Samsung finally unleashes the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ flagships

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. has finally launched the Galaxy S8 and S8+ to the world, a smartphone that pushes the boundaries of traditional smartphones with its seamless hardware design and a variety of new service offerings. With the launch of multiple services and apps, as well as a stunning Infinity Display for immersive viewing experiences, the Galaxy S8 and S8+ bring a new level of functionality and convenience, opening up a galaxy of possibilities.

“The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ usher in a new era of smartphone design and fantastic new services, opening up new ways to experience the world,” said DJ Koh, President of Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics. “The Galaxy S8 and S8+ are our testament to regaining your trust by redefining what’s possible in safety and marks a new milestone in Samsung’s smartphone legacy.”

The Galaxy S8 builds on Samsung’s heritage of creating stunning designs and functional devices. Available in 5.8-inch Galaxy S8 and 6.2-inch Galaxy S8+, the Infinity Display and bezel-less design form a smooth, continuous surface with no buttons or harsh angles. The result is a truly immersive viewing experience without distractions and makes multi-tasking more convenient. The Galaxy S8’s compact design enables comfortable one-handed operation and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on both the front and back for durability and a high-quality finish.

The Galaxy Foundation

In addition to the new design innovations, Samsung continues to deliver cutting-edge technology including an advanced camera, enhanced performance and more to the devices that users love, including:

    • Premium Camera: The Galaxy S8 and S8+ are equipped with an advanced 8MP F1.7 Smart autofocus front camera and 12MP F1.7 Dual Pixel rear camera for the best low-light, zoom and anti-blur photos with enhanced image processing.

    • Powerful Performance: Packing powerful performance and connectivity, the Galaxy S8 and S8+ feature the industry’s first 10nm processor, enabling heightened speed and efficiency. It is also gigabit LTE and gigabit Wi-Fi ready with support for up to 1Gbps so users can quickly download files, regardless of the file size.

    • Robust Entertainment: As the world's first mobile device certified by the UHD Alliance as MOBILE HDR PREMIUMTM, Galaxy S8 and S8+ let you see the same vibrant colours and contrasts that the filmmakers intended while watching your favourite shows. In addition, the Galaxy S8 and S8+ offer next-level gaming experiences with vivid and superior graphic technology, as well as Game Pack, featuring top game titles, including select titles supported by the Vulkan API.

    • Global Standard in Mobile Security: The Galaxy S8 and S8+ are built on Samsung Knox, a defence-grade security platform. In addition, the Galaxy S8 and S8+ will offer a wide selection of biometric technologies including a fingerprint scanner, iris scanner and facial recognition so users can select a secure biometric authentication method that works best for them.

The Galaxy S8 and S8+ will also come with the foundational Galaxy features that our customers have come to love, including:

    • IP68 water and dust resistance

    • MicroSD support up to 256GB

    • Always-on display

    • Fast and wireless charging capabilities

New Way to Interact with Your Phone

Bixby is an intelligent interface that will help users get more out of their phone. With the new Bixby button, you will be able to conveniently access Bixby and navigate through services and apps with simple voice, touch and text commands. At launch, Bixby’s Voice function will integrate with several Samsung native apps and features including Camera, Contacts, Gallery, Messages and Settings, with the plan to expand its capabilities to include more Samsung and third-party apps in the near future. Contextual awareness capabilities enable Bixby to offer personalized help based on what it continues to learn about the user’s interests, situation and location.

Users can also shop, search for images and get details about nearby places with Bixby’s image recognition technology. As the Bixby ecosystem grows, it will connect across devices, apps and services as a ubiquitous interface, and open up new experiences and scenarios to simplify life.

Beyond the Phone Experiences

The Galaxy S8 and S8+ offers robust portfolio of products and services, elevating the both devices experience for premiere mobile productivity and connectivity.

The Galaxy S8 and S8+ unlock the new Gear VR with Controller, powered by Oculus. Enabling convenient one-handed control and navigation, the controller provides better motion interaction when accessing interactive VR content. The Galaxy S8 and S8+ will also connect to the new Gear 360 to create 4K 360-degree videos and 15MP photos.

Leveraging the processing power of the Galaxy S8 and S8+ for enhanced productivity, Samsung DeX is a unique solution that transforms your smartphone into a desktop by providing a secure desktop-like experience. With Samsung DeX, users can easily display and edit data from their phone, making working from a smartphone faster and smarter.

In addition, as more IoT devices enter the market and the connected network becomes more complex, Samsung Connect simplifies smart device management. With Samsung Connect, users can easily activate IoT-enabled devices through a quick three-step configuration process and manage all connected devices through one integrated app.

The Galaxy S8 and S8+ also come with the enhanced Samsung Health service, expanding one of Samsung’s most widely used services with 60 million monthly active users and 11 million daily active users worldwide. Samsung Health includes tele-health (US-only), personal coaching, social capabilities that redefine traditional health and fitness.

Users can leave their physical wallet behind with Samsung Pay, turning their Galaxy S8 and S8+ into a digital wallet they can use almost anywhere they’d use a credit or debit card. With more than 870 worldwide banking partnerships, Samsung Pay has processed more than 240 million transactions to date.

New high-performance earphones tuned by AKG by Harman, offering uncompromised audio for unbeatable sound quality, will come as an in-box accessory. These earphones will have a comfortable hybrid canal fit for better noise cancellation and will be made from anti-tangle metal-fabric material.

The Galaxy S8 and S8+ will be available starting on April 21, and will be offered in a rich colour palette including Midnight Black, Orchid Gray, Arctic Silver, Coral Blue and Maple Gold.

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ Product Specifications:

OS: Android 7.0

Network: LTE Cat. 16

Dimension:

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

Processor:

• Octa core (2.3GHz Quad + 1.7GHz Quad), 64 bit, 10 nm process
• Octa core (2.35GHz Quad + 1.9GHz Quad), 64 bit, 10 nm process

Memory: 4GB RAM (LPDDR4), 64GB (UFS 2.1)

Display:

• Galaxy S8: 5.8-inch (146.5mm)1 Quad HD+  (2960x1440), (570ppi)
• Galaxy S8+: 6.2-inch (158.1mm) Quad HD+(2960x1440), (529ppi)

Camera:

• Rear: Dual Pixel 12MP OIS (F1.7)
• Front: 8MP AF (F1.7)     

Battery:

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

Fast Charging on wired and wireless, Wireless Charging compatible with WPC and PMA

Payment: NFC, MST       

Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz), VHT80 MU-MIMO, 1024QAM, Bluetooth v5.0 (LE up to 2Mbps), ANT+, USB Type-C, NFC, Location (GPS, Galileo, Glonass, BeiDou) Galileo and BeiDou coverage may be limited.              

Sensors: Accelerometer, Barometer, Fingerprint Sensor, Gyro Sensor, Geomagnetic Sensor, Hall Sensor, Heart Rate Sensor, Proximity Sensor, RGB Light Sensor, Iris Sensor, Pressure Sensor

Audio: MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA, DSF, DFF             

Video: MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM              

Samsung Galaxy S8 will be available starting April 21. Prices are expected to be $855 (approx Rs 56,000) for the S8 (64GB) and $966 (approx Rs 63,000) for the S8+ (64GB). Launch date for India and prices were not announced. However, we expect to see the India launch in April.