning, and it’s a huge jump from the already excellent Galaxy S7.
The first thing you’ll notice about the camera is just how fast it is. A double-tap on the power key opens the camera quicker than any other phone, and focusing is equally snappy. I’ve probably taken over 1000 photos with the Galaxy S8, and no more than two or three have had to be deleted because they were either out of focus or the sensor had focused on the wrong spot. That’s incredible for a phone – even Google’s Pixel.
It’s a versatile camera too, whether you’re taking landscape shots or portraits in daytime or at night. The fantastic auto-HDR mode – something that’s turned on by default and I would suggest keeping on – levels out exposure and contrast when there’s bright sunlight, leaving you with intensely colourful shots. Sometimes you’ll find the colours more vibrant than they actually are, especially on the already quite saturated display, but that isn’t something I necessarily dislike.
Samsung Galaxy S8 Battery
The Galaxy S8 has a 3000mAh battery – one suspects this would have been larger were it not for the Galaxy Note 7 fires and explosions forcing Samsung to play it safe with the S8. However, given that's the same power pack as seen in the S7, and larger than the one in the S6, it should last just fine.
But can a phone with a 5.8-inch quad-HD+ HDR-ready display really last the whole day on a 3000mAh battery? That’s the same size of battery that managed to make it through just a day on the 5.1-inch Galaxy S7.
The answer is yes – but it isn’t so straightforward. The fact is that, more than ever, how long the battery lasts will depend on how you use the phone. You can change the performance, the screen resolution, whether or not brightness is boosted when you’re watching videos, and each of these will affect the battery in different ways.
Battery life will always be better when a phone is new and unused but we are, nevertheless, impressed with the Galaxy S8. It lasted almost 48 hours (including two nights) albeit with fairly light usage so on average we expect a little over 24 hours.
Samsung Galaxy S8 Biometrics
We were worried that the fingerprint sensor’s placement right next to the camera on the back of the Galaxy S8 and S8+ might be a problem. And it was, initially. Because the sensor is fairly narrow, it’s difficult to target it without looking.
Samsung appears to have prioritised the symmetry of design over functionality here, so most users will be making the camera lens grubby when reaching for the sensor. The scanner is fast when it works, but the placement and size of it make it frustrating in use, especially with a case on.
The firm says you won't need the fingerprint scanner as much because of the improved Iris scanner which debuted on the Note 7. While this works, it's still frustrating to use a lot of the time as you'll need to hold the phone up like you're taking a selfie, hold it the right distance away and require things like good lighting.
If you're bothered about security then the Galaxy S8 is likely to be a bit annoying, with the best options being a pattern or numerical PIN rather than the more advanced biometrics.
Facial recognition – despite being the default out of the box – is a non-starter for us. The phone fails to recognise your face far too often, it doesn’t work in low light, and it can be spoofed by a photo. Nope, not happening.
There's nothing more infuriating about this feature than the fact you can't see if you're 'positioning' your face correctly. There's definitely an angle to hold it at that's optimal... but you have no idea why.
What users now expect from flagship phones – and what Samsung had done perfectly before – is a simple, muscle memory action that opens your phone. No extra pressing, no having to interact with the phone to open it up – just one single press to be securely into your handset.
The workaround we ended up with (as we’re not leaving our phones unlocked, which is what some might be tempted to do) is to use Smart Lock, where you can set up trusted places or connected devices to confirm your identity.
This means that if you leave your phone lying around at work or at home someone can jump right into it though, so you’re basically just preventing a thief from being able to access data if you lose the Galaxy S8 anywhere.
You can order the S8 directly from Samsung or Carphone Warehouse. You can also order it on contract from as little as £37.99 per month from EE, Vodafone and O2 (through Carphone Warehouse) or from Three
The slightly good news is that you’re at least getting a 64GB version of this phone in all territories; the presence of a microSD slot means Samsung won’t be launching multiple variants of the phone in different regions, instead offering a decent amount of storage as standard and giving users the option to add to that if they so wish..
Should you buy One?
Samsung has taken the best phone around and made it even better with an impressive Infinity screen and premium design. It ticks a shedload of boxes - as you'd expect from a flagship. It's the best phone of 2017 so far, but it is expensive and the biometrics are a let down. The OnePlus 5 is already a strong competitor, and we're keen to see what Apple can offer in way of a challenge with its iPhone 8.However, if you’re not desperate to own the Infinity Display on the Galaxy S8, then there’s not a lot of reason for you to buy this phone. The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is very similar in a lot of ways, and while it’s chunkier and less powerful, for most tasks it’s more than up to the job.
The camera is great, the screen is still tip-top, and things like high dynamic range in the display quality don’t really matter at this nascent stage in the tech’s life.
Samsung has thrown the best of every component it can into this phone, and it performs brilliantly as a result. Get over the high price and learn to live with the erratic iris scanner and you’re holding one of the best phones ever made.
But, the Galaxy S8 genuinely feels like an upgrade from any other phone We’ve used in a long time. And for me, that makes it worth splashing out
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