All the right buttons: the future of phones
Samsung to release a phone that’s explosive in all the right ways — and the Galaxy S8 could be it. Here’s everything you need to know about the latest phone on the scene.
The big picture
Apple took a big leap in ditching the headphone jack on the iPhone 7, but Samsung has one-upped it when it comes to taking away a major smartphone feature. The S8 doesn’t have a physical home button — and for good reason: the extra space makes room for the 5.8” “infinity display” that takes up the entire front panel of the handset.
The phone itself is roughly the same overall dimensions as the S7 but users will immediately notice the difference of the super-sized screen.
All-rounder
Samsung Galaxy users have previously had to pay more for the premium Edge handset with a curved front panel that extends the display. No more — the S8 comes with a rounded screen as standard, immediately setting it apart from rival devices in a democratic way.
Meet Bixby
Voice-controlled “personal assistants” are all the rage and there’s a new voice joining the throng. The Galaxy S8 is the first device to feature Bixby, Samsung’s equivalent to Siri, Alexa and Cortana. The software doesn’t just do voice commands — it offers a curated news feed, translation abilities and Google Goggles-esque product identification tools.
Early word is that S8’s Bixby is far from the finished article and needs improvements, but Samsung is clearly investing in it — the assistant is set to be rolled out across all kinds of Samsung products in the future, from TVs to air conditioners.
For your eyes only
To make way for the extra screen space Samsung has moved the fingerprint sensor to a rather inconvenient spot on the back. That’s not the only way to unlock the new model though — a futuristic-sounding iris scanner in the front-facing camera means the phone recognises your face when you pick it up. If it works, it could be an eye-opening new security measure.
@BenSTravis