Samsung Galaxy S8 & Galaxy S8+ Review

TO INFINITY AND BEYOND…

A flagship phone launch is important to every company but this time, it’s more so for Samsung. The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are the first flagship devices after Samsung recalled its Galaxy Note7 smartphone last year. But are the devices great enough to prove Samsung’s point that it is still the number one Android manufacturer? Read on.

Let’s get this straight: the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are beautifully designed phones. Last year’s Galaxy S7 edge was a stunner in its own right but Samsung has clearly outdone itself. Interestingly, Samsung has gone with curved displays for both the variants unlike what the brand did with the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S7 series. There are other changes as well. For instance, the bezel-less screen takes up literally the whole front, which means a physical home button with integrated fingerprint sensor has been given a miss. Instead, Samsung has put the home button under the screen and the fingerprint sensor has been moved to the back.

The placement of the fingerprint reader is adjacent to the camera sensor, which in our opinion, is rather odd and increases the chances for the fingers to touch the camera glass inadvertently. The glass back looks pretty good but make sure you have a handy cloth with you at all times, because it is a fingerprint magnet.

As for the button and port placements, the right side hosts the power button whereas the left features the volume buttons along with the dedicated Bixby button. The top side features the Dual SIM hybrid slot while the bottom side sports a the 3.5mm headphone jack, USB Type-C port and loudspeaker. There’s also an iris scanner placed on the front. Oh, and the phones’ retain the IP68 certification so that you can dunk them in water in 1.5m for up to 30 minutes.

When it comes to the size, both Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are taller but narrower, which ensures a good grip. The Galaxy S8, we feel, has the perfect size while the Galaxy S8+ is manageable, but would require both the hands for regular use.

In short, Samsung should be proud of these two new lookers in its repertoire. The brand has certainly set a benchmark for other smartphone makers when it comes to design.

INFINITY MAGIC

The Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+ screens are known as Infinity Display and all it takes is one look at them to know why they are called so. The 5.8-inch screen on the Galaxy S8 and 6.2-inch Galaxy S8+ virtually take up the front area entirely (barring the top and bottom bezel), giving you an all-screen illusion. It’s a Super AMOLED panel with both phones supporting up to Quad HD+ resolution (2960×1440). Interestingly, the default resolution of the display is Full HD+ (2220×1080) but can be easily tweaked in the display menu. The colors are vivid, as is typically the case with OLED panels, with the option to adjust color temperature, sharpness and saturation. Our unit did not face the red tint issue – a recent software update has added a bit more color customization to take care of that. Other display adjustments include the option to activate or deactivate the blue light filter and the ability to run apps in full screen. Do note though, not all apps and games will work full screen.

SOLID HARDWARE, CLEANER SOFTWARE

The Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+ come with two different processors. However, for the Indian market, Samsung sells both the variants with Exynos chip. The new phones are equipped with Samsung’s latest lOnm Exynos 8895 processor, which in simple words, means more efficient performance and improved battery life compared to last year’s 14nm processor found in the Galaxy S7 series.

Coupled with 4GB RAM, the phones work smooth as butter. They run Android 7 Nougat and are based on new Ul dubbed Samsung Experience. While you’d see some nuances of TouchWiz, as a whole, the new interface is cleaner and faster.

The dedicated app icon has been removed for an upward or downward swipe to reveal the app drawer. The edge panels and edge lighting stay but edge feeds that used to reveal content in a locked state have been shown the door in the Galaxy S8 series.

There are other software enhancements like Game mode, One-handed mode, Multi-window mode and Panic mode, which, on pressing the power key three times, calls India’s emergency service number, 112,. However, the inclusion of Panic mode has necessitated the removal of the handy quick camera access found on global variants.

The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ also support Samsung Pay in India, which allows users to transact through

RECOMMENDED ACCESSORIES

SAMSUNG DEX

Transform your Galaxy S8 phone to a full-fledged PC with DeX. Just dock the phone and you can use compatible apps on a large-sized display. DeX is currently compatible with Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ shop.samsung.com

STUFFCOOL CARAFI

Although the Galaxy S8 and S8+ are pretty to look at, Stuffcool’s Carafi elevates its style and at the same time gives the phone’s glassy back, a much needed grip. stuffcool.com

SAMSUNG WIRELESS CHARGER

Lose those pesky wires in favour of the wireless charger from Samsung. It charges the Galaxy S8/S8+ wirelessly and can go from 0 to 100 in about 2.5 hours. samsung.com

a credit card, debit card, Paytm or even UPI.

In terms of security, the phones are equipped with an oddly placed fingerprint sensor at the back and an iris scanner at the front. The fingerprint sensor works with amazing accuracy but the iris scanner is more about luck. While we had the phones for testing, it wasn’t often that they were able to detect our iris, despite trying to unlock in well-lit areas. Face recognition is fairly accurate and has better chances of working than the embedded iris scanner.

The Always-On display has got some improvements as well. In addition to showing off the time, notifications and calendar, Always-On display now supports FaceWidgets that give quick access to music controls, today’s schedule and alarm.

The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ also come with Bixby, Samsung’s new virtual assistant, which can be activated with a press of a dedicated button on the phone. Bixby collates information, just like Google Now, and shows everything in one place, such as today’s schedule, Samsung Health info, apps and lots more. The display cards and other information vary according to the use of the phone and the location. Currently, Bixby is in its nascent stage with limited functionality. The phones also have something known as Bixby Vision, which makes use of the camera to intelligently detect and suggest further action. For instance, pointing the camera to a QR code will reveal the code. The detection is generally fast but relies on an internet connection.

Both phones come with a 12MP f/1.7 at the rear and an upgraded 8MP f/1.7 on the front. Just like its predecessor, the Galaxy S8 series takes some great pictures with fast focus, good color balance and sharpness. The phones also come with additional modes like Pro – to give extra control over the picture – Food, Hyperlapse, Slow motion, Panorama, Selective focus and Virtual Shot. You can download more from Samsung’s app store. The camera app has also added a variety of live filters and stickers that can be used in real time.

The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ feature 3000mAh and 3500mAh battery respectively and going just by the capacity, it’s safe to say that Galaxy S8+ offers better battery life. In our regular use, the Galaxy S8 offered about 10-12 hours of battery life on a single charge, whereas Galaxy S8+ crossed 17-18 hours with ease. Both phones were subjected to moderate to heavy use, from watching videos and web surfing to attending calls and playing music. Both phones support fast as well as wireless charging but there’s no improvement in the charging time when compared to Galaxy S7 series.

WORTH THE SPEND?

Everything boils down to one question – is it worth it? That actually depends. Both Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are great phones, no doubt, but there’s not much of an incentive if you’re upgrading from the Galaxy S7 series. If you’re coming from Galaxy S6, however, or crossing over from a competitive brand, you’ll love what Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ have to offer. The camera, overall performance are great and that display, well, that’s a guaranteed head-turner.

Verdict

SAYS The Galaxy S8 series is the best Android flaqship with impressive design, camera and performance

RATES Design, Camera T3

SLATES Battery life in Galaxy S8, fingerprint magnet

Rating

S8 4/5

S8+ 3.5/5

Specification

PRICE Galaxy S8: `57,900, S8+: ` 64,900 URL samsung.com/in
DIMENSIONS Galaxy S8: 148.9×68.1×8.0 mm, S8+: 159.5×73.4×8.1 mm

WEIGHT Galaxy S8: 155g, S8+: 173g

DISPLAY Galaxy S8: 5.8-inch Super AMOLED, S8+: 6.2-inch Super AMOLED
RESOLUTION Quad HD+ (2960×1440)

CPU Exynos 8895 octa-core

RAM 4GB LPDDR4

STORAGE 64GB internal, microSD card support up to 256GB
DUAL SIM Yes (Hybrid slot)

WATER RESISTANT Yes (IP68)

CAMERA Dual Pixel f/1.7 12MP (rear), f/1.7 8MP (front) OS Android 7 (Nougat)
BATTERY Galaxy S8: 3000mAh, S8+ 3500mAh

7Review earns Amazon affiliate commissions from qualifying purchases. You can support the site directly via Paypal donations ☕. Thank you!
We will be happy to hear your thoughts

Leave a reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

7Review
Logo