Specs, price, release date, review, tips, and FAQ

The release of the latest Galaxy S phone is always a major event, and with good reason. Samsung’s premium flagship practically defines our expectations for high-end, high-price Android phones for the year to come. The Galaxy S8 and S8+ deliver a smorgasbord of features, top-tier hardware, a great camera, and bleeding-edge design. This, together with Samsung’s marketing muscle, make them the most popular premium Android phones. 

From early unboxings and hands-on impressions, to reviews, tips, how-tos, and more. And we’ll collect it all here, making this your hub for everything you need to know about Samsung’s latest superphone.

Specs

Size

Galaxy S8: 148.9 x 68.1 x 8.0 mm, 155 g
Galaxy S8+: 159.5 x 73.4 x 8.1 mm, 173 g

Display

Galaxy S8: 5.8-inch Super AMOLED, 2960x1440, 570ppi
Galaxy S8: 6.2-inch Super AMOLED, 2960x1440, 529ppi
Screen aspect ratio 18.5:9
Screen-to-body ratio 83.6%

System on Chip

U.S. market has 10nm Snapdragon 835
Other markets have 10nm Exynos 8895 Octa
Up to 2.35GHz (Snapdragon) or 2.3GHz (Exynos)
4GB RAM
Adreno 540 GPU (Snapdragon 540 model)
Mali G-71 MP20 (Exynos model)

Storage

64GB UFS 2.1 storage
microSD card support

Connectivity and Networking

LTE Cat.16
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz),VHT80 MU-MIMO,1024QAM
Bluetooth 5
USB Type-C
NFC
Location (GPS, Galileo, Glonass, BeiDou)

Battery

Galaxy S8: 3,000 mAh
Galaxy S8+: 3,500 mAh

Camera

Rear camera: 12 megapixels, dual pixel autofocus, f/1.7 aperture, optical image stabilization, 1.4 micron pixels, 1/2.55-inch sensor size
Front camera: 8 megapixel, autofocus, f/1.7 aperture, 1.22 micron pixels, 1/3.6-inch sensor size
4K video at 30fps, 1080p up to 60fps, 720p up to 240fps

Other features

Fingerprint sensor
Iris scanner
32-bit DAC
Miracast up to 1080p at 30fps
IP68 water and dust resistance
Fast wireless charging (PMA and WPC)
NFC
Samsung Pay with MST support
Bixby AI assistant
Always-on display
Edge panels and lighting

Price and release date

The phones were released on April 21st, 2017.

Prices start at around $720 for the Galaxy S8, and $850 for the Galaxy S8+. 

Currently, the Galaxy S8 is only available in the U.S. through carriers, though we have been told an unlocked carrier-free version will be available in the future. As such, pricing varies by carrier, and every carrier has its own little incentives and deals. Some of these carry a lot of fine print; you may be required to surrender your current phone, transfer a line, or be locked into a particular service for several years.

Reviews

Outside of their physical size and battery capacity, the Galaxy S8 and S8+ are identical. Our general consensus is that, despite a few annoyances, these are currently the finest premium-tier phones you can buy. There’s a lot to say about these phones, so be sure to read our full reviews.

Read our review of the Samsung Galaxy S8

Read our review of the Samsung Galaxy S8+

DeX

The Galaxy S8 and S8+ support a unique new feature called Samsung DeX (short for “Desktop Experience”). When placed in the DeX docking station ($149), you can hook up a keyboard, mouse, HDMI monitor or TV, and ethernet to use your phone in a new desktop computing environment.

Dan Masaoka/IDG

DeX lets you connect your phone to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse and use it like a desktop computer.

Read our full review of Samsung DeX

Our video coverage

We’ve produced more than a few great videos of the Galaxy S8 and its accessories. You can find them all right here.

Tips and tricks

Samsung’s software in the Galaxy S8 provides a ton of features, and just as many options. You can tune the way the home screen works, customize Bixby, change the order of the navigation buttons, enable or disable the edge display, optimize for better battery life, get rid of the app drawer, and so much more.

We’re currently gathering together all our best tips into a single article. When it’s published, you’ll find the link here.

GearVR and other accessories

The Galaxy S8 launched together with a new version of the GearVR ($129). It’s nearly identical to past iterations, only with support for USB-C (to support the new phones) and micro-USB (to support older phones). But it also includes a motion-sensitive controller, which should greatly increase the immersion of VR titles that support it.

Samsung

Gear VR now includes a motion-sensitive controller for better immersion and easier interaction.

It’s not exclusive to the Galaxy S8: the Galaxy S7 and Note 5 will support the motion controller as well, and you can buy it separately if you already have a GearVR.

We are preparing a list of some of our favorite new apps and games to support the motion controller. In the meantime, you might want to check out our previous list of the best GearVR titles. 

Have further questions about the Galaxy S8? Be sure to jump to the next page for our FAQ.

Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/3192965/android/samsung-galaxy-s8-specs-price-release-date-reviews-tips-faq.html#tk.rss_all