Samsung Galaxy S8 review
Update: Screen experts DisplayMate have crowned the display on the Samsung Galaxy S8 as the best around.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 is one of those phones that just has to do well – it's up against some massively impressive competition in 2017 – and the good news is that this is, indeed, a very strong phone.
The amount of S8 leaks we've seen are staggering, both in their volume and accuracy, but they don't tell the whole story about a phone that's certain to be at the top (or very near the summit) of most 'best phone' lists this year.
The Infinity Display is the headline feature of this handset – while it's not all screen, it's as close as can be.
Samsung has also been very clever in the way it's got around the loss of the front-facing home screen button, managing to make the handset usable without requiring the mechanical key on the front of the Galaxy S8.
Samsung Galaxy S8 release date and price
We should probably get the fact that this is the most expensive Samsung has ever made out of the way right now. The Samsung Galaxy S8 price is $724 (£689, AU$1,199).
The actual Samsung Galaxy S8 release date is April 21 in the US and April 28 in the UK, with pre-orders now available - if you're in the UK, you can pre-order now and get the phone up to eight days earlier... plus you can see the best Samsung Galaxy S8 deals here.
Design
he look of the Samsung Galaxy S8 is what will sell it to the legions of fans clamoring for a new phone from the brand – and to a wider audience as well.
While there aren't that many internal upgrades, the front of the phone is mostly just display, and it’s by far the lowest bezel-to-screen ratio we've seen on a globally-available flagship phone so far.
The effect will definitely impress the first time you pick it up – while the Infinity Display (as Samsung is calling this edge-to-edge effort) isn't completely bezel-less at the sides, it still seems to spill over to the back of the phone.
Every corner and edge has been rounded on the Samsung Galaxy S8, giving it a very pleasing feel in the hand. It's the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge with a bit more courage in the design – Samsung has spent two years convincing the world that a curved screen is best, and the fact it's on both this handset and the larger Galaxy S8 Plus is testament to that effort.
That said, it's not a small phone. The 5.8-inch screen is packed tightly into the frame but it's still large at 148.90 x 68 x 8mm, and you'll struggle to reach all corners of the screen with a single thumb.
The fingerprint scanner is on the back, by the camera, and it's rather hard to use from the natural holding position for a phone in your palm. It is something you could get used to, but we're not sure why Samsung put it so close to the camera when it could have been closer to the middle of the phone.
However, we don't want to take away from how impressive the Galaxy S8 is in the hand, with the 5.8-inch screen squashed into an impossibly-small chassis – and one that packs in wireless charging and a IP68 rating, so you'll be able to immerse this phone in water and dust with little worry... and not even need to plug in a cable to charge it.
Screen
Let's spend a little more time on one of the headline features of this phone: the screen.
Before we dive into details though, it's worth noting that the Samsung Galaxy S8 display has taken the title of "best smartphone screen" in DisplayMate's in-depth testing - putting it above all overs on the market. In short then, the screen on the Galaxy S8 is very, very good.
The 5.8-inch Super AMOLED display is clear, bright and colorful, with a QHD resolution (and a little bit more, thanks to the screen being extended further down the chassis and now offering an 18.5:9 aspect ratio).
However, it's worth noting that the QHD element has been reduced by default: you'll be looking at a Full HD offering to start with, and you'll need to choose to enable the full resolution capability in settings
Samsung is partnering with Netflix and Amazon to offer HDR streaming to its phone, although it's less partnering and more, well, letting you view HDR-enabled programming on a phone.
The Mobile HDR standard doesn't really mean much at this stage - Sony is claiming high quality and LG is touting Dolby Vision support, but given how nascent HDR is, this isn't the most cutting-edge and important feature.
However, for the future of this handset and others, HDR technology will make a difference in terms of the brightness and clarity of video.
Bixby
Samsung has shocked us in a small way by announcing Bixby, its own take on an intelligent assistant, before the lanuch of the phone. The Samsung Galaxy S8 is clearly the launch vehicle for the AI service, and there's even a dedicated Bixby key on the side of the Galaxy S8 so you've always got instant access to the portal.
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