Samsung’s Galaxy S8 is here

Samsung’s Galaxy S8 and S8+ are finally here. After months of leaks and rumours we now officially know what the Galaxy S8 really has to offer.

The Samsung Galaxy S8 will launch worldwide on April 21^st 2017 and is their first major smartphone since the disastrous (exploding) Galaxy Note 7.

What’s new about the Galaxy S8?

Massive display:

The Galaxy S8 range has the largest displays of any Galaxy S ever, measuring in at 5.8 inches for the S8 and 6.2 inches for the S8+, both with a screen resolution of 2960 x 1440.

Faster and more efficient:

The new smartphone comes with Qualcomm's newest Snapdragon 835 system-on-a-chip (SoC), 4GB of RAM and run Android 7.0 Nougat with a redesigned TouchWiz skin. Both the S8 and S8+ come with 64GB of storage and a microSD card slot which can add an additional 256GB.

The Snapdragon 835 gives the S8 range around 27% faster performance than phones like the Google’s Pixel and it is also more efficient and uses about 40% less power than before.

Better battery:

The Galaxy S8 and S8+ also comes with bigger batteries, the S8 with a 3000 mAh and the S8+ with a 3500 mAh battery. It also comes with the same built-in wireless and fast charging.

Facial recognition:

83% (of the front) of the Galaxy S8 device is covered by the display which means there is no space for an actually home button so instead there is a virtual home button.

There is still a fingerprint sensor, but annoyingly it is located on the back of the device near the camera.

Fortunately, the Galaxy S8 offers three biometric ways to unlock your device. These are fingerprint, iris scanner and facial recognition. The new feature unlocks the device when you look at your phone (even when the screen is locked) but Samsung has said it is less secure than the iris scanner on the Note 7 and there have been reports that you can trick your phone to unlock via facial recognition with videos.

Intelligent AI:

Another new addition to the Galaxy S8 range is Bixby the built-in AI assistant, which comes with its own dedicated activation button on the left side of the device.

Samsung says that Bixby is much more intelligent and can do much more than answering common questions and perform simple actions like Siri. Bixby allows users to use their voice for everything you would otherwise do by tapping the screen. Bixby is also able to identify objects and provide either additional information or suggest where you can purchase it from using image recognition which works via the camera.

Disappointing camera update:

The rear camera hasn’t had much of an update so isn’t likely to compete with the dual camera that the iPhone 7 Plus has to offer.

Other features:

The device is available in the UK in just two colours to start with: Midnight Black and Orchid Gray, however in the U.S. the Galaxy S8 comes in an extra colour Artic Silver, and South Korea get two more options Maple Gold and Coral Blue.

It also comes with a headphone jack.

The Galaxy S8 and S8+ are IP68 dust and water-resistant, which means they're submergible in up to five feet of water for up to 30 minutes.

The Galaxy S8 and S8+ are available to pre-order and will set you back £689 for the S8 and £779 for the S8+. Check it out here.