Samsung Galaxy S8+

The new face of the smartphone

WITH a bezel-less, curved “Infinity” display, minimized “chin,” and 18.5:9 aspect ratio, Samsung pushes the smartphone design to a new era, formally saying goodbye to the monolith look we’ve become familiar with. Whether or not it is the best smartphone in the game is debatable, but one thing is sure — the S8+ (retail price P45,990) is beautiful or, at the very least, refreshingly unique. THE GOOD

Obviously the most interesting part of the S8+ is its new body form — a 3-D Touch button in lieu of a home button to make way for a bigger “Infinity” display (1) with very sexy curved edges, leaving almost half a centimeter each for the (now empty) chin and forehead that houses an iris scanner and front camera. We’ve already stated our love for the edge display in our review of the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, and Samsung just takes that concept and pushes it further. We thought the previous iteration was the peak, but are pleasantly surprised of the aesthetics Samsung brings. The new 18.5:9 aspect ratio (2) makes it a bit awkward to watch videos and use apps that haven’t adjusted (3) but it makes the phablet, the once derided behemoth of the smartphone industry and people with small hands, way easier to grip and use with one hand (4). With no bezels, smooth sides, and decent palm rejection, the S8+ is not only easy on the eyes but also easy on the hands.

The display itself (5) is gorgeous and is now expected from a Samsung flagship. It can display in Quad HD, but its default setting at 1080p (6) doesn’t really offer anything less. Save your battery and opt for this instead. That display does your photos a favor as well although that’s not to say the camera isn’t any good. In fact, even though Samsung didn’t upgrade as much (7), there are great improvements with low-light photography, creating a smoother and less artificial background blur, and less creepy beauty settings. It manages dynamic range better (even with HDR turned off ) and quicker than before, and photographing anything is an even greater joy. Samsung does add a bunch of Snapchatlike face-recognizing filters which feels very gimmicky. Bixby Vision, a mode where the camera analyzes materials, places, and text and pulls information (where to purchase similar objects, restaurants near famous locations, translating text), is a great idea and is actually pretty cool and useful when it works (more on that later).

Smooth sailing and zippy software hardware (8) is expected at this price point, and Samsung delivers exactly that. TouchWiz is no longer a bane (although one wishes the interface design matched the elegance of the body) and comes with all the usual upgrades one gets after a cycle (9). The important thing to know is that it functions well as both an entertainment device and work unit especially with the added DeX feature, where one can convert the smartphone into a desktop when used with a dock (10), monitor, mouse, and keyboard. It is similar to Microsoft’s Continuum (11) but also functions as a charging station but relegates the S8+ into stand-by mode as opposed to a separate functioning unit and mouse like the Microsoft Lumia 960 XL.

With the fingerprint sensor relocated at the back, beside the camera, Samsung adds an iris scanner and face recognition. Face recognition works the best and fastest among the three, and works in some low light situations, although like the iris scanner, won’t work for people with glasses. If you’re uncomfortable with your smartphone having a record of your face, take note.

THE BAD

The iris scanner is less reliable and is actually frustrating with or without glasses. It works just half the time, slowly, and only in select lighting conditions. Forget about well-lit and low-lit situations. Reports from The Guardian and The Verge show that a German hacker group called Chaos Computer Club found a way to fool the scanner with a fake iris (although they have also found ways to fool a fingerprint sensor) which doesn’t inspire confidence in the medium. In any case, it will be interesting to see how the industry combats this in the future.

And while Bixby Vision is a great idea that will inevitably be adapted by other companies, Bixby, Samsungs S-Voice replacement and virtual assistant competitor is baffling since it exists with Google Now. There is a special “Bixby button” to the left of the smartphone that activates the assistant and panel which always gets pocket pushed. One can ignore it of course, but it still runs anyway and is not that different from the Flipboard panels of previous iterations and Google Now cards.

The battery (12) is disappointing and has been downgraded from 3,600 mAh from the S7 Edge to 3,500 mAh on the S8+, a move done possibly in response to last year’s 2016 Note7 battery disaster. With data and navigation, one needs to charge in the middle of the day and the USB type-C, while reversible, offers fast-charging on one side and standard charging on the other, so there is a chance that one accidentally charges slower than necessary. What if one is in a pinch for some juice?

THE UGLY

And since the fingerprint scanner was relocated at the side of the back camera, what once was a quick way to unlock the phone now becomes a barrier. The scanner feels exactly like the back camera and is tough to get used to unlike those with scanners located at the bottom. It is also hard to reach and not within the natural finger placements so it adds to the friction of use. That, coupled with a slow-down in function and less responsiveness, makes the fingerprint scanner an annoying security option.

Overall, the Samsung S8+ is seriously pretty and easy to use for work and entertainment, and it’s worst parts are minute annoyances as opposed to glaring flaws. If you appreciate the new body form and want a great camera, we’re sure you’re already considering the upgrade. Is it as revolutionary as Samsung claims? Not as a whole package (that’s for sure) but it’s not hard to see the Galaxy S8+ design as the new face of the smartphone.