Samsung Galaxy S8
The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ are Android smartphones produced by Samsung Electronics as the eighth generation of the Samsung Galaxy S series. The Samsung Galaxy S8 & Samsung Galaxy S8+ were unveiled on 29 March 2017 and directly succeeded the Samsung Galaxy S7 & S7 Edge, with a North American release on 21 April 2017 and international rollout throughout April and May. The Samsung Galaxy S8 Active was announced on 8 August 2017 and is exclusive to certain US cellular carriers.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 and Samsung Galaxy S8+ contain upgraded hardware and major design changes over the S7 line, including larger screens with a taller aspect ratio and curved sides on both the smaller and larger models, iris and face recognition, a new suite of virtual assistant features known as Bixby, a shift from Micro-USB to USB-C charging, and Samsung DeX, a docking station accessory that allows the phones to be used with a desktop interface with keyboard and mouse input support. The Active line up features tougher materials designed for protection against shock, water, shatter and dust with a metal frame and a tough texture for improved grip that makes the S8 Active have a rugged design. The Active's screen measures the same size as the standard S8 model but loses the curved edges in favour of a metal frame.
The S8 and S8+ received positive reviews. Their design, screen quality, and form factor received praise, while critics also liked the updated software and camera optimizations. They received criticism for duplicate software apps, lackluster Bixby features at launch, and for the placement of the fingerprint sensor on the rear next to the camera lens. A video published after the phones' release proved that the devices' facial and iris scanners can be fooled by suitable photographs of the user.
The S8 and S8+ were in high demand at release. During the pre-order period, a record one million units were booked in South Korea, and overall sales numbers were 30% higher than the Galaxy S7. However, subsequent reports in May announced sales of over five million units, a notably lower first-month sales number than previous Galaxy S series models.
On 11 March 2018, Samsung launched the successor to the S8, the Samsung Galaxy S9.
History
Before its official announcement, media outlets reported on rumours and information from industry insiders. In December 2016, SamMobile reported that the Galaxy S8 would not feature a headphone jack, later reported to be a false rumour. In January 2017, The Guardian reported on bigger screens for both of the two phone sizes, with edge-to-edge "infinity" displays and very limited bezels, and an iris scanner. Additionally, The Guardian stated that the phones would come with 64 gigabytes of storage and support microSD cards, use USB-C connectors, and feature a "Bixby" intelligent personal assistant. Soon after, VentureBeat revealed photos of the phones and additional details, including the lack of physical navigation and home buttons, in which the fingerprint sensor was moved to the back of the phone. Evan Blass tweeted in mid-March about color options for the phones.The Galaxy S8 and S8+ were officially unveiled on 29 March 2017, with pre-orders beginning on 30 March and official U.S. release on 21 April 2017. Following Best Buy retail listings in March, Samsung opened pre-orders for unlocked U.S. handsets on 9 May 2017, with availability starting 31 May.
The devices have also been released internationally. On 21 April 2017, they were made available in South Korea, Canada, and Taiwan. On 28 April, they were made available in the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, and Russia. followed by Singapore one day later. On 5 May, they were made available in Malaysia. New Zealand, Pakistan, India, the Philippines, and Thailand. followed by Brazil on 12 May. On 25 May, they were made available in China, and Hong Kong. On 8 June, they were made available in Japan.
In July 2017, pictures of the Galaxy S8 Active were leaked on Reddit, and the following month, AT&T "accidentally" confirmed its existence through a document in a promotional campaign. It officially became available for pre-order, exclusively through AT&T, on 8 August 2017, with in-store purchase available 11 August. VentureBeat reported in late September that the device would also become available through T-Mobile in November, and Samsung subsequently confirmed both T-Mobile and Sprint availability in early November.
Specifications
Hardware
Display
The Galaxy S8 and S8+ both feature 1440p OLED displays, with an 18.5:9 aspect ratio taller than the 16:9 ratio used by the majority of smartphones released until then. The S8 has a 5.8-inch panel, while the S8+ uses a larger 6.2-inch panel. The displays on both devices curve along the side bezels of the device, with minimal bezels that Samsung markets as an "infinity display", and the display panel itself have rounded edges. They use DCI-P3, offering what screen-testing website DisplayMate describes as the largest native color gamut, highest peak brightness, highest contrast rating in ambient light, highest screen resolution, lowest reflectance, and highest contrast ratio.Chipsets
The S8 features an octa-core Exynos 8895 system-on-chip and 4 GB of RAM; models in North American and East Asian markets utilize the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 instead. Both chips are manufactured by Samsung with a 10 nm process. They contain 64 GB of internal storage, expandable via microSD card.Design
In the United States, the S8 and S8+ are available in Midnight Black, Orchid Gray, and Arctic Silver color options, whereas gold and blue are available internationally. The blue option was made available in the U.S. in July 2017.Unlike past Galaxy S series models, the S8 line does not feature physical navigation keys, electing to use on-screen keys instead. However, unlike other implementations, the home button can still be activated if it is hidden or the screen is off. The S8's display features pressure sensitivity limited to the home button. To prevent the home button from burn-in damage, its position moves slightly.
The Galaxy S8 Active features a rugged design and significantly tougher materials to make it shock, shatter, water, and dust resistant. It has a larger battery than either of the regular S8s, at 4000 mAh. Unlike the previous phones in the Active line, the S8 Active does not have tactile buttons, instead using onscreen keys like the regular variants of the S8. It also no longer has the dedicated action button of previous versions which could be reprogrammed to be a shortcut to favorite apps, with the action button being replaced with the Bixby button. The "infinity" edge display of the standard models is removed, and replaced with a metal frame and bumpers in the corners to protect from shocks, while the back is fitted with a "rugged, tough texture for a secure grip". Its screen also measures 5.8 inches, the size of the regular S8, and has quad HD Super AMOLED in 18.5:9 aspect ratio. The S8 Active is sold in Meteor Gray, but AT&T also has a Titanium Gold color.
Camera
While The Verge claims that the S8 uses the same 12 MP rear camera as the S7, though with software improvements, a report from PhoneArena claims that the phones carry new, custom camera modules. In addition, the S8 has a Pro Mode, which functions similarly to a DSLR camera and has custom options for shutter speed, ISO, and colour balance. It also supports the raw imagery format Digital Negative. The front-facing camera was upgraded to an 8-megapixel sensor with autofocus. The S8 features fingerprint and iris scanners; the fingerprint reader is relocated to the rear of the device, to the left of the camera, due to the removal of the physical home button. In addition to an iris scanner, the S8 also features face-scanning as an option to unlock the phone. Face recognition technology had previously been implemented in earlier models since the Galaxy S III.Batteries
The S8 and S8+ use non-removable 3000 and 3500 mAh Lithium-Ion batteries respectively, as compared to 3000 and 3600 mAh on the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge respectively. Samsung stated that it had engineered the batteries to retain their capacity for a longer period than previous models.The S8 supports AirFuel Inductive and Qi wireless charging standards. Due to the recalls of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, Samsung said in a press conference it is committed to stricter quality control and safety testing procedures on all of the company's future products.
The device can charge at 9 W through an ordinary USB and 12.5 W through USB-C power delivery. Charging speeds upwards of 15 watts is attainable through Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0, however fast charging is disabled during operation of the device, throttling charging speed down to less than half, regardless of temperature.
Storage
Samsung also launched a Galaxy S8+ with 128 GB of storage and 6 GB of RAM exclusively in China and South Korea, and a bundle offer in the countries provides both the exclusive model and the Samsung DeX docking station. The unique variant was also released in India in June 2017.Connectivity
The T-Mobile US version of the S8 Active also supports the company's 600 MHz LTE network that was starting to be rolled out at the time the device was announced.Keyboard Cover
The Samsung Galaxy S8 Keyboard Cover is an accessory for the 2017 smartphone Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+. It released in early 2017 priced at $59.99, The biggest criticism of the Keyboard Cover was the navigation buttons switching to default everytime you use the case. The keyboard is also default to QWERTY Keyboard.The Keyboard Cover does not use Bluetooth, saving battery life. With the Keyboard Cover installed, the visible portion of the screen shrinks, but the word prediction is still available from the screen. In March 2017, details of the Samsung DeX station, official Samsung QI wireless charger, and the Keyboard Cover were leaked.