Samsung Galaxy S8 review: Plans | Pricing | Specs

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There’s no doubting that Samsung had a rocky time leading up to the launch of the Galaxy S8. The Galaxy Note 7 should have been a triumph and but for that pesky issue with handsets bursting into flames, it would have been.

The Note 7’s untimely demise put Samsung in the tricky position of heavily marketing the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge at a time when it should have been building up the hype for the Galaxy S8 prior to Mobile World Congress. Instead, Samsung used its MWC 2017 launch to show off some shiny new tablets for both Android and Windows 10, with just a simple announcement that the Galaxy S8 would be launched nearly a month later.

The Samsung Galaxy S8, as Samsung pitched it, was a revolutionary device that would "unbox your phone" and deliver so much more than any smartphone had before. While Samsung has enjoyed a dominating position in the Android space, those were still bold claims for the Galaxy S8 to live up to. We've assiduously tested the Galaxy S8 here at finder to separate the hype from the reality of the Galaxy S8 and the news is (mostly) good.

Design

• The curved "Infinity" display is mighty attractive and maximises usable screen space without increasing phone size.
• Water resistance remains top-notch.

• Read more on the Samsung Galaxy S8 design

  The Galaxy S8’s design is a key part of its appeal, as should be the case for any phone sitting in a premium price bracket. The Galaxy S8 packs in a 5.8-inch Quad HD (2960x1440) display into a frame that measures only 148.9x68.1x8.0mm, thanks largely to the total lack of side bezels. The Galaxy S8 still has a tiny top and bottom bezel, largely because the front camera and iris scanner has to sit somewhere on the display.

  Samsung refers to the curved edge display on the Galaxy S8 and sibling Galaxy S8+ as the "Infinity" display. It’s an extension of the same curved display found on previous handsets such as the Galaxy S7 Edge and it’s highly visually appealing. It accentuates the smoothly curved edges of the Galaxy S8 when you’re looking at it, but it’s when you’re holding it that you feel the benefit.

  Holding the Galaxy S8 feels like you’re gripping a single piece of finely shaped glass in your hand and if you stop to consider the screen size, there’s no way it should feel this small. By way of comparison, the Apple iPhone 7 Plus measures in at 158.2x77.9x7.3mm, so it’s considerably larger in the hand, but you’re only looking at a 5.5-inch display on that particular handset.

  

  Samsung has clearly accentuated smooth design on the Galaxy S8, with the rear of the phone featuring the thinnest possible edge around the camera lens array and fingerprint sensor. The one slight design misstep here is that they’re both ringed by the same thickness of band, so you can’t quickly tell one from the other if you’re not actively looking at it.

  I tested out the Midnight Black variant of the Galaxy S8, although in Australia it will also sell in Orchid Grey and Maple Gold variants. The glossy black finish looks great from a distance, but rather predictably it’s an utter fingerprint magnet in day-to-day use. If you want to show off your shiny new Galaxy S8, be ready to carry around a cleaning cloth with you at all times.

  Water resistance has been a feature of Samsung’s premium phones, with even the mid-range Samsung Galaxy A phones of late. It’s present and correct in the Samsung Galaxy S8 as well. We’ve repeatedly dunked our Galaxy S8 in the name of science and with its IP68 rating, it’s come through every time. That’s not a licence to drown it in plenty of pool water or the surf, because that rating does, strictly speaking, work for clean lab water only, but a little bit of accidental immersion shouldn’t affect the S8 in any significant way.

Camera

• The single-lens approach lacks the versatility of many competing smartphones.
• Nevertheless, the Galaxy S8 is capable of taking quality shots suitable for on-the-go photography.

• Read more on the Samsung Galaxy S8 camera

  Samsung hasn’t pushed the limits of phone photography as far as some of its competitors and it’s tempting to put the decision not to opt for a dual-lens array as found in phones such as the Huawei P10, iPhone 7 or LG G6 into the minus column. Still, the Galaxy S8’s 12MP F/1.7 OIS rear camera is a very competent camera in the premium space and Samsung’s simplified camera app makes it easy to take decent photos. Here are some sample shots taken from the Galaxy S8:

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  Samsung Galaxy S8 Sample Pics

  While we might have liked Samsung to adopt a multi-lens capability simply because it does give you more flexibility in your photographic choices, the Galaxy S8 is a very good camera phone, essentially taking the view that if it isn’t broken, why fix it? The one slight downside here is that it’s a somewhat less compelling upgrade if you’re coming directly from the Samsung Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 Edge, both of which feature very good cameras indeed. Next time, aim for great, rather than just good, Samsung.

Performance

• Handles even the most demanding apps without a hitch.
• Not quite as impressive for playing 3D games.

• Read more on the Samsung Galaxy S8 performance

  The variant of the Galaxy S8 that Samsung will officially sell in Australia comes with the Exynos 8995 processor, which means it’s using Samsung’s own in-house silicon rather than the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835. I haven’t been able to test and compare against the Snapdragon 835 to see whether or not we’re getting the "best" version of the Galaxy S8, but what I can confidently say is that Samsung has brought the goods when it comes to raw performance. On an anecdotal level I couldn’t stump the Exynos 8995 with demanding apps even when they were pushing the screen resolution heavily.

  This was reflected in the Galaxy S8’s benchmark performance. Here’s how it compared against a range of contemporary premium handsets using Geekbench 4’s CPU test:

  Handset	Geekbench 4 CPU Single Core (higher is better)	Geekbench 4 CPU Multi Core (higher is better)
  Samsung Galaxy S8	1989	6628
  Huawei Mate 9	1925	6068
  Apple iPhone 7 Plus	3374	5649
  Apple iPhone 7	3452	5599
  Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge	1359	5333
  Samsung Galaxy S7	1378	4718
  Oppo R9s Plus	1466	4415
  LG G6	1810	4228
  Apple iPhone SE	2449	4171
  Google Pixel XL	1629	4051
  Motorola Moto Z	1477	3853
  HTC U Ultra	1648	3848
  Sony Xperia XZ	1636	3604

  That gap between single- and multi-core performance from the iPhone 7 family and the Galaxy S8 does suggest that the S8 could be pushing single-core apps a little harder, although it could also be indicative of Apple’s tight control of its entire ecosystem from software up as well. In any case, the S8 rather handily sees off its immediate Android competition in straight performance benchmarks.

  In 3D benchmarks the S8 stumbles slightly against its competition, only narrowly edging out last year’s Galaxy S7 Edge:

  Handset	3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited Result
  Apple iPhone 7 Plus	37956
  Apple iPhone 7	37717
  HTC U Ultra	29968
  Apple iPhone SE	29276
  Samsung Galaxy S7	28903
  Samsung Note7	28646
  Google Pixel XL	28458
  Huawei Mate 9	28457
  Samsung Galaxy S8	28409
  Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge	28402
  LG G6	28344
  Sony Xperia XZ	26279

  Benchmarks don’t always show the entire picture. I’ve thrown plenty of high-intensity games at the S8 without particular issue during the review period. Its ability in the VR space certainly doesn’t suggest the kinds of figures 3DMark chewed out of it.

  It's also worth mentioning that the model of the Galaxy S8 sold in Australia carries within it Qualcomm’s X16 LTE modem. It’s the same essential part as found in Telstra’s Nighthawk M1 hotspot, with the same Category 16 capabilities of up to 1Gbps download speeds. In reality you’re unlikely to see that in operation, but it does give the S8 plenty of headroom for further network expansion. Just keep an eye on your usage, because at those speeds, mobile data charges can rack up rapidly.

Battery life

• All-day battery even under heavy use.
• Supports both fast charging and wireless charging.

• Read more on the Samsung Galaxy S8 battery life

  Samsung has been forced to spend up big on battery technology and safety following the Note 7 debacle and certainly there has been no smoke escaping from my review unit as yet. That safety spend and focus certainly doesn’t seem to have hurt Samsung’s ambitions in terms of battery life, with a 3,000mAh onboard battery powering the Galaxy S8. Single day battery life, even with heavy usage, is quite easy to achieve and if you're a moderate user two days should be equally easy. Throwing the Galaxy S8 through Geekbench 3’s older battery life test confirmed its superior battery prowess:

  Handset	Geekbench 3 Battery Test Duration	Geekbench 3 Battery Score
  Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge	11:55:00	7150
  Samsung Galaxy S8	11:47:50	7078
  Apple iPhone 7 Plus	11:11:20	6713
  Samsung Galaxy Note7	11:02:20	6623
  Samsung Galaxy S7	10:01:20	6013
  Google Pixel XL	9:14:20	5543
  LG G6	9:09:30	5495
  Huawei Mate 9	9:00:30	5330
  Sony Xperia XZ	8:24:20	5042
  Apple iPhone 7	7:50:10	4701
  HTC U Ultra	7:25:40	4456

  When your only competition is your own phone, you’re doing something right. I’ve not had the opportunity to test the Galaxy S8+ and its 3,500mAh battery as yet, but logically it should do even better again.

  The Galaxy S8 switches over to the newer USB-C standard for charging, with Samsung supplying a standard charger in the box, but it’s also wireless charging capable if that’s more your style. USB-C is becoming more standard, but it’s nice to note that Samsung provides both type A and microUSB adaptors in the box, so even if you forget your charger you can easily hook up to an older style adaptor, or plug directly into a PC or Mac to get some extra juice.

Verdict

• Not ground-breaking, but still an excellent example of premium smartphone design.

• Read our full Samsung Galaxy S8 verdict

  Samsung’s pitch for the Galaxy S8 as being "revolutionary" doesn’t entirely ring true, partly because this is just a smartphone at its heart and partly because it’s a rather logical conclusion point for its current design language. Had it genuinely changed the smartphone game by, say, offering a flexible screen or changing apps the way the original iPhone overtook the Nokia and Blackberry handsets that were the norm at the time it could be called revolutionary, but it's doesn't hit either of those goals.

  So the hype is perhaps a little overstated, but the reality of using the Galaxy S8 shows that Samsung still fundamentally understands what a premium phone needs to be in 2017.

  The Galaxy S8 is a seriously sexy looking handset that backs up those good looks with plenty of power, both in a processing sense and in terms of its overall battery life. It’s the complete package and easily the best phone we've tested in 2017 so far.

  

  That’s not to say that it doesn’t face some significant competition worthy of your consideration. If what you want in a premium smartphone is a device that looks great in your hand, consider the HTC U Ultra. If you hunger for more dual-camera Android action, the LG G6 can be had for less through Telstra and there’s always the upcoming Huawei P10 to fill that particular gap, or for that matter Huawei’s very affordable Mate 9 as well. If you’re curious about the difference a Snapdragon processor should make, Sony’s Xperia XZ Premium impressed us mightily at Mobile World Congress.

  Equally, if you're in a position where your budget is constrained, we're seeing a lot of bargains around outright purchase of last year's Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge right now, sometimes for less than half the Galaxy S8's asking price. They're not quite as shiny or cutting edge, but they're still great phones if you want to stay within the Samsung family.

Pricing and availability

• Price: RRP $999
• Where to buy: The Good Guys | eBay | Kogan

Specifications

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