Design and Build Quality
The Samsung Galaxy S8 boasts a stunning design and exceptional build quality, making it a standout in the smartphone market. The phone's premium construction and well-crafted exterior are a testament to Samsung's commitment to delivering top-notch products.
Display and Form Factor
The Galaxy S8 features a display that seamlessly extends over the edges, creating a visually striking and modern appearance. The shift towards taller displays with minimal bezels has significantly reduced the phone's overall footprint, making it feel more manageable despite its large screen size.
Fingerprint Sensor Placement
The placement of the fingerprint sensor on the back of the phone, next to the camera, has sparked mixed reactions. While it adds to the aesthetic appeal, reaching it comfortably can be a challenge for some users, potentially making it a two-handed operation. However, utilizing a case or skin can help enhance grip and differentiate the sensor from the camera.
Biometric Unlocking Options
In addition to the fingerprint sensor, the Samsung Galaxy S8 offers alternative biometric unlocking options, providing users with added convenience and security. The phone's biometric features include an iris scanner and face unlock, offering users multiple ways to access their devices.
Iris Scanner
Despite initial skepticism, the iris scanner on the Galaxy S8 has proven to be a viable unlocking method, with improved performance and a wider scanning angle. Users have experienced reliable and efficient unlocking without the need for compromising angles or awkward positioning.
Face Unlock
While face unlock technology can be susceptible to being tricked by a picture, the Galaxy S8's implementation offers a convenient yet less secure method of unlocking the device. Although not as foolproof as other options, the face unlock feature provides an additional quick access alternative.
Exceptional Display
The Samsung Galaxy S8 boasts an incredible display, setting a new standard for smartphone screens. Its OLED technology delivers stunning color accuracy, contrast ratios, and dynamic range, providing an immersive viewing experience. The high resolution of 2960 by 1440 ensures sharp and detailed visuals, making it ideal for media consumption, web browsing, and social media use.
Brightness and Visibility
The display's exceptional brightness ensures visibility even in outdoor environments, enhancing the user experience across various lighting conditions. Additionally, the OLED panel's vibrant colors and deep blacks contribute to an impressive visual performance, elevating the overall viewing experience.
Aspect Ratio Considerations
While the slightly taller display may result in black bars when viewing standard content, the overall benefits of the OLED screen greatly outweigh this minor inconvenience. The curved edges and corners further enhance the aesthetics and functionality of the display, offering a unique and visually appealing aspect to the Samsung Galaxy S8.
Flagship-Level Performance
The Samsung Galaxy S8 is equipped with top-tier hardware and cutting-edge features, solidifying its position as a flagship smartphone. With a Snapdragon 835 processor, Adreno 540 GPU, and 4GB of RAM, the device delivers exceptional performance, ensuring seamless multitasking, smooth animations, and rapid app load times.
Expandable Storage and Bluetooth 5.0
Notably, the inclusion of expandable storage through a Micro SD card slot provides users with the flexibility to enhance the phone's storage capacity, catering to their individual needs. Moreover, being the first phone to ship with Bluetooth 5.0, the Galaxy S8 offers advanced wireless connectivity, setting the stage for future innovations and compatibility with upcoming devices.
Sustained Performance
Thanks to its powerful hardware and efficient optimization, the Samsung Galaxy S8 maintains consistent performance, delivering a responsive and fluid user experience. Whether it's gaming, multimedia consumption, or productivity tasks, the flagship-level performance of the Galaxy S8 ensures a reliable and enjoyable usage experience.
Samsung's Software Experience
The Samsung Galaxy S8 runs on Samsung's software, which is built on top of Android 7.0. It offers an adapted user interface with features like the swiping app drawer and a cleaner overall look. While it maintains the familiar Samsung aesthetic, it also introduces some new elements such as paginated app drawer and extra animations, enhancing the user experience.
Pros and Cons
The software adaptation to Android 7.0 brings about several advantages, including a cleaner look and improved functionality. However, the plethora of colors and some unique quirks may not appeal to all users, and while the Edge screen has seen enhancements, it still retains its distinct Samsung identity.
New Features
- Smart select and GIF maker from the Note series
- Extended screenshot feature for capturing long content
- Enhancements to the Edge screen, allowing for round screenshots and animations
Bixby Virtual Assistant
The Samsung Galaxy S8 introduces Bixby, a virtual assistant designed to offer a wide range of functionalities similar to Google Assistant. However, its integration has sparked mixed reactions among users due to the dedicated Bixby button on the phone.
Button Controversy
The inclusion of a dedicated Bixby button on the phone led to some user dissatisfaction, prompting attempts to remap the button's functionality. Samsung's decision to block these remapping attempts caused further frustration among users.
Initial Impressions
Despite the initial limitations, Bixby provides users with access to various features, including gallery access, calendar events, and weather updates. However, it also heavily promotes Samsung's own apps and services, leading to concerns about its ability to match up to Google's offerings.
Camera Integration
Bixby's integration with the camera app allows for image recognition and search functionalities, enabling users to identify and search for objects or products directly from the viewfinder. While it shows potential in this aspect, there are still inconsistencies in its performance, indicating room for improvement.
Impressive Camera Capabilities
The Samsung Galaxy S8 features a 12-megapixel camera with an F1.7 aperture, dual pixel autofocus, and optical image stabilization. Despite not having dual cameras like some of its competitors, the updated sensor and optics deliver fantastic image quality with great detail, contrast, color, and sharpness. The camera also boasts an aggressive auto HDR mode, ensuring a wide dynamic range and minimal blown-out highlights. With the stunning display serving as the viewfinder, capturing photos and videos with the Galaxy S8 is a delightful experience.
Battery Life and Charging
The Galaxy S8 is equipped with a 3000 milliamp-hour battery, providing decent but not exceptional battery life, especially under heavy usage. However, the device compensates for this with remarkably fast charging capabilities. In just about an hour, the battery can be charged from 8% to 100%, ensuring minimal downtime and convenient recharging options for users on the go.
Standout Design in a Crowded Market
The Samsung Galaxy S8 stands out in the smartphone market with its stunning design and exceptional build quality. Its premium construction and well-crafted exterior set it apart from the competition, making it a visually striking and modern device in a sea of similar-looking phones.
FAQ
Why is the Samsung Galaxy S8 considered a standout in the smartphone market?
The Galaxy S8's exceptional build quality and visually striking design make it stand out in a market where many phones are accused of looking the same. Its premium construction sets it apart from the competition, making it a standout choice for users seeking a unique and visually appealing device.
What are some potential drawbacks of the Samsung Galaxy S8's design?
While the Galaxy S8's design is widely praised, some users may find little things to dislike, such as unmappable buttons, minor software quirks, or limitations in speaker performance. However, as a complete package, the Galaxy S8 offers an impressive and visually appealing design.
