Long, frameless, with an excellent camera and top performance
Recently, Samsung officially presented its long-awaited flagship smartphones Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. Even despite major failures in the recent past, Samsung's flagship devices not only continue to be the main competition Apple iPhones, but are also one of the most technically advanced Android smartphones. Compared to the previous (seventh) generation, a lot has changed here, from the design in general to the arrangement of individual elements in particular, not to mention the improved hardware and updated software. Not all the changes are for the better, but there are so many of them that we can say that Samsung decided to start from scratch. It is worth noting that, to the delight of many, the difference in the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ models is only in size; almost everything else is the same. There are no various modifications with varying amounts of built-in memory or RAM, different performance, the presence or absence of certain elements. The user does not need to agonize over the choice; they just need to decide on the preferred dimensions of the device. The technical characteristics of both models are almost identical, and we will begin this review by listing them, choosing the Galaxy S8+ model as a sample.
Main characteristics of Samsung Galaxy S8+ (Model SM-G955F)
- SoC Samsung Exynos 8895 Octa, 8 cores: [email protected] GHz (Exynos M1) + [email protected] GHz (ARM Cortex-A53)
(another modification of the smartphone is based on SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 835) - GPU Mali-G71
- operating system Android 7.0
- Touch display Super AMOLED 6.2″, 2960×1440, 529 ppi
- RAM(RAM) 4 GB, internal memory 64 GB
- Nano-SIM support (2 pcs.)
- MicroSD support up to 256 GB
- GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
- WCDMA/HSPA+ networks (850/900/1900/2100 MHz)
- FDD LTE Band 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 32, 66 networks
- Networks TD LTE Band 38—41
- Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 and 5 GHz) MIMO
- Bluetooth 5.0LE
- GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, BDS
- USB Type-C, USB OTG
- Main camera 12 MP (f/1.7), autofocus, 4K video
- Front camera 8 MP (f/1.7), autofocus
- Waterproof IP68
- Proximity, lighting, heart rate, magnetic field, accelerometer, gyroscope, barometer
- Iris scanner, fingerprint scanner
- Battery 3500 mAh, fast charging
- Wireless charger(WPC, PMA)
- Dimensions 160×73×8.1 mm
- Weight 173 g
Contents of delivery
Samsung Galaxy The S8+ received a stylishly designed matte black cardboard box with a laconic design as packaging. The lid is not completely removable, it folds back like a box. The contents are neatly packaged in separate cells.
The kit, in the best Samsung traditions, turned out to be extensive. The smartphone comes with a USB Type-C connecting cable, network adapter with variable output current and voltage 5/9 V 1.67/2 A, unusually shaped key for removing cards, Micro-USB - USB Type-C adapter, second USB adapter- USB Type-C.
The company also included high-quality wired dual-driver AKG stereo headphones with a set of interchangeable in-ear pads.
Appearance and ease of use
The design of the Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+ turned out to be unusual and attractive. The streamlined body is made entirely of metal and glass, there is no plastic here. A metal frame rounded on all sides, symmetrically tapering at the sides and widening at the top and bottom ends, connects two glass panels - front and back. Gorilla Glass 5 is used as a coating; the glass has noticeable curves on the sides. The frame in the front plane of the screen is completely hidden behind the curve of the glass, so here we can talk about a truly frameless option.
The body of the Samsung Galaxy S8+ is absolutely symmetrical; the back side is also completely covered with Gorilla Glass 5 with curved edges. The edges of the glass are rounded so much that they flow almost seamlessly (not counting the frame) into one another, creating a complete shape without a single sharp corner or straight edge. For this shape, Samsung marketers dubbed their new brainchild a “smartphone without borders.”
The Samsung Galaxy S8+ looks very attractive. And although such a design may seem too “sleek” and “pampered”, but these are modern realities, the vast majority of users liked it.
Due to the unusual aspect ratio of the display (not 16:9, but 18.5:9), the body turned out to be very elongated in height. At the same time, the absence of a frame on the sides of the screen in the front plane made it possible to make the body so narrow that it is quite comfortable to hold in the hand even with a screen diagonal of 6.2 inches. True, the device is quite slippery due to its glass panels, smooth frame and streamlined shape.
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The curved edges of the front glass work in conjunction with the corresponding software in the same way as in previous models of the series Galaxy Edge. Above the screen you can find a full range of elements, including led indicator events and even an iris scanner.
The scanner works tolerably, but the process of setting the lock and constant recognition is quite tedious, because this system only works in certain light conditions and at a certain distance from the eyes. It is much easier and faster to use the fingerprint scanner, although its location here causes some confusion.
There are no more control buttons under the screen, only on the screen itself. This is not typical for Samsung; its Galaxy smartphones have always had a hardware key on the front (in latest models- with an integrated fingerprint sensor). Now its place has been taken by a virtual button on the screen, but it is also not quite ordinary. To ensure that the static button, which is constantly illuminated in the Always On Display mode, does not cause pixel burnout, it was made movable. Thus, the seemingly static central button on the screen actually constantly moves imperceptibly in different directions.
The fingerprint scanner has been moved to the back. At the same time, it is greatly shifted from the center to the right, so that it is inconvenient for a left-handed person to reach it with his finger. In addition, the tactile area of the fingerprint sensor does not differ from neighboring elements; it is difficult to feel it blindly, you need to get used to it. In general, this is perhaps the most unusual and inconvenient option for the location of this element that we have previously encountered; Samsung again went too far with the fingerprint sensor.
Next to the scanner you can find a camera module with a flash, as well as a heart rate sensor familiar to Samsung smartphones. None of the elements protrude beyond the surface, so the smartphone lies stable on the table and does not wobble when you touch the screen. The flash is as bright as possible.
There are no complaints about the operation of the fingerprint scanner itself; it works quickly, clearly and accurately. But, as already mentioned, reaching for it while holding a smartphone in your left hand is very inconvenient.
The slot for installing cards is located at the top end. The cover of the removable slide on which the cards are placed has a rubberized gasket, since the Samsung Galaxy S8+, like the LG G6, meets the IP68 protection category, that is, the case is completely protected from dust and allows immersion in water to a depth of 1.5 m for 30 minutes. However, the developers did not go further: the design here is not designed for harsh operating conditions, like the LG G6, so the hero of the review does not have military standard certification.
A standard hybrid slot is used, which can accommodate either two Nano-SIM cards or one SIM card and one card microSD memory. The slides are made of flexible plastic; the device itself reports the need to tightly close the connector cover to protect it from water.
The volume button has been moved to the left side, here it is adjacent to a separate key for calling the Bixby intelligent assistant, with which you can work with available services and applications via touch screen, voice or text commands. The power key remains on the right side. The buttons are not very large, but handling them is quite comfortable; the keys are easy to feel blindly.
All other interface elements are located at the bottom end. There is a USB Type-C connector installed here that supports connection external devices in USB OTG mode, the main speaker is brought out here, as well as a 3.5 mm headphone jack and a microphone hole. Surprisingly, the developers were unable to install any of the elements exactly; each of them turned out to be offset relative to the longitudinal axis of the end, which spoils the impression a little.
Having studied the structure of the Galaxy S8+ case, let's compare it with the previous Galaxy S7 Edge model. The naked eye can see that the width of these smartphones is almost identical.
However, the Galaxy S8+ has a longer screen with a non-standard aspect ratio, which allows for more surface area to be devoted to the screen. As a result, the Galaxy S8+ with a 6.2″ screen fits as comfortably in the palm of your hand as the Galaxy S7 Edge with a 5.5″ screen.
In addition, the sides of the body of the review hero have become less slippery due to the increased width of the metal frame: the curved edges of the screen on the Galaxy S8+ have been reduced, the frame is now located exactly in the middle between the front and rear panels. So, in general, the changes only benefited the new product.
Samsung Galaxy S8+ is presented on the Russian market in three colors: black (“Black Diamond”), gray (“Mystical Amethyst”) and golden (“Yellow Topaz”).
Screen
Samsung Galaxy S8+ features a Super AMOLED display with protective glass Corning Gorilla Glass 5 with highly curved edges. The physical dimensions of the screen are approximately 70x142 mm with a diagonal of 6.2 inches, that is, the aspect ratio is 18.5:9. The screen resolution is 2960x1440, the pixel density is about 529 ppi. The corner parts of the screen, like the LG G6, are rounded, there are no side frames as such in the front plane of the screen, the upper and lower segments surrounding the screen are only approximately 8.5 mm in height.
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The display brightness can be adjusted manually or set automatic settings, based on the operation of the ambient light sensor. HDR10 mode is supported. The AnTuTu test diagnoses support for 10 simultaneous multi-touch touches. There is a vision protection mode (preventing eye fatigue). In Always-on mode, information about the current time and date, as well as missed events, is displayed on the switched off screen.
In the screen settings section, you can select the resolution and applications that should be used in full-screen proportions. It seems that the developers first made a screen with an unusual aspect ratio, just to make it “not like everyone else,” and then added various “crutches” to the software so that the programs would work normally with such a screen.
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A detailed examination using measuring instruments was carried out by the editor of the “Monitors” and “Projectors and TV” sections Alexey Kudryavtsev. Here is his expert opinion on the screen of the sample under study.
The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface that is scratch-resistant. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-glare properties of the screen are better than those of the Google Nexus 7 (2013) screen (hereinafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photo in which a white surface is reflected when the screens are turned off (on the left is Nexus 7, on the right is Samsung Galaxy S8+, then they can be distinguished by size):
The screen of the Samsung Galaxy S8+ is slightly darker (photo brightness is 107 versus 115 for the Nexus 7) and does not have a pronounced tint. The ghosting of reflected objects on the Samsung Galaxy S8+ screen is very weak, which indicates that there is no air gap between the layers of the screen. Due to the smaller number of boundaries (glass/air type) with very different refractive indices, screens without an air gap look better in conditions of intense external illumination, but their repair in the case of cracked external glass is much more expensive, since the entire screen has to be replaced. On the outer surface of the screen of the Samsung Galaxy S8+ there is a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (effective, better than that of the Nexus 7), so fingerprints are removed much easier and appear at a lower speed than in the case of regular glass.
When displaying a white field in full screen and manually controlling the brightness, its maximum value was 370 cd/m² in normal conditions and rises to 580 cd/m² in very bright light. You also need to take into account the fact that in this case, the smaller the white area on the screen, the brighter it is, that is, the actual maximum brightness of the white areas will almost always be higher than the specified value. For example, when displaying a white field on half the screen and a black field on the other half, we obtained values of 460 cd/m² and 725 cd/m² for the above conditions. As a result, readability during the day in the sun should be at a good level. The minimum value is 1.6 cd/m². The reduced brightness level allows you to use the device even in complete darkness without any problems. Automatic brightness adjustment works based on the light sensor (it is located to the left of the front speaker slot). The operation of this function depends on the position of the brightness adjustment slider; the user can use it to try to set the desired brightness level in the current conditions. If in an office environment the brightness slider is set to maximum, then in complete darkness the auto-brightness function reduces the brightness to 6.4 cd/m² (dark), in an office illuminated by artificial light (approximately 550 lux) it sets it to 340 cd/m² (excessively bright) , in a very bright environment (corresponding to lighting on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or a little more) increases to 545 cd/m² (sufficient). If in complete darkness and in an office environment, use the slider to set the brightness a little higher and lower, then the screen brightness for the three conditions indicated above is as follows: 13, 180, 545 cd/m² (ideal combination). It turns out that the auto-brightness function works adequately and to some extent allows the user to customize their work to individual requirements. At any brightness level there is significant modulation with a frequency of approximately 60 or 240 Hz. The figure below shows brightness (vertical axis) versus time (horizontal axis) for several brightness settings:
It can be seen that at maximum and close to it brightness the modulation amplitude is not very large; as a result, there is no visible flicker. However, as the brightness decreases, modulation appears with a large relative amplitude; its presence can already be seen in a test for the presence of a stroboscopic effect or simply with rapid eye movement. Depending on individual sensitivity, this flickering may cause increased fatigue.
This screen uses a Super AMOLED matrix - an active matrix on organic light-emitting diodes. A full-color image is created using subpixels of three colors - red (R), green (G) and blue (B), but there are twice as many green subpixels, which can be referred to as RGBG. This is confirmed by a fragment of a microphotograph:
For comparison, you can see the gallery of microphotographs of screens used in mobile technology.
In the fragment above you can count 4 green subpixels, 2 red (4 halves) and 2 blue (1 whole and 4 quarters), and by repeating these fragments, you can lay out the entire screen without breaks or overlap. For such matrices, Samsung introduced the name PenTile RGBG. The manufacturer calculates the screen resolution based on the green subpixels; based on the other two, it will be two times lower. The location and shape of the subpixels in this version is close to the case of the screen of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and some other newer Samsung devices (and not only) with AMOLED screens. This version of PenTile RGBG is better than the old one with red squares, blue rectangles and stripes of green subpixels. However, some unevenness of contrast borders and other artifacts are still present. However, due to very high resolution they have only a minimal impact on image quality.
The screen has excellent viewing angles. True, the white color, when deviated even at small angles, alternately acquires a light blue-green and pinkish tint, but the black color remains simply black at any angle. It is so black that the contrast setting is not applicable in this case. For comparison, here are photos in which the screens of the Samsung Galaxy S8+ (profile Basic) and the second comparison participant, identical images were displayed, while the brightness of the screens was initially set to approximately 200 cd/m², and the color balance on the camera was forced to switch to 6500 K.
White field:
We note good uniformity of brightness and color tone of the white field (with the exception of slight darkening and a change in hue towards the curved edges).
And a test picture (profile Basic):
Color rendition is good, the colors are moderately saturated, the color balance of the screens varies slightly. Recall that photography can not serve as a reliable source of information about color rendering quality and are provided for illustrative purposes only. In particular, the pronounced reddish tint of the white and gray fields present in photographs of the Samsung Galaxy S8+ screen is visually absent when viewed from a perpendicular view, which is confirmed by hardware tests using a spectrophotometer. The reason is that the spectral sensitivity of the camera sensor does not exactly match this characteristic of human vision. Note that in this case, the image occupies the height (at this screen orientation) of the entire area available for image display and extends onto the curved edges of the screen, which leads to darkening and color distortion. Also, in the light, these areas almost always glare, which makes it even more difficult to view images displayed on the entire screen. And even the picture of films with an aspect ratio of 16:9 bends, which greatly interferes with watching movies.
The photo above was taken after selecting a profile Basic in the screen settings, there are four of them:
Profile Adaptive display differs in some kind of automatic adjustment of color rendering to the type of output image and environmental conditions:
Saturation and color contrast are greatly increased, it looks terrible. What happens when you select the two remaining profiles is shown below.
Movie AMOLED:
Saturation and color contrast are also increased, but not as much.
Photo AMOLED:
Saturation is slightly lower, but color contrast is slightly higher than in the case Movie AMOLED.
Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen (profile Basic).
White field:
The brightness at an angle for both screens has noticeably decreased (to avoid strong darkening, the shutter speed has been increased compared to previous photographs), but in the case of Samsung the drop in brightness is much less pronounced. As a result, with formally the same brightness, the Samsung Galaxy S8+ screen visually looks much brighter (compared to LCD screens), since the screen mobile device often you have to look at least from a slight angle.
And a test picture:
It can be seen that the colors have not changed much on both screens and the brightness on Samsung smartphone at an angle noticeably higher. Switching the state of the matrix elements is performed almost instantly, but at the switching edge there may be a step with a width of approximately 17 ms (which corresponds to a screen refresh rate of 60 Hz). For example, this is what the dependence of brightness on time looks like when moving from black to white and back:
In some conditions, the presence of such a step can lead to plumes trailing behind moving objects. However, dynamic scenes in films on OLED screens are distinguished by high clarity and even some “jerky” movements.
A gamma curve constructed using 32 points with equal intervals based on the numerical value of the shade of gray showed that there is no significant blockage either in the highlights or in the shadows. The exponent of the approximating power function is 2.09, which is slightly less than the standard value of 2.2, while the real gamma curve deviates little from the power dependence:
Let us recall that in the case of OLED screens, the brightness of image fragments dynamically changes in accordance with the nature of the displayed image - it decreases for generally light images. As a result, the resulting dependence of brightness on hue (gamma curve) most likely slightly does not correspond to the gamma curve of a static image, since the measurements were carried out with sequential display of shades of gray on almost the entire screen.
Color gamut in the case of a profile Adaptive display very wide:
In profile Movie AMOLED coverage is a little narrower:
When selecting a profile Photo AMOLED coverage is adjusted to Adobe RGB boundaries:
When selecting a profile Basic coverage is compressed to sRGB boundaries:
Without correction, the spectra of the components are very well separated:
In case of profile Basic with maximum correction, the color components are already noticeably mixed with each other:
Note that on screens with a wide color gamut without appropriate color correction regular images images optimized for sRGB devices appear unnaturally saturated. Hence the recommendation - in most cases, watching movies, photographs and everything natural is better when choosing a profile Basic, and only if the photo was taken on an Adobe RGB setting, does it make sense to switch the profile to Photo AMOLED. Profile Movie AMOLED, despite the name, is the least suitable for watching movies or anything else.
The grayscale balance is good. The color temperature is close to 6500 K, while in a significant portion of the gray scale this parameter does not change very much, which improves the visual perception of color balance. The deviation from the blackbody spectrum (ΔE) remains below 10 units across most of the gray scale, which is considered good for a consumer device:
(The darkest areas of the gray scale can in most cases be ignored, since color balance there is not very important, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)
For some reason only when selecting a profile Adaptive display It becomes possible to adjust the color balance by three adjustments of the intensity of the primary colors, but due to the too wide color gamut in this profile there is no point in correcting the balance.
Let's summarize. The screen has a very high maximum brightness and has excellent anti-glare properties, so the device special problems Can be used outdoors even on a sunny summer day. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable value. It is acceptable to use a mode with automatic brightness adjustment, which works adequately. The advantages of the screen include an effective oleophobic coating, as well as a color gamut close to sRGB and good color balance. At the same time, let us recall the general advantages of OLED screens: true black color (if nothing is reflected in the screen), a noticeably smaller drop in image brightness than LCDs when viewed at an angle. Disadvantages include modulation of screen brightness. For users who are particularly sensitive to flicker, this may cause increased fatigue. However, overall the screen quality is very high. Separately, we note that from the point of view of image quality, curved edges are only harmful, since this design discovery introduces very noticeable distortions of the color tone and reduces the brightness at the edges of the picture, and in ambient light conditions it leads to inevitable glare along at least one long side of the screen.
Camera
The front 8-megapixel camera does not have its own flash, but it has a fast f/1.7 lens and even supports intelligent autofocus with face detection. As a front-facing flash, you can use the “fill in” bright backlight of the screen directly at the moment of shooting. Naturally, there is a mode for retouching selfie photos. Removes front-camera Not bad for its level, there are no special complaints about detail and sharpness, but it’s hard to say that this camera is in any way better than analogues from Huawei, for example. Not bad, but nothing more.
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The main camera uses a 12-megapixel sensor with a pixel size of 1.4 microns, as well as a fast lens with an f/1.7 aperture, an optical stabilization system and Dual Pixel technology, which is designed to provide autofocus so fast that even the sharpest movements can be captured in low light conditions. There is a very bright LED flash.
The camera takes pictures in automatic or manual mode. In manual settings mode, you can adjust shutter speed (from 1/24000 to 10 s), light sensitivity (up to ISO 800), white balance and exposure compensation. There is the possibility of retouching images, support for HDR auto and a selective focus mode for changing the depth of field in the finished image. The camera is also connected to the Bixby intelligent assistant, which should recognize subjects, find places and translate texts from the screen.
Using the Camera2 API you can transfer camera control third party applications. It is also possible to save pictures in RAW.
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The camera can shoot video in 4K resolution (3840x2160), but only at 30 fps, and 60 fps is only available in Full HD (1920x1080). There is also a shooting mode in an intermediate resolution of 2560×1440, also at a speed of 30 fps. There is an optical stabilization feature that really makes handheld shooting on the go extremely smooth. In any of the resolutions, the camera copes with video shooting very well: sharpness, color rendition and detail are normal, there is enough brightness, there is no question of artifacts and slowdowns. There are no complaints about sound recording either: the sensitivity of the microphones is high, the sound is clear and loud, and the noise reduction system adequately copes with wind noise.
- Video No. 1 (87 MB, 3840×2160@30 fps, H.264, AAC)
- Video No. 2 (33 MB, 2560×1440@30 fps, H.264, AAC)
- Video No. 3 (28 MB, 1920×1080@60 fps, H.264, AAC)
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Good sharpness across the frame. |
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Good detail in the background. |
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The detail is excellent for indoor shooting. |
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The camera handles small and complex details well. |
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Good detail when shooting at dusk. |
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The text was done perfectly. |
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The camera copes well with macro photography. |
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Good sharpness across the frame and in the plans. |
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As the shot is removed, the sharpness drops slowly and smoothly. |
We also tested the camera on a laboratory bench using our method.
| JPEG | RAW |
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Lighting ≈3200 lux. |
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Lighting ≈1400 lux. |
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Lighting ≈130 lux. |
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Lighting ≈130 lux, flash. |
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Lighting<1 люкс, вспышка. |
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Samsung continues to work on the quality of its cameras. The megapixel race, fortunately, has been forgotten, and now the manufacturer pays more attention to the little things. Even in complex scenes, the camera does not forget about small details, so images look good even in low light. The soapiness is gradually fading away, which means that the program’s algorithms have improved. The program has practically stopped “eating” parts, and sharpening is almost invisible. Of course, if you look closely, you can find both, but this is nitpicking.
A laboratory test confirms that the camera has remained virtually unchanged since the previous generation. However, there are differences, they just lie in little things that are difficult for the stand to reflect. For those who like to tinker with photo processing, the manufacturer has made a very good RAW, which in some situations actually allows you to get better results than in-camera JPEG.
In general, the camera turned out to be quite flagship and will cope well with many different scenes.
Telephone and communications
The communication capabilities of the Samsung Galaxy S8+ include support for advanced LTE Cat.16 technology, all three LTE FDD frequency bands of interest to us are supported (Band 3, 7, 20), and there is also support for four TDD LTE bands (Band 38-41). It supports two Wi-Fi bands (2.4 and 5 GHz), has Bluetooth 5.0 LE, and you can organize a wireless access point via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth channels. The developers claim that thanks to support for Wi-Fi 1204-QAM and LTE Cat.16 standards, download speeds compared to previous flagships Samsung Galaxy S7/S7 edge have been increased by 20% both over Wi-Fi and via the mobile Internet. In the city limits of the Moscow region, the device behaves confidently, the quality of signal reception is not satisfactory, the device demonstrates high speeds in the usual test places, and quickly restores communication after a break.
The device has an NFC module, but it does not support working with electronic travel cards. The USB Type-C connector supports connecting external devices in USB OTG mode; the corresponding adapter is included in the accessory kit. The data transfer speed between a computer and a smartphone via a cable connected in the case of a PC to the USB 3.1 Type-C ports is about 26 MB/s.
The navigation module works with GPS (with A-GPS), with the domestic Glonass and the Chinese Beidou. During a cold start, the first satellites are detected within the first seconds, positioning clarity is maximum. There is a built-in magnetic compass.
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The phone application supports Smart Dial, that is, while dialing a phone number, a search is immediately carried out by the first letters in contacts. In conversational dynamics, the voice of a familiar interlocutor is clearly recognizable, there is no extraneous noise, the sound is natural, clear, and there is enough volume reserve. The vibrating alert is much higher in power than the average level; its intensity can be changed manually.
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Software and multimedia
The Samsung Galaxy S8+ uses Android OS version 7.0 Nougat with its own proprietary shell as a software platform. There is a convenient option to quickly transfer all data from your old smartphone to the new Samsung Galaxy S8 or S8+ using the OTG adapter that is included in the package.
First of all, it should be noted that the larger display with a changed aspect ratio and high resolution provides more space for any information, text or graphics, so a lot of attention is paid to the dual-window mode. Not every application here can be made to work in a small window; for this, each has a corresponding icon displayed in the menu of recent open programs. That is, you first need to launch and minimize the application to understand whether it has the ability to work in two-window mode, and then find a second one of the same kind. Not a very simple and intuitive option, but you can get used to it. In addition, the size of such windows can be changed. It is also possible to reduce the entire working area of the screen for ease of operation with the fingers of one hand. We can’t say that this functionality is convenient in practice, since all the elements on the screen become too small, especially the virtual keyboard buttons, but it is possible.
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Due to the non-standard aspect ratio of the screen, the video in the player appears with black bars on the sides, but using scaling you can stretch the image to the very edges of the screen. Some games have reported potential display issues, but overall we haven't encountered any issues that can't be resolved.
Another feature of the Samsung Galaxy S8+ screen is the ability to use its curved sides, which are accessible for finger interaction due to the lack of frames. There is nothing new here: as before, you can display an illuminated virtual strip on the side of the screen, which, when pressed, opens a menu responsible for quick contacts and instant access to the most used applications. Also here it becomes possible to select and save any part of the screen with further text recognition.
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But of course, the main feature of the software of the new Korean smartphones was the appearance of the Samsung voice assistant - Bixby, which is a direct competitor to both Siri and Google Assistant, which, by the way, remained in place. According to the developers, Bixby will not only be able to answer questions by collecting information on the Internet, but also identify a product using a camera and search for it on Amazon, translate texts in real time, and recognize landmarks. But the functions that will allow you to fully control your smartphone through voice commands are not yet available and will appear later.
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As already mentioned, the smartphone camera is connected to the Bixby intelligent assistant, which should recognize shooting objects, find places and translate texts from the screen. True, in practice, for Russian realities, he still manages to do all this with difficulty. Even if the main language of the device is Russian, the program will persistently offer to translate from any other language, but not from Russian. The assistant doesn’t yet know everything about the sights either. At the same time, there were no problems with translation from English into Russian.
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There are very few additional programs, and those that exist are mainly represented by a set of Microsoft applications. Of particular note is Game Launcher, a convenient game aggregator that automatically collects all installed gaming applications in one place, and also provides additional functions related to it. For example, it is possible to start recording the gameplay from the screen right during the game, with its further broadcast on the network. You can also use Game Launcher to improve system performance when launching selected games to improve your gaming experience.
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To listen to music, only the standard Google Play Music player is provided, supplemented by a powerful set of manual settings and equalizer presets, as well as Adapt sound technology for headphones. The smartphone comes with dual-driver AKG headphones with very good sound quality for their level. But while the sound in the headphones is fine, the main speaker of the smartphone is not so impressive. It produces a rather monotonous and flat sound, without noticeable depth and richness, although there are no complaints about the purity and volume reserve.
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Performance
The Samsung Galaxy S8+ hardware platform is built on the Samsung Exynos 8895 Octa SoC with 8 cores in two clusters: 4 Exynos M1 cores with a frequency of up to 2.3 GHz and 4 ARM Cortex-A53 cores with a frequency of up to 1.7 GHz. This SoC is made using the latest 10-nanometer process technology. The Mali-G71 video accelerator with support for the Vulkan graphics API is responsible for graphics processing. The amount of RAM is 4 GB, and the internal memory is 64 GB, of which about 1.6 GB of RAM and 52.5 GB of ROM are initially free.
It is worth noting that traditionally for Samsung, Galaxy devices can be based on different SoCs: in this case, it is Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 or Exynos 8895. As always, the issue of supply of one or another modification will depend on the region. The smartphone we received for testing ran on the Samsung Exynos 8895 platform.
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Based on the results of all tests without exception, the Samsung Exynos 8895 SoC showed maximum results; this is the most powerful mobile platform of all those we have tested so far. Accordingly, the Samsung Galaxy S8+ is one of the most powerful modern smartphones, and it has a significant performance reserve for future updates. The smartphone confidently copes with any tasks in real scenarios, and thanks to a powerful video accelerator, it performs well in the most demanding games. These videos recording gameplay in Modern Combat 5 and Mortal Kombat X were recorded using the built-in means of the smartphone itself using the Game Launcher application.
Testing in complex tests AnTuTu and GeekBench:
For convenience, we have compiled all the results we obtained when testing the smartphone in the latest versions of popular benchmarks into tables. The table usually adds several other devices from different segments, also tested on similar latest versions of benchmarks (this is done only for a visual assessment of the obtained dry figures). Unfortunately, within the framework of one comparison it is impossible to present the results from different versions of benchmarks, so many worthy and relevant models remain “behind the scenes” - due to the fact that they once passed the “obstacle course” on previous versions of test programs.
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Testing the graphics subsystem in gaming tests 3DMark, GFXBenchmark and Bonsai Benchmark:
When testing in 3DMark, the most powerful smartphones now have the ability to run the application in Unlimited mode, where the rendering resolution is fixed at 720p and VSync is disabled (which can cause the speed to rise above 60 fps).
| Samsung Galaxy S8+ (Samsung Exynos 8895 Octa) |
LG G6 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 821) |
Asus Zenfone 3 Deluxe (Qualcomm Snapdragon 820) |
Honor 8 Pro (HiSilicon Kirin 960) |
Meizu Pro 6 Plus (Samsung Exynos 8890 Octa) |
|
| 3DMark Ice Storm Sling Shot ES 3.1 (more is better) |
2628 | 2409 | 2676 | 1417 | 1869 |
| GFXBenchmark Manhattan ES 3.1 (Onscreen, fps) | 19 | 12 | 31 | 18 | 13 |
| GFXBenchmark Manhattan ES 3.1 (1080p Offscreen, fps) | 36 | 24 | 32 | 21 | 24 |
| GFXBenchmark T-Rex (Onscreen, fps) | 57 | 38 | 59 | 46 | 52 |
| GFXBenchmark T-Rex (1080p Offscreen, fps) | 103 | 61 | 92 | 57 | 71 |
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Browser cross-platform tests:
As for benchmarks for assessing the speed of the javascript engine, you should always make allowance for the fact that their results significantly depend on the browser in which they are launched, so the comparison can only be truly correct on the same OS and browsers, and this is possible during testing not always. For Android OS, we always try to use Google Chrome.
| Samsung Galaxy S8+ (Samsung Exynos 8895 Octa) |
LG G6 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 821) |
Asus Zenfone 3 Deluxe (Qualcomm Snapdragon 820) |
Honor 8 Pro (HiSilicon Kirin 960) |
Meizu Pro 6 Plus (Samsung Exynos 8890 Octa) |
|
| Mozilla Kraken (ms, less is better) |
2535 | 2494 | 2931 | 3139 | 13047 |
| Google Octane 2 (more is better) |
9905 | 10036 | 9287 | 10155 | 3116 |
| SunSpider (ms, less is better) |
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Testing has traditionally been done at normal power consumption levels without using power-saving features. In the settings of the Samsung Galaxy S8+ you can find operating modes from high-performance to economical, the choice of which will affect many things, including brightness and even screen resolution.
Continuous reading in the Moon+ Reader program (with a standard, light theme) at a minimum comfortable brightness level (brightness was set to 100 cd/m²) with auto-scrolling lasted 21.5 hours until the battery was completely discharged, and when continuously watching videos in high quality (720p ) with the same brightness level via a home Wi-Fi network, the device operates for up to 14.5 hours. In 3D gaming mode, the smartphone can work for more than 5 hours.
The smartphone should support fast charging, but we were not able to test this because at the time of writing the review, there was no AC adapter included with the test unit. However, from a conventional charger (5 V 2 A) the device charges quite quickly, within about an hour and a half with a current of 1.75 A at a voltage of 5 V. Wireless charging (WPC and PMA) is also supported.
Bottom line
Prices for the Russian market are as follows: On April 28, the Galaxy S8 and S8+ smartphones went on sale in Russia at a recommended retail price of 54,990 and 59,990, respectively. It is not entirely clear why the difference in the cost of devices that are identical in functionality with a slight difference only in the size of the display and battery is as much as 5 thousand. Be that as it may, in the case of the Samsung Galaxy S8+ for 60 thousand, the manufacturer offers one of the best smartphones in many respects, including camera quality, hardware platform performance and very advanced communication capabilities, in an attractive and very unusual case, as well as with a lot of additional functions, many of which, however, were also available in previous models of the series.
At the same time, it cannot be said that the smartphone has become some kind of breakthrough, a new word in the creation of mobile devices and is completely devoid of disadvantages. The single main camera, although it is one of the best on the market, still looks rather strange against the background of the general movement towards increasing the number of modules. We also cannot praise the sound of the main speaker: in terms of sound, the device is clearly inferior to the flagship smartphones of Apple and Huawei. The decision to move the fingerprint scanner to the back side, and even to such an unsuccessfully chosen place, was also very questionable. Well, we can’t help but recall the recent problems with the batteries of Samsung mobile devices catching fire, against the backdrop of which users may now be wary of immediately paying the very high price that the manufacturer asked for its new mobile devices. And yet, interest in the flagship devices of the Korean company has not weakened, this is clear. Even those who had no intention of shelling out 60 thousand rubles for a smartphone are now eagerly discussing its capabilities on the Internet. However, something during the testing process remained undisclosed for us, since we did not have the final commercial sample in our hands. Most likely, we are still waiting, at a minimum, to meet with the Bixby assistant, which has been brought to life, as well as with camera firmware updates, which may well expand its already remarkable capabilities.
In conclusion, we suggest watching our video review of the Samsung Galaxy S8+ smartphone:
We also suggest watching our video review comparing the Samsung Galaxy S8+ and Galaxy S7 Edge smartphones:
Smartphone Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus (Black) allows you to take pictures at a professional level due to the high resolution of the main and front cameras. Photos are bright and vibrant both day and night thanks to the built-in flash. Optical stabilization ensures the frame remains clear even when the subject shakes or moves. The battery capacity is 3500 mAh, which is enough for efficient operation without recharging for a day. The phone works on 4G networks.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus (Black) smartphone can be synchronized with a personal computer using a special cable that comes included. Reliable data security is ensured by fingerprint and iris scanners. The proximity sensor prevents accidental key presses during a call. Using the device, you can pay for purchases in stores contactlessly. The model accepts voice commands, which is especially important for people with an active lifestyle.
Smartphone without borders
The Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus redefines the classic smartphone design. The limitless* double-curved screen highlights the harmony of style and innovation.
* No side frames in the front plane of the screen.
Boundless screen
The main design feature is the almost complete absence of side frames and the rounded edges of the screen. Thanks to its symmetrical design and ergonomics, it will be comfortable to use even with one hand.
Dual Pixel* camera that does it all and more
Capture memorable moments with the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus camera! Photo quality is comparable to professional ones, whether you're shooting on the move, day or night.
* Dual pixel. Professional SLR camera technology.
The most reliable data protection
The iris scanner* in the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus provides a high level of convenience and security. The technology allows you to reliably protect personal data, as well as easily unlock your smartphone.
* The quality of iris recognition may deteriorate from direct exposure to sunlight, or when wearing glasses or contact lenses.
Extended capabilities
Smartphones are equipped with the latest 10nm processor, ensuring fast operation with minimal battery consumption. Expandable memory will allow you to save all your movies, music and photos. And thanks to protection against water and dust (IP68), you will stay connected even in the rain.
*Withstands 30 minutes of immersion in fresh water to a depth of 1.5 m.
Smart Switch Data Transfer
Transfer everything you need from your old smartphone to your new Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus using the OTG adapter included in the package.
Samsung Galaxy S8 is the company’s flagship, which was released in 2017 and amazes with its appearance and technical characteristics
The official release date of the Samsung Galaxy S8 is March 29, 2017, when a completely new flagship was presented in New York. The peculiarity of the device’s positioning is not copying developments from its main competitor, Apple, but the development of a high-quality, different smartphone, which at the time of its release was considered the most technically advanced device running the Android system available on the market.
FOR YOUR INFORMATION!
If we compare it with the previous, “seventh” series, we can safely say that the presented phone was not just a reworking of the previous device, but thanks to a large number of innovations, it is a qualitatively new device.
The company traditionally decided to release two modifications of the device at once - the regular Samsung S8 and a phone with the Plus prefix, which only means an increased screen diagonal. There are no more variations, which simplifies the choice of the user, who does not need to rush between choosing the optimal values of RAM or permanent memory. The most important thing is to determine comfortable dimensions for yourself.
The two models (S8/S8+) are distinguished only by screen diagonal and overall dimensions
FOR YOUR INFORMATION!
It should be noted that the “senior” model of the line received a display diagonal size almost equal to the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, which was released at the same time, the characteristics of which differ fundamentally only in the presence of a stylus and a dual main camera.
The review of the Galaxy S8 should begin with the package contents and design of the model. The device comes in a beautiful matte box, on which blue letters are engraved, indicating the letter code of the model. The most interesting thing for the user is hidden under the lid, which folds back like a box. The package is worthy of a flagship and is quite complete. All components are located in their own cell.
The device comes with a rich set of components, which is typical for flagship devices.
In addition to the smartphone itself, lying on a plastic platform, inside the box the user will find:
- charger with adjustable output current and voltage (5/9 V and 1.67/2 A);
- USB Type-C connection cable;
- adapter from micro-USB to USB Type-C;
- USB to USB Type-C adapter;
- a paperclip for removing the SIM card tray;
- documentation.
FOR YOUR INFORMATION!
At the start of sales, the set included in-ear headphones from AKG, made using dual-driver technology and having a fabric-braided wire that prevents damage. Also included is a set of interchangeable in-channel pads.
The first thing that attracts anyone who picks up a smartphone without yet knowing the exact technical characteristics of the Samsung Galaxy S8 is the design. The device is an elongated “bar”, in which there is not a drop of plastic. All surfaces are made of glass and metal. The beveled edges give the device a streamlined shape. There is a metal frame around the perimeter of the case, which symmetrically narrows on the sides and widens at the top and bottom. It is used to connect two glass panels. Their coating is made of modern protected glass Gorilla Glass 5.
The absence of frames makes the phone truly borderless and allows you to enjoy clear and high-quality images
The rear surface is absolutely symmetrical, and all the curves exactly follow the curves of the front panel. The edges of the glass are bent so strongly that the connecting seam is almost invisible. That is why critics have dubbed the new product from Samsung a “smartphone without borders.”
The smartphone screen turned out to be elongated due to the company’s use of a non-standard aspect ratio – 18:9 as opposed to the usual – 16:9. The complete absence of frames on the sides has led to the acquisition of such a narrow body that even the older model, which has a screen diagonal of 6.2 inches, is quite convenient and comfortable to hold with one hand. The overall dimensions of the smartphone are as follows: length – 148.9 mm, width – 68.1 mm, height – 8 mm with a weight of 155 g.
FOR YOUR INFORMATION!
The back, made of glass, has a fingerprint scanner, the size and shape of which has raised many questions from users and experts
The device has completely lost the physical home button, which has become completely on-screen. One of the interesting “tricks” is the slight displacement of the key each time the smartphone is activated. This is dictated by the desire to prevent the risk of pixel burnout when displaying a static image.
Despite all the beauty and convenience of the design, a significant fly in the ointment that overshadows admiration for the technical characteristics of the Samsung Galaxy S8 is the poor placement of the fingerprint scanner. It is located on the rear panel, but the size of the sensor is significantly reduced compared to accepted standards, and it is oriented vertically. As a result, when unlocking blindly, there is a high probability of touching the camera lens with your finger.
In terms of its technical characteristics, the Samsung Galaxy S8 is one of the most advanced smartphones on the market. Even the release of the next model (S9) could not shake the popularity of the flagship, since, as in the case of IPhone 7 and 8, there were no significant changes, but the cost was increased. Therefore, you can simply buy a Samsung Galaxy S8 smartphone and not chase the “raw” “nine”.
The lack of hardware buttons under the screen is compensated for by on-screen keys
Main characteristics of Samsung Galaxy S8
The table briefly summarizes the main parameters of the model, in terms of technical features.
| Parameter | Characteristic |
| CPU | Samsung Exynos 8895 or Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 |
| OS | Android 7.0 (out of the box). |
| Display | Super Amoled 5.8 inches. |
| SIM card format | Nano-SIM, 2 pieces. |
| Cameras | Main - 12 MP, front - 8 MP. |
| Battery | Built-in 3000 mAh. |
| Memory card support | MicroSD up to 257 GB. |
| Network formats | GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) WCDMA/HSPA+ (850/900/1900/2100 MHz) FDD LTE Band 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 32, 66. TD LTE Band 38 – 41. |
| Wireless interfaces | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC. |
| Wireless charging support | Available. |
To complete the review, we should look at the main parameters in more detail.
Processor type and memory parameters
The company produces two modifications that differ in the type of processor. For Europe and the CIS countries, the device is equipped with Samsung’s own SoC Exynos 8895. This stone represents the 9th generation of this type of processor. Its work is based on the use of a 4+4 solder: the first four cores are ARM Cortex-A-53 with a clock speed of 1.7 GHz, which are necessary for performing simple tasks, and the second is represented by custom Exynos M1 cores with a clock frequency of 2.3 GHz. They are connected when it is necessary to process heavy games or solve complex algorithms.
The device is supplied to the market in a wide range of colors
FOR YOUR INFORMATION!
The main difference between the new processor and other models is the presence of a qualitatively new Mali G71-MP20 graphics accelerator, which provides maximum performance gains.
The results of the main tests demonstrate that the company's use of its own development had a positive effect on power. The results of testing in the main synthetic benchmarks are as follows:
- AnTuTu: 174 155.
- Quadrant Standard: 43 185.
- PCMark: 5,371 (Work 2.0), 6,034 (Work 1.0).
- PCMark Storage: 4 421.
- 3DMark: 3 159.
- Vellamo: 7,269 (browser), 3,324 (Metal graphics), 3,621 (multi-core test).
- Geekbench 4.0: 1,974 (single-core), 6,339 (multi-core).
According to test results, the Galaxy S8 is almost as good as the flagship iPhone 7 Plus
There is also a modification that uses the most powerful Snapdragon from Qualcomm - 835. Such smartphones are supplied only to the US market. If we talk about memory, it should be noted that the company did not endow its device with the most advanced capacity. RAM is only 4 GB, which is standard even for budget models.
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A significant breakthrough was the use of a new data exchange format when using memory. The Samsung Galaxy S8 implements the UFS 2.1 standard, which reduces the load time of the smartphone and switching between programs.
The permanent memory in the device in the basic configuration is 64 GB. The manufacturer has taken the path of increasing the amount of available space. This is due to the development of digital technology, as well as the technical capabilities of the smartphone camera, which allows you to take pictures with a resolution of 4032x3024 pixels, which take up a lot of space. It is also possible to shoot video in Ultra HD format. A video like this also requires free space.
The smartphone has a Samsung matrix with a resolution of 1440×2960 pixels. A distinctive feature is the ability to change the display quality in the settings. You can set the resolution up to 2960×1440 or WQHD+. SuperAMOLED screen with 570 ppi dot density.
Since the device is a flagship, it accordingly has a top-end version of the matrix, which provides maximum viewing angles and good visibility even in bright sunlight. There are many settings, including the adjustment of blue light, which can reduce eye strain when using a smartphone at night.
Various screen display modes are available in the settings, the selection of which is based on the subjective desires of the user
Despite the non-standard aspect ratio, which is not always convenient when watching videos or playing games, the manufacturer has included in the settings the ability to adapt content for user comfort. When this function is activated, the picture is displayed in full screen.
FOR YOUR INFORMATION!
The screen occupies 83.6% of the front surface of the smartphone, the remaining space is given over to minimal upper and lower frames with a thickness of 6 and 7 mm, respectively. Due to the rounded edges, it visually seems that the screen covers almost the entire front part.
Communications
The communication capabilities of the smartphone include support for all major communication formats, even the most advanced LTE Cat.16 technology. According to the developers, the implementation of support for this format made it possible to increase the speed of data reception/transmission by 20% compared to the previous generation.
The AlwaysOn Display function allows you to display a clock, picture, photo or event notifications on the screen
Wireless technologies implemented in the Samsung Galaxy S8 include the use of a dual-band Wi-Fi transmitter and a 5th generation Bluetooth module. The built-in navigation module can work efficiently with both the Russian GLONASS system and the Chinese Beidou satellites. The cold start speed is only a few seconds with maximum positioning clarity. The device also has a built-in magnetic compass.
Multimedia Features Overview
The device is equipped with two cameras. The front one has a resolution of 8 megapixels and does not have its own flash, but is equipped with a fast lens with an aperture size of f/1.7. It also supports intelligent autofocus, which is necessary to implement face recognition when unlocking the screen, and allows you to get a better picture.
The camera has many settings, including preset shooting modes, called up by swiping from left to right across the screen in photo mode
FOR YOUR INFORMATION!
The algorithms used when processing photographs from the front camera will appeal to the fair sex, since excessive smoothing is observed. In the picture this is reflected in the almost complete absence of wrinkles.
The main camera (which is only one) has a resolution of 12 MP, the aperture size is the same - f/1.7, pixel diameter - 1.4 microns. Additionally, to get the best shot, an optical stabilization system and Dual Pixel technology are used to achieve ultra-fast focusing when it is necessary to capture sudden movements in low-light conditions. The manufacturer used the matrix from the previous S7 Edge model in the main camera, providing it with several improvements. As a result, in low-light conditions, built-in processing mechanisms are activated, which allow you to achieve better image detail and reduce the amount of noise. In general, it should be noted that the pictures are saturated, the automatic HDR system does not lead to overexposure of areas of the frame.
The Bixby assistant, which is called up by pressing a single button on the left side, is practically useless in the Russian Federation
In the camera settings, you can select several shooting modes with preset parameters. There is a function for shooting food, an animated panorama, slow-motion mode and taking photos with selective focus.
FOR YOUR INFORMATION!
An interesting new feature of the camera is the virtual shooting mode, with which the user can create a three-dimensional image by shooting an object from all sides.
Additionally, the camera is connected to the Bixby assistant, which allows you to determine shooting locations, find information on the Internet about the subject in the photo, or convert text from the screen into electronic form. Listening to music is not implemented in the best way in the device. There is no own player, so you have to listen to all music content through a service from Google called Play Music, which does not have the most convenient and user-friendly interface. It is possible to build sound quality using a powerful set of manual settings and presets.
Battery and power
The device uses a built-in 3000 mAh battery. The characteristics of the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus are further distinguished by the use of a more capacious battery (3500 mAh). This is due to the larger display diagonal.
The battery supports wireless charging. The charger itself supports fast charging. The time to fully replenish the battery at a voltage of 5 V is about 1.5 hours.
The lifespan of a smartphone in various modes of use is:
- reading an e-book – 21 hours;
- video viewing – 14.5 hours;
- games – 5 hours.
With normal use (telephone conversations, checking email, Internet surfing), the smartphone can last throughout the day. There is also a performance mode setting that unloads unused applications from memory and activates a power-saving mode.
Software
The Samsung Galaxy S8 firmware out of the box is represented by the Android 7.0 operating system, which is slightly modified by the proprietary Samsung Experience shell. At the same time, the manufacturer is already carrying out a massive update to Android OS 8.0, which can be obtained over the air. To the manufacturer’s credit, it should be noted that the amount of pre-installed software is minimal. These are necessary services from Google, custom Samsung applications (notes, browser, smart home control system, tool for migration from other phones, applications for monitoring your own health). There are also office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
There are no hardware keys. They are replaced by a central home key, which has feedback. The menu is called up by swiping from top to bottom or bottom to top on the screen.
FOR YOUR INFORMATION!
Side faces can be active. Applications with the Edge prefix are responsible for this. In particular, you can configure the ability to quickly call a specific contact.
Also, one of the new software features is the appearance of a protected folder, which should be selected in the settings menu. This storage allows you to safely store any information.
You can add frequently used applications and quick calls to the sidebar
Contactless payment options
The smartphone has an NFC module, which makes it possible to make contactless payments. You can install Google Pay or use the built-in system called Samsung Pay. It allows you to register several cards at the same time and select them when paying. The application can be launched even from a locked screen, and payment can be activated using a PIN code or a fingerprint scanner.
Thanks to the presence of an NFC module and support for Samsung Pay, you can pay with one touch of your phone
Additional features
Among the additional features offered by the Samsung Galaxy S8 smartphone, we can highlight unlocking using FaceID or iris scanning. The function, unlike the Apple X, is implemented at a decent level and does not allow false positives; you can unlock the device even in complete darkness. Problems can only arise if direct sunlight hits the screen when the smartphone is activated.
You can unlock your smartphone with your eyes; similarly, you can configure logging into a website that requires you to enter passwords.
Samsung Galaxy S8 design
Beautiful. The wow effect has been achieved. There are no side frames, the display goes to infinity, which became one of the leitmotifs of the official presentation of the Galaxy S8. A small frame remained at the top - it was necessary to place the speaker and two cameras somewhere, one for selfies, the second for scanning the retina. The bottom frame also remains, although there are no vital elements on it.
The Home button is hidden under the screen. The fingerprint scanner has moved to the back cover and is located next to the main camera. They also left a 3.5 headphone jack, for which special thanks. Included with the phone, the buyer will receive AKG headphones, developed in collaboration with Harman Kardon, which is now owned by Samsung.
Galaxy S8 specs: battery
Only the lazy would criticize this aspect of the Galaxy S8's technical characteristics, but we won't do that. Yes, the battery is only 3000 mAh for the S8 and 500 mAh more for the S8+, but fans of the brand have long been accustomed to the fact that the galactic flagship barely lasts until the evening. Nothing will change in 2017. The 10 nm chipset manufacturing process will help save a little battery, so you shouldn’t worry too much about the lack of battery capacity.
Compared to other flagships of spring 2017, the Galaxy S8 looks normal. All leading manufacturers, in pursuit of the flagship design, sacrifice the battery and proudly say that the handset will last one day of light.
If your first priority is not status (after all, flagships are bought precisely for this purpose - to emphasize their status), but its practicality, it is better to buy, say, one that breaks all records in the autonomy rating. The Galaxy S8 shouldn't be running all day. His job is to shine!
Galaxy S8 display
The screen diagonal of 5.8 in the Galaxy S8 and 6.2 in the Galaxy S8+ was counted together with the curved part, so in reality the display is slightly smaller - approximately 5.6 and 5.9 inches. But with the resolution everything is correct - QHD+, that is, 1440 x 2960 pixels. The extra 400 pixels made the screen longer. The aspect ratio has also changed - now 18.5: 9. The matrix is still the same - Super AMOLED. Pixel densities are 571 and 529.
The Galaxy S8 display supports HDR 10 technology, but does not support Dolby Vision. There is no fantastic 4K resolution here, as in the Sony Xperia XZ Premium, but this can hardly be called a disadvantage. On screens with a diagonal of 5-6 inches, such innovations are used solely for marketing purposes; there is no real benefit from them.
Samsung Galaxy S8: hardware specifications
There are a lot of innovations in the hardware, much more useful than HDR10 technology on a tiny screen. Our Samsung Galaxy S8 will be sold with the Exynos 8895 chipset. We wrote in detail about this chipset and posted it, so today we will focus on the key points.
Exynos 8895 is created according to the standards of 10 nm technological process. This ensures reduced battery consumption while increasing operating speed. At the presentation, it was officially announced that the computing power of the CPU (central processing unit) will increase by 10%, and the speed of the graphics adapter will increase by 21%. The numbers reflect the growth of the Galaxy S8 compared to its predecessor, the Galaxy S7.
| S8 | S8+ | P10 | P10 Plus | XZ Premium | LG G6 | HTC U Ultra | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chipset | Snapdragon 835 or Exynos 8895 | Snapdragon 835 or Exynos 8895 | Kirin 960 | Kirin 960 | Snapdragon 835 | Snapdragon 821 | Snapdragon 821 |
| Technical process | 10 nm | 10 nm | 16 nm | 16 nm | 10 nm | 14 nm | 14 nm |
| Number of Cores | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 4 |
| Processor architecture | 4x Mongoose 2 + 4x Cortex A53 or | 4x Mongoose 2 + 4x Cortex A53 or 4x Kryo 280 CPU + 4x 4x Kryo 280 CPU | 4x Cortex-A73 + 4x Cortex-A53 | 4x Kryo 280 CPU + 4x Kryo 280 CPU | 2x Kryo + 2x Kryo | 2x Kryo + 2x Kryo | |
| Clock frequency | 4x 2.35 GHz + 4x 1.7 GHz | 4x 2.35 GHz + 4x 1.7 GHz | 4x 2.4 GHz + 4x 1.4 GHz | 4x 2.4 GHz + 4x 1.4 GHz | 4x 2.45 GHz + 4x 1.9 GHz | 2x 2.35 GHz + 2x 1.6 GHz | 2x 2.15 GHz + 2x 1.6 GHz |
| Graphics accelerator | Adreno 540 or Mali-G71 MP20 | Adreno 540 or Mali-G71 MP20 | Mali-G71 MP8 | Mali-G71 MP8 | Adreno 540 | Adreno 530 | Adreno 530 |
| RAM | 4 GB | 4 GB | 4 GB | 4/6 GB | 4 GB | 4 GB | 4 GB |
| Built-in memory | 64 GB | 64 GB | 32/64 GB | 64/128 GB | 64 GB | 32/64 GB | 64/128 GB |
| microSD slot | There is | There is | There is | There is | There is | There is | There is |
Should you worry that the Galaxy S8 version with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset will not hit the European market? Probably not worth it. Yes, we know, many people ordered S7 from the States, only to get the SD820 option. Is this justified? Only from the point of view of a gamer, and even then... doubtful. The Adreno 530 GPU was faster than the Mali-T880 MP12, but the Exynos processor was otherwise better.
The Galaxy S8 is based on the even more powerful Exynos 8895, which in the first synthetic tests was in no way inferior to the Snapdragon 835. It was also ahead of the Kirin 960 installed in . There is no need to even remember about the 821st Dragon - they will be very much inferior to the new Samsung platform.
The only competitor to the Galaxy S8 in terms of performance may be, but this is unlikely to happen. The Japanese are leaders in technology, but manage to make relatively slow phones year after year. With top-end hardware, their flagships are regularly inferior to their direct competitors in all synthetic tests, and if nothing changes, the Galaxy S8 will become the fastest Android smartphone and will hold the lead until the release of the autumn flagships.
And to finish the conversation about the technical characteristics of the Galaxy S8, let's say that the phone received 4 GB of RAM and 64 internal memory. There is a microSD slot for expanding storage up to 256 GB.
Galaxy S8 camera
The Galaxy S8's camera specs remain virtually unchanged. The phone received the same 12 megapixel module as its predecessor. At the presentation, we were told that to improve the quality of images, a new multi-processing technology has been developed, which takes several additional frames. These frames are then combined with the photo the user took, resulting in a picture that is as perfect as possible - with killer detail, clarity and color saturation.
In fact, there is nothing revolutionary about this technology. It works on a similar principle in HDR+ mode, and this camera is recognized by experts as one of the best on the market. Sony offers something similar, albeit in a slightly different way. Xperia XZ Premium will take 4 preview photos before the camera starts (when motion is detected), and the user can choose the best option from these frames.
The advantage of the Xperia XZ Premium camera is the unique Exmor RS sensor with its own RAM module. Thanks to the presence of RAM built into the camera, the Xperia XZ Premium will be able to shoot super slow-mo at a frequency of 960 frames per second (but there is a minus - the shooting duration is limited to 0.18 seconds). The Galaxy S8 promised super slow-motion with fps, but not a word was said about this at the presentation.
To summarize the above, there are no real differences between the Galaxy S8 camera and the S7 camera. On the one hand, this is not bad - the Seventh Galactic took great photos. But on the other hand... competitors are actively working to improve cameras. Take at least, or LG G6 with a dual module and a wide-angle lens. At this rate, the Galaxy S8 may fall out of the final rankings of the best smartphone cameras by the end of 2017...
Interfaces and software
Very briefly about the little things - the Galaxy S8 supports wireless and fast charging. The USB Type-C v.3.1 interface has wireless and fast charging, and the headphone jack remains in its rightful place. Android... no, not Marshmallow, but the real one Android 7.0 Nougat from the box!
More details about the software, especially about the virtual assistant Bixby, as well as docking stations DeX, new VR technologies and other features of the Galaxy S8, read. Follow the posts and stay with Five-Inches!
Specifications
- Dimensions: 148.9 x 68.1 x 8.0 mm, weight – 155 grams;
- Display: 5.8-inch with WQHD+ resolution (2960×1440), 579ppi, 18.5:9, matrix – Super AMOLED;
- Processor: Exynos 9 Octa 8895, 8 cores, 10 nm;
- Video accelerator: Mali-G71;
- RAM: 4 GB;
- ROM: 64 GB + microSD slot up to 256 GB;
- Main camera: 12 MP, 1/2.55″, 1.4 µm, OIS, f/1.7, 4K video recording;
- Front camera: 8 MP, f/1.7, 1/3.6″, 1.22 µm;
- Battery: 3000 mAh;
- Other: USB Type-C; microSD slot, fingerprint scanner, iris scanner, IP68 case protection.
Design and ergonomics
Let's be honest - this is the best looking smartphone on the market. Everyone is talking about this and this is most likely the first time this has happened. You will find very few, if any, reviews that say the design was a failure. No, it's chic and has a wow effect.
After S5, each subsequent generation only got better. The sixth generation has changed completely: Samsungs have ceased to be remnants and have become more premium in appearance and tactility. The “Seven” has stepped even further and increased its practicality. Now we actually have before us a work of art – the S8. This is not a perfect smartphone, it has its flaws and I will tell you about them, but if we are talking about first impressions, they are great. The smartphone looks modern, technological, and premium, all at the same time.
The body is made of glass (Gorilla Glass 5 on both sides) and metal. As before, the quality and assembly are perfect. That is, there is nothing to complain about - it does not spin, is waterproof and pleasant to the touch.
In terms of elements, everything is more or less standard, but I will note some points. The bottom is now USB Type-C. The 3.5mm headphone jack is in place, for which many thanks. During a flight to the States, I experienced pain with my iPhone 7 Plus when I was watching movies through Lightning headphones and the smartphone was dead. How to charge it and watch a movie? Wireless only. I also had such headphones, but, by the way, even in this regard, Samsung went further. S8 is the first smartphone with Bluetooth 5.0, which means not only increased data transfer speeds, but also the ability to simultaneously connect two BT devices (two headphones, two speakers). Moreover, you can control the volume of each separately. This is very cool, for example, you can watch a movie together and not disturb anyone.
But what still irritates me is the location of some holes on the edges. Well, I can’t come to terms with the off-center location of USB Type-C. But what’s even worse is that all the other holes at the bottom are not located on the same line.
It seems like a small thing, but if we are talking about the most beautiful phone, these little things are worth paying attention to. I understand that to align these elements it would be necessary to design a different placement of everything on the board, but damn, you designed thin frames! By the way, the hole of the second microphone on top is also shifted.
The scanner located at the back is, as expected, inconvenient. I use my phone all the time and I can’t say that I’ve gotten used to it. On the contrary, I developed the habit of looking at the back of the smartphone before unlocking it in order to get my finger in the right place. Otherwise I'm constantly touching the camera. Why didn't they make the scanner under the camera like everyone else?
The good news is that the scanner works quickly and immediately unlocks the smartphone, without the need to press anything. And you can also attach a gesture for lowering the curtain with notifications, like on “pixels”.
You will say that you can use the improved facial recognition feature to avoid constantly reaching for the scanner, but this is just a toy because you can simply unlock the screen with your photo. I tried it myself and it really works. And the smartphone itself warns that even someone just like you will do. This is an unreliable method of protection.
The iris scanner helps, but face unlock doesn't work. But unlocking the iris is quite slow and not always the first time. To launch the iris scanner, you need to press the lock key and swipe across the screen, which takes a long time, and then also hold the device at a certain distance and place your eyes in the circles.
If protection is important to you, but you don’t store codes for the red button on it, then I wouldn’t worry, everything works quickly in the face. And what needs to be hidden can be hidden in a protected folder, to access which you will need to enter a password. True, face unlock does not work in the dark, but there is a scanner on the back. In short, there is a choice.
Small frames on all sides are, of course, very beautiful, but is it convenient? Not really - I can only use the smartphone in the case. I am glad that there are many branded ones, and there will be even more third-party ones, for any requests.
The thing is that without a case I constantly touch something on the screen. It’s even hard to watch a video on YouTube, because there’s nothing to hold the smartphone, because there’s also not enough space at the top and bottom.
Of course, I understand that framelessness is the future and Samsung is great. Perhaps algorithms will soon appear that will recognize and ignore accidental touches of edges, but this is unusual now.
I also don’t quite understand the lack of stereo speakers in the flagship in 2017. This is a drawback, because one speaker, although of high quality, is covered every now and then.
There are now no keys under the display. This is good. I was very annoyed by the touch buttons for “back” and calling up the multitasking menu, because they constantly got in the way. Now all the keys are on-screen and hidden when not needed, freeing up more free space. The home key is now also virtual, but they came up with an elegant solution for it. It is visible even on a locked screen, thanks to the Super AMOLED display and the Always On Display function. And it reacts precisely to pressing, and not to touch. When pressed, you feel a vibration that simulates pressing a button. Not a taptic engine, but not everyone likes it either, so overall they came up with a very good implementation. By the way, this press works in any menu and application, even when the button itself is visually hidden.
Another change I’d like to note is the new mechanical key on the left side; it’s responsible for calling the Bixby voice assistant, which I’ll talk about a little later. Otherwise, everything is simple: on the right is the lock key, on top is a tray for a SIM card and memory card, as well as a second microphone.
Display
The screen is the main part of any smartphone, but here it is of particular importance. It is because of this that the S8 creates this very wow effect. It occupies 83.6% of the front surface, although it seems that all of it is 95. The remaining almost 16-odd percent are frames, although minimal: 6 mm at the bottom and 7 mm at the top. They were able to place everything on them: a camera, an iris scanner, sensors, and a speaker. The only thing that was removed was the Samsung logo. We will mourn him (no).
There are side frames, but they are very thin, due to the curved edges of the display.
The proportions have changed, now they are 18.5:9, and the resolution is 2960x1440 pixels. That is, it is extended upward, due to which the diagonal of the smaller model is 5.8”, and the plus version is 6.2”. But don't think that this is a phablet; the width of the entire S8 smartphone is less than the 5.5" display with an aspect ratio of 16:9. So the display is narrow and tall, and its area is comparable to the S7 and S7 Edge. It is not entirely correct to compare diagonals here, because the ratios are different. If you make the smartphone generally narrow and tall, the diagonal will still be large.
There seem to be no problems with software optimization, because in the settings you can choose which applications should be automatically optimized for a wide format.
As before, the matrix is Super AMOLED, there is support for the HDR 10 standard for watching Amazon Prime, for example. Overall, I can call the screen the best of those on the market. It is very beautiful, energy efficient and has its own unique features, like AOD. In the settings, you can change the color scheme, enable night mode, and also change the displayed resolution: from HD+ to WQHD+.
This doesn’t affect the quality, at least you can’t see it, but it saves battery life. I think the setting itself is only needed for VR, so they could make it automatic. You wouldn't notice anyway.
Cameras
The main camera has not actually changed - the same 12.2 MP, aperture 1.7, the same matrix. The quality remained exactly the same, that is, very good, but, you see, we expected more. Until recently I hoped that there would be a second camera, but no. The only thing that has changed is autofocus; it has become similar to Canon’s Dual Pixel. The video is recorded in 4K with optical stabilization, and at any lower resolution, software is also connected. Therefore, the picture is very stable.
But the front camera has grown: 8 MP, video is recorded in 2K, there is software stabilization. But the main thing is that it has autofocus.
I liked the camera application, it is not overloaded, at least it doesn’t feel that way. Everything is functional, access to most functions is via swipe.
Examples of photos taken with the main camera
Examples of photos taken with the front camera
Video examples
Bixby
Bixby is Samsung's new voice assistant. I’m sure they will ignore it, like S-Voice, because the strategy is already visible here, and not a banal race for the presence of something that speaks in smartphones. The Bixby developers once created Siri and sold it to Apple. And now Samsung has bought this company and they are creating a new generation assistant. The seriousness of the intentions is emphasized by the fact that for Bixby there is a separate (!) mechanical key on the smartphone body that cannot be reassigned (!). For now, the assistant only supports English and Korean.
The button is on the left side, under the volume key, and it’s not entirely clear to me. No matter how cool the assistant is, a separate button for it is somehow too much. Moreover, my considerations are extremely practical - this key is constantly pressed, which turns on the smartphone. And the button itself is nothing at all. If only other functions could be assigned to it. But no, only Bixby, which still doesn’t work fully for us. The Russian language is not supported, and the assistant itself looks like a toy today. Cool features are announced - deep contextual understanding, as well as object recognition in the camera. For example, I saw something, looked it up and immediately ordered it on Amazon. But it just works poorly so far and at best recognizes the type of object: bicycle, slippers, watch. It’s still difficult with specific models. However, as I already said when getting acquainted with the smartphone, Bixby is the brainchild of the creators of Siri, so we’ll have to wait and see.
