Samsung’s Galaxy S8 phone aims to dispel Note 7 debacle
NEW YORK — Samsung seems to be playing it safe — at least with its battery — as it unveils its first major smartphone since the embarrassing recall of its fire-prone Note 7.
The Galaxy S8 will come in two sizes, both bigger than comparable models from last year. To maximize display space, there’s no more physical home button. The S8 also sports a voice assistant intended to rival Siri and Google Assistant.
But battery capacity isn’t increasing, despite the larger sizes, meaning more breathing room for the battery. Samsung had pushed the engineering envelope with the Note 7 battery, which contributed to spontaneous combustions.
That recall cost Samsung at least $5.3 billion. Though many customers remain loyal, any further misstep could prove fatal.
The phone, announced Wednesday in New York, will come out April 21.
The standard-size S8 will cost about $750 and the larger S8 Plus about $850 — both about $100 more than comparable iPhones and rival Android phones.
“That’s a big bet that its phones will justify a higher price, whereas it could have used these new phones as a way to drive higher sales after a couple of years of stagnation,” said Jan Dawson, an analyst with Jackdaw Research.
About that battery
Samsung has blamed the Note 7 fires on multiple design and manufacturing defects in its batteries. Inspectors concluded that the initial batteries were too small for their capacity, and that their external pouch put pressure on the internal structure, leading to damage and overheating.
Samsung recalled the phones and shipped replacements, but the newer batteries had welding defects and a lack of protective tape in some battery cells. Samsung recalled the replacements, too, and scrapped the phone.
The company says phones will now go through multiple inspections, including X-rays and stress tests at extreme temperatures. The standard-size S8 phone has as much battery capacity as last year’s Galaxy S7, but the phone is four per cent larger by volume. The larger S8 Plus model has three per cent less capacity than the Galaxy S7 Edge and the same capacity as the Note 7, but the phone’s volume is larger by 12 per cent and six per cent, respectively.
Both models have larger displays, meaning more drain on the battery. Samsung says that software and processor efficiencies will let the new phones offer allday battery life under normal use.
Bigger, wider screens
The S8 phone’s display measures 5.8 inches diagonally, compared with 5.1 inches on the S7. The S8 Plus will be 6.2 inches, compared with S7 Edge’s 5.5 inches and the Note 7’s 5.7 inches. Both S8 models are taller than their predecessors, but widths are roughly the same to preserve one-handed use.
Samsung is getting rid of the “Edge” distinction and bringing curved sides to all S8 phones. It’s also minimizing the frame, or bezel, surrounding the display; gone is a horizontal strip with the home button at the bottom.
Instead, Samsung is embedding a virtual home button in the display, leaving Apple’s iPhones as among the few to sport a distinct home button.
Voice assistant
Samsung claims its new voice assistant, Bixby, will do much more than rivals from Apple, Google, Microsoft and Amazon. For one thing, Samsung says Bixby will be able to handle any smartphone task currently managed by touch. Bixby will also offer information on books, wine and other products scanned with the phone’s camera.
But there’s a major caveat: Bixby will work only with selected Samsung apps, including the photo gallery and messages. Not all touch commands will have voice counterparts right away. Other apps will be able to adopt Bixby, but Samsung has had a mixed track record in getting other companies to support its home-brewed functions like Bixby.
“I think the brand will struggle to compete in the longer term with the broader digital ecosystems from Google, Amazon or Apple,” said Forrester analyst Thomas Husson.
Other features
The front camera is getting a boost to 8 megapixels, from 5 megapixels, while the rear one stays at 12 megapixels.
As with previous models, the S8 is water- and dust-resistant and features a memory card slot to supplement 64 gigabytes of builtin storage. The S8 will get an iris scanner to let people unlock the phone by looking at it; the feature was new in the ditched Note 7 phone.
Samsung will include premium earbuds from AKG, a brand it acquired when it bought Harman International.
Beyond the S8
Samsung’s virtual-reality camera, Gear 360, will now accommodate a higher resolution, known as 4K, and work with iPhones, not just Samsung phones.
An optional docking station will turn the S8 phone into a desktop computer when connected to a regular TV. In that mode, people will be able to resize windows and work with several apps at once.