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Samsung has today announced its new flagship smartphones Galaxy S8 and S8+ at simultaneous events in London and New York. The new devices’ outstanding feature is the new infinity display which combines curved display edges with minimal bezels, allowing for a screen that covers almost the entire front of the devices. This means the home button is now implemented underneath the display but works in the same way as before.
Display size is pretty much the only difference between the new models. The S8 comes with a 5.8″ screen, and at 6.2″ the S8+ is a touch larger. The 2960 x 1440 resolution is the same on both new phones, though.
While the new displays looks impressive, the camera department has unfortunately less innovation to show off. From a hardware point of view the S8 generation is, at least on paper, identical to its predecessor. A 1/2.5″ 12MP sensor with dual-pixel AF is combined with a fast F1.7 aperture and optical image stabilization.
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There is some news on the software side of things, though. A new multi-frame technology captures three photos and then selects the clearest image and uses the other two to reduce motion blur. Samsung says the merging of frames also results in better detail and exposures in low light. A new camera user interface allows for easier one-handed operation. The camera resolution at the front has been upped from 5 to 8MP and there is now also a face-detection AF. At F1.7 the aperture is the same as in the main camera.
In terms of processing power the S8 and S8+ offer the very best. Android 7.0 is, depending on region powered by Qualcomm’s latest flagship chipset Snapdragon 835 or Samsung’s own Exynos 8895. 4GB of RAM and 64GB of expandable storage are on board as well. The new models are also IP68 certified for environmental protection and come with both a fingerprint reader on the back and an iris scanner for increased security. Samsung’s new Bixby voice assistant is on board as well and the optional DeX dock converts the devices into a Windows Continuum-style desktop. The Galaxy S8 and S8+ will be available from April 21st. No pricing information has been made available yet.
Key specifications:
- 12MP 1/2.5″ CMOS sensor with 1.4-micron pixels
- F1.7 aperture
- OIS
- On-sensor phase detection
- 4K video
- 1080p@120fps slow-motion
- 8MP, F1.7 front camera with AF
- 5.8″ (S8) / 6.2″ (S8+) display with 2960×1440 resolution
- Android 7.0 Nougat
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 or Samsung Exynos 8895 chipset (depending on region)
- 4GB RAM
- 64GB storage
- microSD-slot up to 256GB
- 3000mAh (S8) / 3000mAh (S8+) battery
- Fingerprint sensor and iris scanner
- IP68 certification
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)