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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  • AnonD-292864
  • npk
  • 30 Apr 2017

AlienNextDoor, 22 Apr 2017No it's not. The screen is 0.6 inches bigger, no matter the... moreS8 display is not 0.6 inch larger than S7 display. It's actual surface area is around 5.2 inch.

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    • AnonD-292864
    • npk
    • 30 Apr 2017

    Anonymous, 22 Apr 2017No it's not , you cannot reach both the notification bar an... moreI am not talking about marketing. I used it myself and i can easily reach both the navigation bar and notification bar with one hand and S8 battery life is a bit better than S7 battery life.

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • 6jq
      • 30 Apr 2017

      AnonD-632062, 29 Apr 2017I'm surprised that even with a 500 mAh battery difference a... moreMy previous post was deleted so I'm going to re-reply.
      Yeah, it seems fishy, you can't have a battery that is 15% smaller yet only get 5% less battery with (basically) the same hardware. One of the two results is definitely wrong, and I'm willing to bet it's the latest one.

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        • AnonD-665246
        • fC$
        • 30 Apr 2017

        Levy, 30 Apr 2017You must be blind. Yeah that's why I see almost same display ratio..... Thats why it is a copy

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          • Levy
          • q{Z
          • 30 Apr 2017

          Anonymous, 30 Apr 2017Great phone.Samsung just copied iPhone 5You must be blind.

            • ?
            • Anonymous
            • fC$
            • 30 Apr 2017

            Great phone.Samsung just copied iPhone 5

              • X
              • XLR8
              • fC$
              • 30 Apr 2017

              Samsung seems to be insane after Note 7 fiasco. This S8 display ratio, looks like they just copied from iPhone 5

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                • AnonD-632062
                • J7S
                • 29 Apr 2017

                I'm surprised that even with a 500 mAh battery difference and the same resolution, the S8 managed to get just a 4-hour endurance rating difference from the S8+

                  • D
                  • AnonD-77443
                  • v6J
                  • 29 Apr 2017

                  Anonymous, 28 Apr 2017Samsung, please launch something just as good for the peopl... moreCurved screens look nice but i'd rather a flat screen.
                  Easier to hold, not as prone to break, easier to use.
                  At least my S8+ had gotten rid of the occasional accidental edge presses the my GN7 had.

                    florin, 28 Apr 2017I am curious how benchmark tests were made. Gsmarena used t... moreGsmarena explained it in S8+ review.

                    "All of the posted results were achieved through testing at the phone’s native QHD+ resolution. Battery percentage data was recorded programmatically straight from the handset, to ensure the highest possible level of precision.

                    For the sake of thoroughness, we ran the tests in 2220 x 1080 pixels and 1480 x 720 pixels modes as well. The minor differences we recorded were in the minutes, and are well within the margin of error of the tests. "

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                      • SethAsad
                      • KI}
                      • 28 Apr 2017

                      Just gonna buy these days.👍

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                        • AnonD-270570
                        • U@b
                        • 28 Apr 2017

                        K, 28 Apr 2017I like Samsung flagship phones because of the premium build... moreDid you hear about the $400 price cut on iphone 7 in some regions while S7 is still $100 less than the original price.

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                          • florin
                          • Jcp
                          • 28 Apr 2017

                          I am curious how benchmark tests were made. Gsmarena used the full resolution or fhd res? Because using fhd resolution to obtain high scores in benchmarks and brag about qhd resolution sounds like cheating to me.

                            Someone Else, 28 Apr 2017It's kinda surprising to see the Galaxy S8 have a better or... moreBattery capacity is not everything. Endurance rating is the real deal.

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                              • Anonymous
                              • X$V
                              • 28 Apr 2017

                              Samsung, please launch something just as good for the people who do not like curved screens !

                                It's kinda surprising to see the Galaxy S8 have a better or somewhat same Battery Endurance Rating as the Galaxy S7 considering the fact that both of these smartphones have 3000 mAh battery capacity but the GS7 only have a 5.1" display while the GS8 have a much bigger 5.8" display

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                                  • K
                                  • sxt
                                  • 28 Apr 2017

                                  I like Samsung flagship phones because of the premium build, amazing camera and amoled display but wait after a year when price go down half and their OS update will mess up your phone's features. My advice is Do Not update your Samsung device especially when your warranty has expired. Nowadays, phones are disposable even for flagships. When you have the money, go for it but if you want to spend wisely, look for other alternative flagships of Xiaomi, Huawei, Oppo. Their sub $200 models are almost as good as most phones today and save your money. 😁

                                    • ?
                                    • Anonymous
                                    • J%y
                                    • 27 Apr 2017

                                    AnonD-546038, 25 Apr 2017Great phone no doubt! But i wanna talk of something else... morePeople were making fun of how late Apple was to the 16:9 party, every other smartphone was 16:9 by then.

                                      • ?
                                      • Anonymous
                                      • 6jq
                                      • 27 Apr 2017

                                      AnonD-270570, 27 Apr 2017Read gsmarena display reviews for both phones, display is t... moreI read displaymate which is better and much more professional for screen reviews.

                                      Also there is no such thing as a better screen, there is such a thing as a screen being better in certain parameters.

                                      For example S8's aspect ratio is not just bad, it's horrible, probably the worst thing about the phone, it's very impractical one handed as it lengthens the distance between the notification area and the navigation bar. And while it was hard to use phones one handed in s8's case is plain impossible.

                                      Also there is no content for it and will never be. It's such an irregular aspect ratio that literally serves no purpose and it was like a random decision made by a monkey. It's objectively bad, I guess it looks good to some people and it certainly pushes the diagonal size of the screen so it will seem bigger on paper but none of that actually helps the consumer.

                                      Mi Mix's screen is more practical , with obviously worse colours but better gaming performance and that's that.

                                        • D
                                        • AnonD-270570
                                        • rKw
                                        • 27 Apr 2017

                                        Anonymous, 26 Apr 2017Displaymate has me covered. S8 in colours, Mi Mix in aspect... moreRead gsmarena display reviews for both phones, display is the weak point of mi mix while S8 has the best display ever in a smartphone.