Samsung has added more screen size to both of its latest flagship phones, while ensuring they remain easy to hold in one hand. It’s done this by adding extra height rather than width to the display and virtually eliminating the top and bottom bezels.(All photos from alpha.com).
As a result, the new Samsung flagships feel like a significantly smaller phones. For example, both the 5.8in Galaxy S8 (left) and 6.2in Galaxy S8+ actually have larger screens than the 5.5in Google Pixel XL (right).
The Galaxy S7 (right) is a slim and attractive handset, but the Galaxy S8 leaves it in the dust. The S8 isn’t much bigger but it uses its space much more effectively, with a 5.8in screen, compared to the S7’s 5.1in display.
Both new Samsung phones feature stunning 1,440 x 2,960-pixel OLED displays. The only difference is the size: 5.8in for the Galaxy S8 (571 pixels per inch) and 6.2in for the S8+ (529 ppi).
However, Samsung wasn’t the first smartphone maker to use this tall-screen form factor with tiny bezels. The LG G6 (pictured right) was first out, featuring a 5.7in, 1440 x 2880-pixel screen.
One point of difference with the new Galaxy S8 and S8+ is Bixby, Samsung's new AI digital assistant...
With Bixby you can focus on an object, and it will look for shopping results or image results. Sometimes it worked well...
Sometimes Bixby didn't work so well.
Another point of difference is the Samsung DeX, which is more than rather pricey ($199) dock. Slot in the Galaxy S8, connect a keyboard, mouse and monitor, and you’ll be able to use your phone to run a complete windowed desktop environment.
The Samsung DeX desktop environment is surprisingly snappy and capable. We were able to work perfectly happily with it for almost a whole day – until we needed to use Photoshop to do some RAW file editing.
The Galaxy S8's 12-megapixel rear camera is much the same as its predecessor, but the software has been improved. In particular, it now takes three shots in quick succession and combines them into a better picture. The results are very good indeed.
In low-light conditions, the Galaxy S8 copes even better than the S7 (right). It’s not a huge difference, but the contrast is slightly better and the colours feel a touch richer.
While the Galaxy S8 takes great photos, the Google Pixel XL (left) produces more balanced, natural-looking shots.
In this low-light image, the Pixel XL (left) gets white balance under fluorescent lighting spot on while the S8's image is slightly too yellow. Close inspection also shows the Pixel's shot to be grainier, but slightly better in terms of detail preservation.
The two new Samsung Galaxy flagships are virtually the same inside, with 2.3GHz octacore Samsung Exynos 8895 processor and 64GB of storage.
The only real differences between the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are the sizes of the screen (5.8in vs 6.2in) and the handset (155g vs 173g), and the price (the S8+ costs $150 more).
While the Galaxy S8+ is easy enough to hold, it’s bulky in the pocket. If you’re of the ‘bigger the screen, the better’ school of thought, you’ll probably love the S8+. For everyone else, the S8 is the better balanced phone...
Samsung has added more screen size to both of its latest flagship phones, while ensuring they remain easy to hold in one hand. It’s done this by adding extra height rather than width to the display and virtually eliminating the top and bottom bezels.(All photos from alpha.com).