Last night, Samsung launched the long anticipated (and heavily leaked) Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ at their event in New York. The phones will be arriving here officially on the 28th of April, so how can you get one?
The phone will come in three colours in Australia: Midnight Black, Orchid Gray and Maple Gold, with the colours available at all three major carriers, as well as through Virgin Mobile. The phone will be available through retail and carriers here in Australia so we thought a round-up of where to purchase the phone would be helpful. We’ll be updating this article with more information as it comes to hand, so if you see it somewhere let us know.
The Galaxy S8 and S8+ comes with high-end specs and here’s the full list of specs as has been confirmed by Samsung so far:
| Galaxy S8 | Galaxy S8+ | |
|---|---|---|
| Screen | 5.8” (146.5mm) Quad HD+(2960×1440), (570ppi) |
6.2” (158.1mm) Quad HD+(2960×1440), (529ppi) |
| 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 |
Carriers
Optus
Optus has announced their plans for the S8 and S8+, with pre-orders starting at 12.01am on Friday 31 March, with all pre-orders eligible to receive the new Gear VR Headset and controller valued at $199 thrown in for free. Samsung will be carrying the handset in all three colours announced and offer a range of plans.
The plans are decent value, with plans starting from just $40 per month, though a handset repayment on top of that means you’ll pay $82 per month for the S8 and $87 per month for the S8 Plus. The plan setup looks like this:
Optus pre-orders should be ready to go from 12:01am on Friday March 31st through the Optus website.
Telstra
Telstra has advised that they too will be carrying the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ with pre-orders going live at 12:01am 2:01am on Friday March 31st through their website. Telstra will be offering the new Gear VR Headset and controller valued at $199 with all pre-orders received through their website. Telstra hasn’t managed to snag any colour exclusives for the Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+ handsets with all three colours available when the handsets go up for pre-order.
Telstra is excited to launch the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ promising high speeds on the Telstra 4GX network, as well as offering Voice over Wi-Fi (VoWiFI) to customers.
Telstra has announced pricing for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Go Mobile Plans. Telstra includes Unlimited calls and text to 10 selected countries with their L, XL and XXL plans as well. But enough stuffing around here’s the table for the phones:
Go Mobile Plus and My Business Mobile Plus Plans:
| S | M | L | XL | XL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Included Data | 1GB | 3GB | 12GB (8GB+4GB Bonus) |
25GB (20GB+5GB Bonus) |
35GB (30GB+5GB Bonus) |
| Included Talk, TXT, MMS | $550 Talk Unlimited SMS/MMS to Standard Australian Numbers |
Unlimited to Standard Australian Numbers | |||
| Plan Cost | $55 | $75 | $95 | $135 | $195 |
| Handset Repayment | |||||
| Galaxy S8 | $35 | $25 | $10 | $5 | $0 |
| Galaxy S8+ | $42 | $32 | $20 | $10 | $0 |
Go Mobile Swap Plans + My Business Mobile Lease Plans
| S | M | L | XL | XL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Included Data | 1GB | 3GB | 12GB (8GB+4GB Bonus) |
25GB (20GB+5GB Bonus) |
35GB (30GB+5GB Bonus) |
| Included Talk, TXT, MMS | $550 Talk Unlimited SMS/MMS to Standard Australian Numbers |
Unlimited to Standard Australian Numbers | |||
| Plan Cost | $55 | $75 | $95 | $135 | $195 |
| Handset Repayment | |||||
| Galaxy S8 | $25 | $15 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Galaxy S8+ | $32 | $22 | $10 | $0 | $0 |
Telstra customers wanting to pre-order the Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+ will be able to do so from 12:01am through the Telstra website.
Virgin Mobile
Virgin Mobile has jumped in early with their intention to carry the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+, with pre-orders going live at 12:01am on Friday 31st of March. Virgin Mobile pre-order customers will also have a choice of the three colours of handset, as well as being eligible to receive the new Gear VR Headset and controller valued at $199.
Pricing for the Galaxy S8 will start at $77 per month, and the Galaxy S8+ will start at $82 per month. Virgin offers a full range of plans which you can see below, and offers Virgin Australia frequent flier members 10% off plan costs when signing up to a $50 or above phone or 12-month SIM plan. The plans on offer through Virgin Mobile include:
Virgin Mobile Pre-orders will go live through their website just after midnight tonight.
Vodafone
Vodafone has listed the Galaxy S8 on their website, so they’ve confirmed they will be offering the Galaxy S8 to their customers. They’ve not listed a pre-order bonus, though this is a given with Samsung listing it as a bonus. Vodafone has said that pre-orders will go live on their website at the same time as others, from 12:01am on March 31st.
More information on plan pricing has come through, if you’re after a Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+ on their network, here are your options:
Galaxy S8 Pricing
| Global | Data | Global | Data | Global | Data | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plan | $40 | $60 | $70 | $80 | $80 | $90 | $100 | $100 | $120 | $120 |
| S8 MPP | $37 | $26 | $18 | $10 | $10 | $5 | $3 | $3 | $5 | $5 |
| S8 Total Cost | $77 | $86 | $88 | $90 | $90 | $95 | $103 | $103 | $125 | $125 |
| Data (GB) | 1 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 22 |
| Bonus Data (GB | - | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 10 |
| GS8 Bonus Data (GB) | - | - | - | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Total Data | 1 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 17 | 20 | 30 | 32 |
| IDD* | - | 150 minutes | - | 300 minutes + super 1000 | - | - | 300 minutes + super 1000 | - | 300 minutes + super 1000 | - |
*super 1000 to 12 countries and 150/300 minutes to 55 countries
Bonus 1GB on the $60 plan ends 11th April
Bonus data on the $70/80/90/100/120 plans end 9th May
Galaxy S8+ Pricing
| Global | Data | Global | Data | Global | Data | |||||
| Plan | $40 | $60 | $70 | $80 | $80 | $90 | $100 | $100 | $120 | $120 |
| S8+ MPP | $43 | $35 | $26 | $21 | $21 | $15 | $11 | $11 | $10 | $10 |
| S8+ Total Cost | $83 | $95 | $96 | $101 | $101 | $105 | $111 | $111 | $130 | $130 |
| Data (GB) | 1 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 22 |
| Bonus Data (GB | - | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 10 |
| GS8+ Bonus Data (GB) | - | - | - | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Total Data | 1 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 17 | 20 | 30 | 32 |
| IDD* | - | 150 minutes | - | 300 minutes + super 1000 | - | - | 300 minutes + super 1000 | - | 300 minutes + super 1000 | - |
*super 1000 to 12 countries and 150/300 minutes to 55 countries
Bonus 1GB on the $60 plan ends 11th April
Bonus data on the $70/80/90/100/120 plans end 9th May
Woolworths Mobile
Woolworths Mobile is also intending to offer the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ on their service. Information on the Woolworths Mobile availability dates and pre-order information will be on Woolworths Mobile’s website soon.
Woolworths will begin offering the Galaxy S8 for $65/month, and the Galaxy S8+, for $69/month making it possibly one of the cheapest ways to grab one of the new Galaxy S8 range. Woolworths gets bonus points for using the Telstra network if that's an important part of choosing a mobile plan.
Here’s the full details of Woolworths’ pricing offers for the range:
| Handset | Plan | Price | Price Breakdown | Min Cost Over 24 months | Data |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Galaxy S8 | Small | $72 | $35 plan + $37 handset | $1,728 | 1GB |
| Galaxy S8 | Medium | $65 | $50 plan + $15 handset | $1,560 | 4GB |
| Galaxy S8 | Large | $92 | $70 plan + $22 handset | $2,208 | 8GB |
| Galaxy S8+ | Small | $76 | $35 plan + $41 handset | $1,824 | 1GB |
| Galaxy S8+ | Medium | $69 | $50 plan + $34 handset | $1,656 | 4GB |
| Galaxy S8+ | Large | $95 | $70 plan + $25 handset | $2,280 | 8GB |
Retail
As with all Samsung handsets, you'll find them at a range of retailers both online and at bricks and mortar stores. Samsung has announced outright pricing for the handsets, the Samsung Galaxy S8 will have a RRP of $1,199 and Galaxy S8+ will have a RRP of $1,349.
Samsung
Of course Samsung will be selling the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ through their website. Though pre-orders won't go live until 12:01am tomorrow morning, you can expect to pay the retail price for the phones, with delivery usually free from Samsung Australia.
Samsung will also be selling the DeX dock, Gear 360 (2017) 360-degree camera and the new Gear VR with controller on their site, but no word on when pre-orders will go live on those.
Harvey Norman
First cab off the rank in terms of retailers is Harvey Norman, who have the phones showing on their website in all three colour options with pre-orders starting from 12:01am on Friday March 31st.
No word on any pre-order bonus with the Harvey Norman pre-orders but it's expected that they will be eligible for the new Gear VR Headset and controller valued at $199 which is being offered to customers signing up for a contract on a carrier.
Harvey Norman has also listed a range of accessories on their website including the DeX dock and a range of covers including the Alcantara, LED View and Clear View Standing Cover for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+.
Kogan
While they haven't listed pricing as yet, Kogan has listed the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ on their website. Kogan has listed the Grey, Silver and Black models on their website, a change from the official Samsung Australia colour range of Black, Grey and Gold. No date on when pre-orders will go live, or whether they will be accepting them or offering the pre-order bonus of the new Gear VR handset has been listed at this stage.
You can check out the range of Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ handsets on the Kogan website.
Wrap
We'll be keeping this site updated throughout the next few days as more information on where to buy the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ comes to hand.
