Review: Samsung Galaxy S8 ~ SmartWorld

The lack of any visible bezel makes the S8 the smartphone equal of an infinity pool.

Last week, Samsung's unveiled its new S8 smartphones, the 5.8-inch S8 and its big brother, the 6.2-inch S8+.

Other than the bigger display and battery, the two phones are identical.

Both have a curvaceous body that feels great in the hand. The curved glass front and back tucks into a shiny alloy band, giving the phone an organic look and feel.

The lack of any visible bezel makes the S8 the smartphone equal of an infinity pool. It's a striking effect. That said, it's slippery so a protective case is a good idea.

The similarities to the S7 Edge may be obvious, but button placement is the exception.

The fingerprint scanner is no longer part of a physical home button. Samsung's trademark lozenge-shaped home button has been submerged under the screen and it is now a pressure-sensitive button. This frees up screen space yet still provides tactile feedback when pressed.

The fingerprint scanner got moved to the back of the device. I've got mixed feelings about the move. I often found myself tapping the rear camera lens by mistake, leaving oily smears. I soon stopped using the rear fingerprint sensor. This was because the iris scanner allowed me to unlock the S8 by looking at it.

For some reason, Samsung decided to swap the location of the recent apps and back button. It isn't a biggie, but it did give me pause for thought. That said, they can get reverted to a more standard layout using the settings.

THE SCREEN

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ smartphones are displayed during the Samsung Unpacked event last week.

The screen on the S8 deserves special mention.

As you'd expect with an AMOLED display, colours pop and contrast levels are off the scale. What impressed though was the use of mobile HDR. It pulled a lot of extra detail out of shadows and in the darker regions of video.

All-told, the screen on the S8 raises the bar for all other phone displays. Matching it is going to be a challenge for other smartphone manufacturers.

PERFORMANCE

The S8 uses an in-house Samsung developed Exynos 8895 processor. Samsung says it packs at least 10 per cent more oomph than the already powerful Exynos CPU used in the S7 Edge. It's complimented by a Mali G71 GPU.

On the internal storage front, the S8 comes with 64GB, and like the S7 Edge, it is expandable via MicroSD card. Although the S8 only has 4GB of RAM, it ran like a cut cat. Hiccups, slowdowns, and stutters were non-existent. Media, games and other demanding apps ran smoothly.

The S8+ runs Android Nougat which is overlaid with Samsung's latest version of Touchwiz. Samsung has pared back previous features to the point where Touchwiz now looks a whole lot like stock Android. Like the Pixel smartphone, the app drawer is available with an upwards swipe.

Samsung proved a lot of speculators wrong by not adding dual cameras to the S8. They've instead opted for a "if it isn't broken, don't fix it" approach. This saw them sticking with a single lens/sensor for the S8's rear camera.

The same dual-pixel technology whose fast focus capabilities won Samsung many fans is back. Both the S8 and the S8+ have 12MP rear sensors. The aperture is f/1.7 which allows them to shoot passable photos under low-light conditions.

A clever innovation see's the S8 shooting three photos in rapid succession. These are then combined for a better photo. If it is business at the back, then it's selfies at the front. The front 8MP sensor now has autofocus and can widen the shot to fit more in.

Audio is best characterised by what wasn't removed. Samsung realised that by keeping the headphone jack, it has an edge over Apple. Unlike most other phone makers, they've also bundled a rather tasty set of high-end earbuds from AKG.

The usual Samsung Galaxy audio settings are still there. These give S8/S8+ owners massive audio tweaking capabilities. One setting that deserves mention is "Adapt Sound". It plays a series of tones which the user acknowledges. Based on what the user can (and can't) hear, audio gets tailored to their hearing.

The bigger display on the S8+ demands a larger battery. This translates into a non-removable 3,500 mAh battery compared to the 3,000 mAh used on the S8. As with the S7 Edge, the S8 can charge wirelessly or with a USB-C fast charger. With moderate use, I could wring over two days' battery life out of the S8+.

CLEVER BITS

Microsoft's Continuum showed that some phones can act as low-end PC replacements. Samsung's answer to this is DeX.

DeX comes in the form of a small, rounded docking station. It hooks the S8 to an HDMI output and two USB ports for keyboards and mice. Placing the phone into the dock saw an Android desktop display spring to life on a connected PC screen. With MS-Office free on Android, a docked S8 becomes a powerful productivity tool.

DeX has the potential to be a gamechanger in hot-desk work environments.

The other much-hyped feature of the S8 is Samsung's digital assistant, Bixby, which is Samsung's take on Siri, Google Now and Cortana. Unlike these, Bixby has deep integration with the S8. This means that driving the S8 is possible using your voice.

Additionally, Bixby also works with the S8's camera. Snapping a landmark pulls up a list of nearby attractions and cafes. Bixby can also translate signs or find information about objects. Firing up the S8's camera and setting it into Bixby mode, I pointed it at a bottle of wine. Bixby then produced a listing that included tasting notes and star ratings. Bixby at the supermarket looks set to be a killer feature.

Bixby doesn't listen for a specific trigger word before springing into action. It is instead activated by a dedicated button on the left-hand side of the phone. I often mistook it for the power button, which was a tad frustrating

The full Bixby won't be available in New Zealand until a localised version gets sorted. This said, Bixby's camera smarts are already baked in. Until then, pressing the Bixby button displays appointments, weather, and other information.

VERDICT

Lots of other smartphone makers are struggling with innovation. Not Samsung. They've taken the already unique S7 Edge and delivered a ground-breaking successor. They've raised the bar with the S8/S8+. It is the smartphone other manufacturers must beat (or emulate).

The Galaxy S8 ($1299) and S8+ ($1499) will be available for preorder on April 20 and in shops on May 5.

- Stuff

Tech Specs

SCREEN ................. 5.8in, 2960x1440 AMOLED curved edge Infinite Display with HDR, always-on.

CPU................. Samsung Exynos octa-core.

MEMORY................. 4GB RAM.

CAMERA................. 12MP, f/1.7 rear with dual-pixel autofocus, OIS and dual-LED flash. 8MP, f/1.7 front with autofocus.

STORAGE .................. 64GB UFS2.1 onboard, microSD expansion.

OPERATING SYSTEM ................. Android 7.0 Nougat.

BATTERY................. 3000mAh non-removable.

DIMENSION ................. 148.9x68.1x8mm, 155g.

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