Samsung galaxy s8
Pros
- Awesome display
- A phone that feels like the future
- Stunning camera
- It’s actually innovative
Cons
- Awfully placed fingerprint sensor
- Bixby is a bit of a dud
Samsung has also retained the headphone jack; I’d be very surprised to hear that anyone thinks that’s a bad idea. Apple’s decision to remove a physical headphone connection looked like it might signal the demise of the 3.5mm jack, but Samsung has gone in the other direction, by including a pair of very good AKG wired buds in the box.
It almost feels tiring saying this, given that we say it every year, but Samsung has yet again put the world's best screen on a phone – and trust us, that’s no mean feat.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 has the most stunning display around, and while it's been proven factually through DisplayMate’s rigorous testing, it's also clear from the moment you pick up the new S8.
The colors are rich, the black and white contrast is immaculate, and everything just looks so pin-sharp. Streaming content in HD is a dream, and anything that's saved onto the device looks great.
Let's get a couple of obvious issues out of the way first though, beginning with the size: the 5.8-inch display is possibly toobig.
We know that sounds like an odd thing to say when Samsung has put so much effort into cramming this massive display into a smaller form factor, but, thanks to the new 18.5:9 ratio, it's terribly long.
It’s similar to the 16:9 widescreen ratio most will be familiar with, but just a bit longer. This means the length of the screen is rather long, so you've got no chance of reaching the top right-hand side when you need to go back in an app – it's just too big for that.
Phew, that's the poorer stuff out of the way – let's get back to being chirpy about a sublime feature on this phone. Watching movies on this handset has to be one of the best experiences we've had, entertainment-wise, on a phone.
The way the screen arcs away at the side, combined with the longer display, means movies (which are shot in a 21:9 format) don't noticeably have the black bars above and below the display (well, they do, but they're almost hidden in the curves).
As a result, watching movies feels akin to doing so in a theater; it’s a far more immersive experience, and, when combined with the rich colors and contrast ratios, a completely joyous one.
The same goes for gaming: when you've got a title that would work better with more width to play with, the Samsung Galaxy S8 can scale it up nicely to fill the entire screen with some prodding.
Or alternatively, if the app you're using doesn't stretch the whole way across, you can use those black bars at the side to house some of the touchscreen controls (during fighting games, for instance) meaning your digits don't block the action.
Samsung is selling the Galaxy S8 as certified by the UHD Alliance, meaning it’s HDR-compatible… and thankfully we've got some content coming through on streaming services.
(HDR stands for High Dynamic Range and is used to describe incredibly vivid images through intelligent management of the brightness and colors in any display).
It’s a nice new feature, and now there’s mobile HDR content on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video it's much better. It's not earth-shattering, but is a boon compared to standard SD or HD videos.
On Netflix you do need to pay extra for the option though, which sucks a little.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 has 64GB of onboard storage along with a memory card slot, so you're not easily going to run out of space to hold your movies and other files – and with the powerful Exynos 8895 or the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, this phone has enough power to plough through even the toughest of games.
In short, we loved everything about using the display on the Galaxy S8. The curved corners of the display make everything feel more immersive, and while the design of the phone means navigating through the interface can be something of a chore at times, the overall experience was stunning.
The audio experience was interesting though. There’s only a single speaker at the bottom of the phone, and while it's loud it’s rather tinny.
The bundled headphones are a lot better – AKG-tuned, they’ve got a big name behind them rather than just being generic headphones from Samsung.
In truth, they don’t sound a lot better than the buds you normally get in the box with Samsung phones, and the build quality is a bit light – they don’t feel like they offer a huge amount of bass when you hold them in your hand.
But the overall sound quality is fine. It’s better than that from Apple's EarPods, but not in the same league as the bundled headphones HTC chucks in its phones, for instance.
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