Samsung unveils new flagship smartphone Galaxy S8
Much is at stake for Samsung after it suffered $5 billion loss following its global recall of Note 7 last year
Samsung on Wednesday officially unveiled two new flagship devices Galaxy S8 and S8+ in New York.
The phones, which will go on sale on April 21, are slightly longer but comparable in width to their predecessors as Samsung has eliminated nearly all of the bezel borders around the face to maximize the screen surface area.
Speaking at the launch, Samsung Mobile chief DJ Koh admitted that the company had a turbulent year. “It has been a challenging year for Samsung, we have learned some hard lessons,” said Koh.
“The Galaxy S8 and S8+ handsets mark a new era of smartphone design," he added.
Design and features
The Galaxy S8 follows the Samsung’s current design language with glass panels wrapped around a metal frame. However, the South Korean manufacturer has added a twist to it by making the new phone virtually bezel less.
The home button has also been abandoned in favour of a virtual key on the screen and the fingers print scanner has been moved to the back of the device to accommodate for smaller bezels. Both S8 and S8 plus are with curved edges with the only difference being the screen size.
Samsung S8 and S8+ are available in five colours including, Midnight Black, Orchid Gray, Coral Blue, Arctic Silve and Maple Gold.
Depending on the region, you’ll either get Qualcomm’s newest (and slightly rarer) Snapdragon 835 or Samsung’s own Exynos. Both the devices have 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage and runs on Android Nougat 7.0.
The standard S8 has a 570ppi 5.8-inch screen Quad HD+ Super AMOLED display, with 2960 x 1440 resolution. The larger S8+ has 529ppi 6.2-inch display.
As expected, both Galaxy S8 and S8+ are rated IP8, which means the phones are water resistant up to 1.5 meters of water for 30 minutes.
Samsung has added the facial recognition feature to new flagship devices to make unlocking your phone more convenient. Besides facial recognition feature, the new Samsung devices also have Iris scanner as well as the finger print on the back.
Coming to the batteries, the standard S8 model has a 3000mAh battery, which the company claims is enough to give up to 20 hours of talk time. S8 Plus has a larger 3500mAh with a promise of up to 24 hours of talk time.
Camera
Galaxy S8 and S8+ have 8MP front camera with F1.7 lens and autofocus features. Both the devices have 12MP camera on the back, capable of shooting 4K videos.
Say hello to Bixby
Samsung is also introducing a voice-powered digital assistant named “Bixby” its flagship Galaxy S8.
Bixby is entering a crowded field of digital assistants powered by artificial intelligence that includes Apple’s Siri, Google Assistant, Microsoft Cortana and Amazon’s Alexa.
Koh said Bixby would provide users with "more and more personalized help," using voice commands to navigate apps and services.
Much is riding on the new flagship device for the South Korean manufacturer after it suffered a whopping $5 billion loss following its global recall of the Note 7 last year.
Samsung’s reputation took a hammering after it announced a recall of fire-prone Note 7s, only for reports to emerge that replacement devices also caught fire. Images of melted Samsung devices spread on social media and airlines banned travellers from carrying them on flights. The handset, Samsung’s answer to Apple Inc’s iPhones, was withdrawn from sale in October less than two months after its launch, in one of the biggest failures in tech history.
The phones, which will go on sale on April 21, are slightly longer but comparable in width to their predecessors as Samsung has eliminated nearly all of the bezel borders around the face to maximize the screen surface area.
Speaking at the launch, Samsung Mobile chief DJ Koh admitted that the company had a turbulent year. “It has been a challenging year for Samsung, we have learned some hard lessons,” said Koh.
“The Galaxy S8 and S8+ handsets mark a new era of smartphone design," he added.
Design and features
The Galaxy S8 follows the Samsung’s current design language with glass panels wrapped around a metal frame. However, the South Korean manufacturer has added a twist to it by making the new phone virtually bezel less.
The home button has also been abandoned in favour of a virtual key on the screen and the fingers print scanner has been moved to the back of the device to accommodate for smaller bezels. Both S8 and S8 plus are with curved edges with the only difference being the screen size.
Samsung S8 and S8+ are available in five colours including, Midnight Black, Orchid Gray, Coral Blue, Arctic Silve and Maple Gold.
Depending on the region, you’ll either get Qualcomm’s newest (and slightly rarer) Snapdragon 835 or Samsung’s own Exynos. Both the devices have 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage and runs on Android Nougat 7.0.
The standard S8 has a 570ppi 5.8-inch screen Quad HD+ Super AMOLED display, with 2960 x 1440 resolution. The larger S8+ has 529ppi 6.2-inch display.
As expected, both Galaxy S8 and S8+ are rated IP8, which means the phones are water resistant up to 1.5 meters of water for 30 minutes.
Samsung has added the facial recognition feature to new flagship devices to make unlocking your phone more convenient. Besides facial recognition feature, the new Samsung devices also have Iris scanner as well as the finger print on the back.
Coming to the batteries, the standard S8 model has a 3000mAh battery, which the company claims is enough to give up to 20 hours of talk time. S8 Plus has a larger 3500mAh with a promise of up to 24 hours of talk time.
Camera
Galaxy S8 and S8+ have 8MP front camera with F1.7 lens and autofocus features. Both the devices have 12MP camera on the back, capable of shooting 4K videos.
Say hello to Bixby
Samsung is also introducing a voice-powered digital assistant named “Bixby” its flagship Galaxy S8.
Bixby is entering a crowded field of digital assistants powered by artificial intelligence that includes Apple’s Siri, Google Assistant, Microsoft Cortana and Amazon’s Alexa.
Koh said Bixby would provide users with "more and more personalized help," using voice commands to navigate apps and services.
Much is riding on the new flagship device for the South Korean manufacturer after it suffered a whopping $5 billion loss following its global recall of the Note 7 last year.
Samsung’s reputation took a hammering after it announced a recall of fire-prone Note 7s, only for reports to emerge that replacement devices also caught fire. Images of melted Samsung devices spread on social media and airlines banned travellers from carrying them on flights. The handset, Samsung’s answer to Apple Inc’s iPhones, was withdrawn from sale in October less than two months after its launch, in one of the biggest failures in tech history.