Processor
- US: Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 Octa core (2.35 GHz Quad + 1.7 GHZ Quad)
- International: Samsung Exynos Octa core (2.35 GHz Quad + 1.9 GHZ Quad)
- Galaxy S8: 5.8-inch OLED, 2960 x 1440, 570ppi
- Galaxy S8 Plus: 6.2-inch OLED, 2960 x 1440, 529ppi
- Rear: 12-megapixel, OIS, F1.7
- Front: 8-megapixel, auto focus, F1.7
- Galaxy S8: 3,000 mAh
- Galaxy S8 Plus: 3,500 mAh
- Galaxy S8: 148.9 x 68.1 x 8 mm, 155g
- Galaxy S8 Plus: 159.5 x 73.4 x 8.1 mm, 173g
- Android 7.0 Nougat
- USB-C, 3.5mm headphone jack
- NFC and MST for Samsung Pay
- IP68 water and dust resistant
- Wireless charging
- LTE Cat.16
- Bluetooth 5.0, can stream to two devices
- Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac
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Let’s start in the middle with voice, because speaking to Bixby is the most interesting and challenging set of features here. Essentially, what Samsung is trying to do is create a new kind of virtual assistant, one that helps you use the device directly in your hands rather than ask random questions from the cloud.
I wasn’t able to test this myself, unfortunately, but Samsung did run us through a couple demos. In one, you can open the gallery app and then issue voice commands for editing a photo rather than trying to dig through the interface to find the right button. “Bixby, rotate this photo left,” and “Bixby, send this photo to Dan.” If you live that Samsung Life, you can use Bixby to send videos to your TV or turn off your smart lights, too.
The goal is that “anything you can control with touch, you can also control with voice.” It’s a laudable goal, but it’s also one I very seriously doubt Samsung can achieve. For one thing, it only works with about 10 Samsung apps at launch. Also, it can only work with apps that are written to support Bixby. Unlike Google Now on Tap, Bixby doesn’t do any screen reading to try and guess what’s on the screen. So it might be a virtual assistant, but it’s very far from an artificial intelligence.
Price
and release dateIn the US, the S8 and S8 Plus will come in black, gray, and silver. Gold and blue are options internationally.
The Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus are available for preorder starting tomorrow, March 30th, and you should get a free Gear headset with a controller and a set of games along with your preorder. The official release in the US is on April 21st. Unfortunately, Samsung won’t confirm pricing, leaving that to its carrier partners — again, it looks like it’ll start at around $750.
The Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus are available for preorder starting tomorrow, March 30th, and you should get a free Gear headset with a controller and a set of games along with your preorder. The official release in the US is on April 21st. Unfortunately, Samsung won’t confirm pricing, leaving that to its carrier partners — again, it looks like it’ll start at around $750.
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the bigger the phone...
