Samsung Galaxy S8 is now a reality and as excited as it may seem, the company came from a pretty catastrophic hole created by the Galaxy Note 7 last year. We are glad Samsung came out with a smartphone which would, perhaps, change our perception towards smartphones yet again. The Galaxy S series has been one of the dearests to Samsung and has always done wonders for the South Korean multinational and based on what all happened at the launch event, the Galaxy S8 looks to be yet another winner. Besides a bigger sibling in the name of Galaxy S8+, the new S8 has a lot to offer which is both innovative yet familiar so here are our top 8 features from the Galaxy S8 which would probably turn a lot of eyeballs.
Display
The moment you look at the new Galaxy S8, you will surely be awed by the new Infinity Display. A concept with a familiar name but a new output is what the new display on both the Galaxy S8 and S8+ is all about. The Galaxy S8 sports a 5.8-inch display while the S8+ comes with a bigger 6.2-inch display. Both the displays are curved on the edges at the sides making it practically a bezel-less device. Further, we have a Super AMOLED panel on both of them along with Quad HD (1440 x 2960 pixels) resolution with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. The result is a truly immersive viewing experience without distractions although we would be anxious if we accidentally drop any of these devices.
Compact Design
Well, a 5.8-inch and a 6.2-inch display would sound massive to you on paper, however, the Galaxy S8 is not that big after all. If we dig into figures, the Galaxy S8 measures 148.9 x 68.1 x 8 mm which is smaller than iPhone 7 Plus, OnePlus 3 and even last year’s Galaxy S7 Edge. Both the Galaxy S8 and S8+ sports a beautiful design with a symmetrical blend of Glass and Metal running all across the body. The back of the device is glass while the sides are built out of metal. Barring no bezels on the sides, the top and bottom chins are also extremely thin which is why Samsung claims that the new S8 is compact even though it sports a large 5.8-inch display.
Specifications
Although specs were not the highlight of Samsung’s Unpacked event held in New York, we can’t deny the fact that the new S8 is currently the most powerful Android device. Under that beautiful display lies Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 Octa-Core processor clocked at 2.3GHz along with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage, which can be further expanded up to 256GB via microSD card. We saw a bunch of devices housing the new Snapdragon 835 at this year’s Mobile World Congress but the Galaxy S8 will apparently be the first device sporting the Chipset to go on sale for the public.
Camera
While other handset manufacturers are gradually transiting to a Dual-Camera setup ecosystem, Samsung has yet again decided to go with a single yet solid 12-megapixel sensor at the back. Surprisingly, the sensor looks to be the same as last year’s Note 7 or Galaxy S7. The camera comes with Samsung’s Dual Pixel technology and f/1.7 Aperture which would surely shine when we click photos in low-light with this device. At the front, we get an 8-megapixel sensor with smart Autofocus and the same f/1.7 aperture. It is too early to comment anything about the camera but based on how Samsung has been with the cameras, the one on the new Galaxy S8 will surely the best bet for some time now.
Bixby
Alright, this is where things get really interesting. Samsung Galaxy S8 was long reported to come with its own virtual smart assistant powered by Artificial Intelligence, however, up until now we didn’t really get to see it in the practical world but now we have. Bixby, Samsung’s own AI-based virtual assistant which is deeply integrated with the OS along with the native apps. The voice assistant is integrated with several Samsung native apps and features including Camera, Contacts, Gallery, Messages and Settings, with the plan to expand its capabilities to include more Samsung and third-party apps in the near future. In short, with Bixby, Samsung claims that everything which can be done through touch can now be done via Voice.
Iris Scanner, IP68 certification and 3.5 mm Headphone jack
Samsung first introduced the Iris scanner in last year’s deceased Galaxy Note 7, but, the company claims that the one present on the Galaxy S8 is much better and accurate. Moreover, similar to the Galaxy S7, the new S8 boasts IP68 water and dust resistance which is always a plus when we move up higher in the premium segment. For the record, Google Pixel and the recently launched HTC U Ultra both lack water resistance certification. Also, surprisingly the Galaxy S8 does have a 3.5 mm headphone jack.
Security
While Iris Scanner does look impressive but it is not the only pillar of the amount of security which Samsung promises with the new S8. Apart from the regular fingerprint scanner at the back and an impressive iris scanner at the front, the new S8 and S8+ also comes with Samsung Knox which is company’s defense-grade security platform. To explain, Knox is a multi-layered technology built into both the hardware and software of Samsung’s latest devices. Further, Samsung has also upgraded Samsung Pass which allows you to enter different apps and services via your biometrics. Although the support is limited, as of now, but Samsung claims to push Samsung Pass to more third-party apps in future.
Samsung Dex
This is actually not a Galaxy S8 specific feature but the fact that it was unveiled the device, we decided to add it to our list. Samsung Dex is a unique dock which will transform your smartphone into a computer with a plug and play interface. The working of this dock is a lot similar to Microsoft Continuum. You can simply place your Galaxy S8 on the dock and bump the whole interface on the big screen in a desktop mode. This can come in really handy when you need to do tasks like composing or editing presentations, multitask quickly.