Samsung Galaxy S8 review: Essence distilled

21 April 2017
When 5 inches is the de-facto standard for a compact Android handset, yet you want to prove that more is always better, what do you do? If you're Samsung, you make a 5.8-inch phone that's as compact as a 5-incher.

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  • ?
  • Anonymous
  • wgG
  • 30 May 2017

Fantastic review. Just retired my iPhone 6S. The sgs8+ is amazing.

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • JcN
    • 29 May 2017

    AnonD-77443, 29 Apr 2017Curved screens look nice but i'd rather a flat screen. Eas... moreIf screen breaks it cost almost double as much to replace it

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      • AnonD-72356
      • rKW
      • 26 May 2017

      Anonymous, 24 May 2017How many people will mis press the fingerprint button? When... moreNo one because they'll press (not touch) the always on 3D touch home button and the phone will be unlocked by their iris or face with an illusion of having an inbuilt under display fingerprint scanner.

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • vV5
        • 24 May 2017

        How many people will mis press the fingerprint button? When you are using the S8 by your left hand.

          • z
          • zaman80
          • dQx
          • 17 May 2017

          AnonD-635604, 17 May 2017211 comments? Sony Xperia XZ Premium gets nearly 700 comme... moreso, what's ur point?

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            • AnonD-72356
            • rJS
            • 17 May 2017

            AnonD-668309, 10 May 2017I'm the iphone iOS user for long , with the design I had lo... moreMaybe you live in a very hot region with high temperature. It's powered by world's fastest octa core processor, obviously it'll heat up in warmer areas, buy a cooling pad or laptop table with cooling fan and charge your smartphones on it. My S8 never gets hot so it might not be your unit, it might be your weather.

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              • AnonD-635604
              • KZ8
              • 17 May 2017

              211 comments?
              Sony Xperia XZ Premium gets nearly 700 comments.....

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                • LeOui Futon
                • w0X
                • 15 May 2017

                No one's going to comment on how panning during 60fps video makes the video jittery?

                  • D
                  • AnonD-186803
                  • mx1
                  • 10 May 2017

                  Droid, 07 May 2017In final: sony fanboy hahahahaIf you mean "Do I believe that Sony has better cameras than Sammy's" then yes I do. In this case especially. I am perfectly happy criticising Sony's failings, where they exist. But this year the XZP has a better camera in all areas bar extreme low light. No fanboyism needed.

                    • D
                    • AnonD-668309
                    • NG%
                    • 10 May 2017

                    I'm the iphone iOS user for long , with the design I had lot of hope with samsung to push mylself to buy Galaxy S8 ;
                    Using the mobile for 3 days now & after 16 mins on voice call I cannot keep over ear to continue because of over heating device. Even after 25 mins voice call I cannot hold on hand with red hot.

                    Pls be cautious before order the device; I'm now clueless & greatly relying flipkart for replacement.

                    Still likes the great elegant design , display quality & good battery life.

                    - Shiv
                    FlipKart Service was worst ever: NO CUSTOMER FRIENDLY

                    flipkart appoints technical evaluation, where they did for sack of assessment & person realising the heat on plamn but simply relying on CPU-Z app tempature even no physical temperature measuring device.

                    Last time Return request cancelled by default & after follow up call Sr. leader spoke to me saying that was a system issue.

                    Now again return request cancelled ! Guys its exp online ecommerce not doing fair. Now they deleted my negative comments!.

                      • F
                      • Faiz
                      • X}$
                      • 10 May 2017

                      Which color is better? Black or gold?? Black color is gud option or not?

                        • C
                        • Chrjns
                        • tDP
                        • 09 May 2017

                        Anonymous, 24 Apr 2017No it means exactly what it was defined to mean "the type o... moreTo put it simply, if your phone display has 380 ppi, regardless amoled or lcd, your phone diaplay is above retina display.....

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                          • Droid
                          • CAj
                          • 07 May 2017

                          AnonD-186803, 06 May 2017I've had an S8 for over a week now and,.... I'm taking it b... moreIn final: sony fanboy hahahaha

                            • S
                            • Sorry
                            • 64B
                            • 06 May 2017

                            Just got the S8 and it is grate phone in desine
                            But camera not so good
                            Just compare it pictures with pictures from samsung
                            note 4 a three years old phone witch i still have it and you will see what i am talking about.It doesnt mach the note 4 camera.
                            So if you looking for a phone with great camera look somewere else or if you have the note 4 or 5 dont hury to upgreat yoir phone just for its cam.

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                              • AnonD-186803
                              • 3ad
                              • 06 May 2017

                              I've had an S8 for over a week now and,.... I'm taking it back. Controvertial.

                              Why? Well, I'll tell you straight away that it's a very good phone - seriously good in many ways: I love the screen, the design and some of the software is actually well thought through (something I never thought I'd say about a Samsung).

                              But every phone owner has a USP in mind when choosing and mine is where the S8 falls short: the Camera.

                              "But wait, don't GSMA say the camera is great?" Well, no they don't: they say it's subjectively good. They correctly point out the fact that Samsung brightens, enhances colours and adds a tonne of sharpening. If you subjectively like the result, you'll love it. I don't.

                              The mark of a genuinely good camera is the ability to reproduce the scene as it appeared to your eye. The S8 doesn't do this. I've taken well over a hundred shots in all conditions and I could count on one hand the realistic shots. In many, I'd go so far as to call the results distinctly fake. Grass isn't that colour green, sky isn't that colour blue and red is not that colour of orange, Samsung. Sorry.

                              And so I fall back to a manufacturer which, though imperfect themselves, has more consistently delivered smartphone photography that matches a decent stand alone camera in good light: Sony. Yes, really.

                              Having seen the results from 2 years of owning a z5, I can confidently say that Sony understand the importance of natural reproduction. Real colours, organically contoured edges and dependable levels of contrast - those were the hallmarks I'm used to. No, their low light smarts are not as good as Sammy - that goes without saying. But in all other respects - including video - the results I used to get from my Z5 still look better than comparable shots I've taken with the S8.

                              Plus: none of the biometrics on the S8 are useful (who decided to put the fingerprint reader there?! Why does it take me more time to scan my irises than input my pin?) and Bixby is redundant with Android Assistant already baked in. Much of the extra cost of the device comes down to these features and they're simply not up to snuff.

                              For me then (perhaps not for you - that's fine, this is just my opinion), the Xperia XZ Premium is this year's star phone and the one that gets my cash.

                              #Edit Apologies if it sounds a bit like a sales pitch for Sony - entirely unintentional. I hope you've found my opinion somewhat useful.

                                • H
                                • Hmada
                                • fkF
                                • 03 May 2017

                                Sumsung is love ly

                                  • ?
                                  • Anonymous
                                  • 6jr
                                  • 02 May 2017

                                  AnonD-666150, 01 May 2017Which phone is better S 8 samsung or Samsung C9 Pro please... moreBetter camera and looks S8
                                  Better battery and performance (ram caching) C9 Pro

                                  Better screen S8 but C9 pro already has a plenty good one and in general the differences are small in quality at this point, while in aspect ratio C9 Pro wins handily

                                  Better pricing C9 pro (almost half price)

                                    • D
                                    • AnonD-666150
                                    • 7k6
                                    • 01 May 2017

                                    Which phone is better S 8 samsung or Samsung C9 Pro please describe in technical way and also economical?

                                      • J
                                      • Jg01
                                      • kba
                                      • 01 May 2017

                                      Rushed out and bought three s8+, the phone looks great and what Samsung has done is beautiful job with the looks. But that is where it stops. I also have the mate 9 from which I took the sim and placed it in s8+. Tried the phone for a few 24 hours and returned it..... To me, it's not worth $920 in the US. 1. Couldn't get the finger print sensor to work for me the way it works on the mate 9( the first time)...it took me several tries on my left hand and with my right hand, more. 2. Audio quality from the in box earphones and connected to my car(which had a great Audio system)...average.. compared to mate9 and LG phones. 3. Battery life, I was at 100℅ , turned on wifi, surfed the internet for 10 minutes and was down to 88℅. All this was before an after an update from A T & T and a few factory resets. This was also my second phone( first I had to return. This to me made this phone feel no different than any other and therefore not worth $920..... Should be priced at $600.

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                                        • Leo
                                        • sfU
                                        • 01 May 2017

                                        AnonD-665246, 30 Apr 2017Yeah that's why I see almost same display ratio..... Thats ... moreIphone 5 display ratio is 16:9 which is the same as most phones including the samsung s7. The s8 goes more narrow by doing 18:5.9. Get your facts right next time