At long last, Samsung has officially unveiled what’s been possibly the most leaked pair of handsets we’ve ever seen, announcing the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+.
The pair of phones are the latest in the Galaxy S line, with the Galaxy S8 a 5.8″ tall device, while the Galaxy S8+ pushes the size boundaries with a 6.2″ display. Both phones will use the ‘Infinity Display’ a bezel-less design on the screen which is designed to give an immersive experience without the interruption of buttons, angles or bezel to get in the way of you and the content on your screen, as well as offering easy one-handed use.
Specs are key on the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ and Samsung has packed them in with a class leading 12MP camera with f/1.7 aperture on the rear and 8MP sensor with f/1.7 aperture on the front. Samsung is also leading the way with the worlds first 10nm process Octa-core processor inside the S8, though in true Samsung fashion they’re obscuring which processor we’ll see here in Australia. The high-class internals continue with the worlds first Galaxy S8/S8+ launching as the first Cat 16 Gigabit LTE phone.
The phones will both be durable with an IP68 rating against dust and water ingress and of course secure with Samsung’s KNOX security platform included, linked to the now rear-mounted fingerprint scanner and the new iris scanner that Samsung first launched on the Galaxy Note 7.
Want the full specs? Here they are, though we will be clarifying with Samsung Australia on which LTE bands are included and which processor we’ll see here in Austrlaia:
| Galaxy S8 | Galaxy S8+ | |
|---|---|---|
| Screen | 5.8” (146.5mm) Quad HD+(2960×1440), (570ppi) |
6.2” (158.1mm) Quad HD+(2960×1440), (529ppi) |
| Dimensions | 148.9 x 68.1 x 8mm
155 grams |
159.5 x 73.4 x 8.1mm
173 grams |
| SoC | Octa core (2.3GHz Quad + 1.7GHz Quad), 64 bit, 10 nm process Octa core (2.35GHz Quad + 1.9GHz Quad), 64 bit, 10 nm process |
|
| RAM | 4GB RAM (LPDDR4) | |
| Storage | 64GB UFS 2.1 with microSD Card slot |
|
| Cameras | Rear: Dual Pixel 12MP OIS (F1.7) Front: 8MP AF (F1.7) |
|
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz), VHT80 MU-MIMO, 1024QAM Bluetooth® v 5.0 (LE up to 2Mbps), ANT+, USB Type-C, NFC, Location: (GPS, Galileo*, Glonass, BeiDou*)*Galileo and BeiDou coverage may be limited. |
|
| Sensors | Accelerometer, Barometer, Fingerprint Sensor, Gyro Sensor,Geomagnetic Sensor, Hall Sensor, Heart Rate Sensor, Proximity Sensor,RGB Light Sensor, Iris Sensor, Pressure Sensor | |
| OS | Android 7.0 | |
| Battery | 3,000 mAh | 3,500mAh |
Feature wise, Bixby is the big announcement on the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. According to Samsung, ‘Bixby is an intelligent interface that will help users get more out of their phone’. Accessible through the Bixby button on the side of the phone, Bixby will allow users to access services and apps with simple voice, touch, vision and text commands. Initial compatability for Bixby is limited to Samsung apps, such as Camera, Contacts, Gallery, Messages and Settings, though Samsung has plans to launch an SDK to allow third-party developers to access Bixby’s functionality.
Bixby is more than a voice assistant, a Bixby Home will feature information you need in cards with weather, reminders and alarms. Additionally, Bixby will help you to shop for items you see while out and about & search for images through the camera.
The phone will launch globally in Midnight Black, Orchid Gray, Arctic Silver, Coral Blue and Maple Gold, but in Australia we’ll be seeing only the Midnight Black, Orchid Gray and Maple Gold colour options.
Availablity
When will we see it? Samsung says that pre-orders for the phone will open on March 31st in Australia and run until the phone goes on-sale on April 28th. If you want the phone early though, Samsung says that customers who pre-order the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ in the first few days of the pre-order period could receive their bundle from April 21st.
People pre-ordering the phone will receive a complimentary new model Gear VR with Controller and a $50 Oculus content voucher.
How much will it be? The Samsung Galaxy S8 will have a RRP of $1,199 and Galaxy S8+ will have a RRP of $1,349
We’ll have hands-on with the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ as soon as we can, so stay tuned for more information.
