Samsung’s new phone is truly cutting-edge
Innovative, stylish and more than a little magical, this phone is…
This is the time of year when the tech chatter is all about phones. Apple will announce at least two new phones this month in the lead in to Christmas, while its main rival Samsung – which was on the back foot a year ago – appears to be getting itself back on track. The impressive Note 8 was launched a week ago, augmenting Samsung’s line-up for 2017.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 was the biggest phone launch so far this year, with pressure on the company to deliver something special to win the hearts, and confidence of consumers. Unboxing the S8 reveals a phone that at first glance seems impressive, with surprising looks. The screen ratio has changed from the S7 but there’s also a sort of optical illusion at play. The S8 is wonderfully slim at just 8mm thick but practically the entire phone is a screen. The ‘Infinity Display’ runs almost edgeto-edge and, although it measures an impressive 5.6”, it looks even bigger thanks to Samsung’s edge-technology.
Samsung have placed the fingerprint scanner on the back of the phone, beside the camera. While not awkward, Sony and others have placed theirs on the edge of phones which feels more natural.
The technical specifications of the S8 are impressive. There’s an octa-core processor that’s notably quicker than the former flagship S7 and it’s particularly noticeable when using apps like Maps or gaming. The screen is Super-AMOLED and displays brilliantly contrasted images and video. As for battery life, it’s good and the S8 can give you up to 20 hours of talk-time.
With 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, there’s enough space for plenty of apps, music and even films. If you find yourself running short on storage, there is a MicroSD memory card slot and you can add 256GB of removable storage.
Samsung’s last flagship phone had a great camera and that trend has continued here. It’s a 12MP with a good aperture and nice features like optical image stabilisation and 4K video recording. It also has a clever image processing feature and takes three images at a time, making the end photo better by reducing blur and improving focus. The camera is probably the stand-out feature of this phone, and is a joy to use.
Samsung needed the Galaxy S8 to be great and it is. It’s not perfect and the irissensor security feature and dedicated button to summon Bixby, the personal assistant look like lateadditions to the designers’ list. That said, this is a beautifully crafted, stylish phone. Its camera and screen have set the bar for an entire industry. If you’re an Android phone user looking for upgrade, this is the first phone you should try – and you’re likely to look no further.