Grab the Samsung Galaxy S8 wallpapers here

The cat is out of the bag: The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are official, and they’re creating a lot of discussion on the internet. With those Infinity displays and the beautiful design, Samsung’s new flagships are a striking evolution of what the company started with the Galaxy S6 edge. But before we digress, let’s come to the reason why you clicked on this article: the official wallpapers from the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+.

There are 12 wallpapers in total, and unlike recent Galaxy flagships, Samsung has gone for minimalism with most of the wallpaper options. The interesting ones show a dune against a backdrop of a group of stars, no doubt a nod to Samsung’s “galaxy” of smartphones. Each wallpaper is a high-resolution image (of 2960×2960 resolution), and you can grab the entire collection from our wallpaper archive here.

Like Samsung’s Galaxy S8′s wallpapers? Don’t like them? Let us know in the comments, and don’t forget to check out our extensive coverage of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ (with much more to come).

Hat tip to Henk for providing us with the wallpapers. 

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Watchface Friday: Here’s four of this week’s best watchfaces

It’s Friday, so it’s time for another edition of Watchface Friday! For those unaware, every Friday, we highlight a selection of our favorite watchfaces for the Gear S3 classic and Gear S3 frontier. All of the offerings are available to download through the Galaxy Apps Store, so you can rest assured that you won’t have to search all over the Internet to find something we’ve listed.

Gear S3 classic

A-Class Pro Blue (24H)

Facer: Gunmetal Classic Weather

Gear S3 frontier

Chronometer – Rebel Alliance

DSS Armonia

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SamMobile Daily Recap: March 31, 2017 — Galaxy S8, Gear S3 frontier and more!

We publish a lot of stories on a daily basis. Unfortunately, the majority of news breaks during our European hours of operation, which makes it difficult for our readers in the US (and other regions) to keep up. However, we think we’ve come up with a fantastic solution — a daily recap.

In the list below, you’ll find the stories that went live today. We understand that you’re not going to be interested in all of them, so to help you find what’s important to you, we’ve split them into their respective categories. If you want to see the latest Galaxy S8 news, for example, locate the Phones subheading.

Business

Samsung Q1 2017 earnings guidance may be announced next week

Samsung reportedly starts $9 billion expansion of OLED production lines

Deals

Daily Deal: Save 57% on a pair of Active InEar headphones

Opinion

The Galaxy S8 is so tall I might start using Multi Window mode again

Phones

Folk in Germany can now pre-order the Galaxy S8 from Amazon

Galaxy S8′s facial recognition feature can apparently be fooled by a photo

Samsung’s struggling to get a hold of camera modules for the Galaxy S8

Watches

Samsung teams up with Bear Grylls to showcase the power of the Gear S3 frontier in new ad

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Folk in Germany can now pre-order the Galaxy S8 from Amazon

Amazon has kicked off pre-orders for the Galaxy S8 for folk in Germany. As expected, the device is listed with a price tag of €799 ($854), with inventory shipping in time for the April 20 release date. What’s more, we’ve updated our promotion to include the online marketplace — so you can be in with a chance of winning the cash value of your handset.

To place your order, head over to Amazon now.

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The Galaxy S8 is so tall I might start using Multi Window mode again

Yesterday, after what felt like ages, I decided to run two apps at the same time through Samsung’s Multi Window feature on my Galaxy S7 edge. Multi Window is something I would regularly fire up when it first made its way to Samsung devices, but once the novelty wore off, it became one of those Samsung features that you know is available on your phone but is not used all that often. But with the Galaxy S8, it looks like I might just get back to using Multi Window more often, thanks to the taller display.

My biggest gripe with multi window multitasking on phones is that on smartphone displays, there simply isn’t enough real estate for it to be a seamless affair. It’s even more of a problem when you want to look at something in one app and type it in the other app, because once the keyboard comes up, it takes over the screen. This will probably be a problem on the Galaxy S8 as well, but the taller display should make for an improved experience when you have two apps running at once, especially on the S8+.

I haven’t used either of the two Galaxy S8 handsets yet, so there’s no telling if the taller screens will make a difference in the way I use my phones. But it’s possible, and I can’t wait to get my hands on Samsung’s beautiful new flagships to see what the taller (and narrower) displays offer. Too bad they will take almost a month to hit retail shelves.

What do you think about the taller displays on the Galaxy S8 and S8+? Is there any other use case you can see getting better (you know, apart from watching videos)?

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Daily Deal: Save 57% on a pair of Active InEar headphones

You can currently snag yourself a pair of Samsung’s Active InEar headphones for $12.91 (57% off). These are the same earphones that ship in the box of the firm’s latest smartphones (the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are an exception) and come with interchangeable wingtips.

If you want to take advantage of this deal, click the Buy Now button below. We advise you to hurry, though, as Amazon only has a limited amount of inventory available and as this is an international promotion, we have a feeling it’s going to disappear pretty quickly.

 

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Samsung reportedly starts $9 billion expansion of OLED production lines

Samsung Display is one of the leading suppliers of OLED displays in the market but it can’t rest on its laurels. The company has to work hard to ensure that it maintains and even grows its lead. According to a new report out of South Korea, the company has started its planned expansion of OLED production lines and it will invest $8.90 billion in this endeavor in 2017 alone.

The company has reportedly signed deals with several equipment manufacturers to replace its existing production lines for LCD displays with those for OLED production. One of the new lines is said to start production of 30,000 units of the sixth-generation OLED panels per month from the fourth quarter of this year.

Samsung is also expected to spend a significant sum of money to expand its A3 flexible OLED production plant to increase the current capacity of 30,000-45,000 units to 120,000 units by the end of this year.

With its OLED displays accounting for 95 percent of the market and smartphone demand rising, it makes sense why Samsung Display would embark on an ambitious expansion for its OLED production lines.

The company is also expected to be the sole supplier of panels for Apple’s first OLED iPhone which means that a demand-supply gap is not something that Samsung Display can afford right now.

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Galaxy S8′s facial recognition feature can apparently be fooled by a photo

We’ve already told you that the Galaxy S8 offers the most security options of any smartphone on the market right now. You can use a pattern or a pin to secure access to the device or use the fingerprint sensor that’s placed at the back. The handset also has an iris scanner if you’d like to use that and it even supports facial recognition.

Samsung highlighted the facial recognition feature during its Galaxy S8 presentation a couple of weeks ago. It’s meant to take the pain out of the unlocking process. You just have to pick up the phone and it instantly does its thing and unlocks the device when it detects the owner. However, it appears that the feature can be fooled by just a photo of the owner.

A video is making the rounds online which shows a Galaxy S8′s facial recognition feature being bypassed with a photo of the person it’s supposed to detect. It takes a few tries as the photo is hovered on top of the device but eventually it recognizes the user and unlocks the device.

It remains to be seen if Samsung will improve the facial recognition feature’s ability to distinguish between a photo and a real face by the time the handset comes to market.

It’s pertinent to mention here that the photo used was taken at the same angle and distance that the face would normally be at when the handset was being unlocked by the user directly. Whether or not this loophole will be of any use if the photo is taken at quite a bit of distance or at an extreme angle is unclear.

Do you think that Samsung should have used a 3D camera on the front to make the facial recognition feature more secure or is this something that you’re not too worried about? Let us know in the comments below.

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Samsung Q1 2017 earnings guidance may be announced next week

Industry sources in South Korea believe that Samsung is going to announce its earnings guidance for the first quarter of the year next week. They expect that the guidance will beat forecasts as earnings are likely to be buoyed by the continued stellar performance of Samsung’s chip business.

Samsung’s operating profit for the first quarter of 2017 is expected to come in at 10.1 trillion won $9 billion which remains a record that has not been breached since the third quarter of 2013.

Over the past few quarters, the chip business has continued to account for a significant chunk of the company’s earnings. Of the 9.2 trillion won in operating profit that Samsung posted in Q4 2016, 4.9 trillion won was generated by the chip business.

While the company’s chip business is expected to drive growth in this quarter, the mobile division may not show significant improvement in its performance, considering the fact that sales of the Galaxy S7 would have slowed down in anticipation of the Galaxy S8 and there was no Galaxy Note 7 to hold down the fort in the high-end segment.

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Samsung’s struggling to get ahold of camera modules for the Galaxy S8

Samsung’s reportedly struggling to get ahold of front-facing camera modules for the recently-announced Galaxy S8 as its supplier Patron is struggling to boost the yield rate, reveals The Bell. It’s thought that the production yield remains at less than 70 percent and should be elevated to 80 percent for stable supply.

Power Logics, the supplier the firm is using for the Galaxy S8+, doesn’t appear to be having the same problem (in fact, it recently increased its yield rate to more than 90 percent). Why? Because the front-facing camera and iris scanner are combined into one module on the smaller Galaxy S8, but not on the larger variant.

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Samsung teams up with Bear Grylls to showcase the power of the Gear S3 frontier in new ad

Samsung has teamed up with British explorer Bear Grylls to demonstrate the power of its latest smartwatch, the Gear S3 frontier, in a new commercial. The one-and-a-half-minute ad showcases a whole host of the device’s features, including its barometer and health tracking functionality.

Check it out for yourself below:

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Themes Thursday: Here are the best themes from this week

Samsung has released a whopping 243 third-party themes in the Theme Store over the course of past seven days. We know that it’s quite a task to find a theme that suits your taste, and that is why we’ve shortlisted four new themes for our readers. Welcome back to Themes Thursday!

Of the 243 new themes released this week, we quite liked the [Kendi] Oxy OS theme, thanks to its beautiful wallpaper, attractive icons, and a brighter UI design. The PixelizeD theme pack makes the user interface of your compatible Galaxy smartphone resemble that of the Pixel smartphone’s. The Paper and [WHL] Lights theme packs are good looking too.

Which new theme did you like this week? Let us know in the comments section below.

[Kendi] Oxy OS

PixelizeD

[WHL] Lights

Paper

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Gear Manager app updated with Auto Switch feature

Samsung has released a new version of the Gear Manager app today and it brings a couple of improvements for the app. Users will now see cards in the app which will provide them with tips about the new features, account sign-in, data backup, notification management and more.

The updated Gear Manager app also comes with the Auto Switch function that Samsung released recently. We saw this feature in the recent Gear S3 classic and frontier update as well. Auto Switch enables the Gear S3, Gear S2 and Gear Fit2 to automatically connect to the paired smartphone.

The app will now show available watchfaces when watchfaces are deleted. An improved Gear lock function is onboard as well, it will show information on the connected wearable’s lock screen.

Samsung’s updated Gear Manager app is now available for download, you can get it from our APK page.

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Samsung says there won’t be any Galaxy S8 supply issues

Samsung famously had to scramble to deal with supply issues for the Galaxy S6 edge because it apparently didn’t anticipate just how well the handset would perform in the market. The demand supply gap was limited with the Galaxy S7 as Samsung was more prepared for demand and it now wants the public to know that this issue will not be stealing sales from the Galaxy S8.

Samsung has already said that it expects the Galaxy S8 to sell more units than the Galaxy S7 did last year. That’s a tall claim given that the Galaxy S7 set a new internal record at Samsung for first-year sales. So if it expects the new handset to perform so well, surely it has made the appropriate arrangements.

The chief of Samsung’s mobile business Dong-jin Koh said during a press briefing that Samsung has set the initial supply of the Galaxy S8 double that of the Galaxy S7. “Since we are preparing the supply without difficulty, there will be no issue of supply delay,” he added. His calculations suggest that Samsung is preparing 20 million units of the Galaxy S8 initially.

Samsung is going to release the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ on April 21 in a handful of markets including the United States. It will subsequently be released in additional markets across the globe.

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Samsung expects Galaxy S8 sales to outperform the Galaxy S7

In the days leading up to the Galaxy S8′s official announcement, it was rumored multiple times that Samsung expects the Galaxy S8 to perform much better in the market than the Galaxy S7. The Galaxy S7 was no slouch either, in fact, it single-handedly carried the flagship baton for Samsung throughout the entire year after the Galaxy Note 7 was discontinued.

Samsung has now made its expectation public. The head of Samsung’s mobile business Dong-jin Koh – who was very confident about the Galaxy S8 during yesterday’s presentation – has said that the company expects the Galaxy S8 sales to beat those of its predecessor.

A sales target was not revealed by the mobile division boss so there are no hard numbers to go on, at least not officially. Samsung did say last week that the Galaxy S7 set a new internal record for first-year sales so the Galaxy S8 has quite a job ahead of it if it’s to overtake the Galaxy S7 in sales.

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Galaxy S8 DeX dock price is $150, ships next month

Samsung announced the Galaxy S8 DeX accessory yesterday alongside the new flagship smartphone. The dock can be used to get a PC-like experience from the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ on an external monitor. It even allows users to hook up a conventional keyboard and mouse for added practicality. Samsung has now confirmed what the Galaxy S8 DeX dock price is going to be and when it’s going to arrive.

The company has revealed on its website that the Galaxy S8 DeX dock price in the United States is going to be $149.99 and that it’s going to start shipping in “late April.” It’s likely going to start shipping once the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are released on April 21.

In case you’re curious about how the DeX dock work and what sort of functionality it provides, do check out our hands-on review of the Galaxy S8 DeX accessory. It’s going to give you a firm understanding of all of its capabilities.

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Samsung is sourcing camera sensors for the Galaxy S8 and S8+ from two vendors

It was being rumored that Samsung might use a new sensor from Sony for the Galaxy S8 and S8+’s camera. Yesterday, we reported that the newly announced smartphones use a camera sensor manufactured by Samsung’s System LSI arm (at least in our unit). Now, we can confirm that Samsung is sourcing camera sensors for the Galaxy S8 and S8+ from two different vendors, just like it did with the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge as well as with the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge.

Some units of the Galaxy S8 and S8+ use the S5K2L2 ISOCELL sensor from System LSI for the rear-facing camera, while other units use the new IMX333 camera sensor from Sony. Both models are 1/2.55-inch sensors with a resolution of 12.2 megapixels, Dual Pixel phase-detection autofocus, OIS, F1.7 aperture, and 4K video recording. So, the final image and video quality should be similar from both the sensors.

Also Read: Here’s how the Galaxy S8 will take better photos despite the same 12 MP camera as the S7′s

Similar is the case with the front-facing cameras in the smartphones. Some units use the IMX320 sensor from Sony, while others use the S5K3H1 sensor from System LSI. Both sensors have a resolution of 8 megapixels, feature autofocus mechanism, and QHD video recording abilities (HDR and EIS would be disabled in this mode, though). No matter which sensor is used in your Galaxy S8 or S8+ unit, it should offer impressive end results.

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SamMobile Daily Recap: March 30, 2017 — Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+ and more!

We publish a solid amount of stories on a daily basis. Unfortunately, the majority of news breaks during our European hours of operation, which makes it difficult for our readers in the US (and other regions) to keep up with every post. But, we think we’ve come up with an ideal solution — a daily recap.

In the list below, you’ll find the stories that went live today. We understand that you’re not going to be interested in all of them. to help you find what’s important to you, we’ve split them into their respective categories. If you want to see the latest Galaxy S8 news, for example, locate the Phones subheading.

Deals

Daily Deal: Pick up a 64GB EVO microSD card for 67% off

Pre-order your Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+ through SamMobile and you could get it free!

Opinion

Samsung’s mobile boss was uncharacteristically confident during the Galaxy S8 event and that’s a good thing

Phones

Bixby won’t have support for British English at launch

Find all the information from the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ unveiling here!

Galaxy S8 emoji offer 646 options to choose from

Here’s how Samsung’s battery stats for the Galaxy S8 and S8+ compare to the S7 and S7 edge

The Calculator application on the Galaxy S8 has a baked in unit converter

The Galaxy S8 reminds you to clean greasy fingerprints off its camera lens

This is Samsung’s official spec sheet for the Galaxy S8 and S8+

T-Mobile unboxes the Galaxy S8 rather dangerously under water

Samsung spent a lot of money to tell New York that the Galaxy S8 has arrived

Polls

[Poll] What do you think about the Galaxy S8′s design?

Samsung Pay 

Samsung Pay makes online payments simpler and safer with Visa Checkout

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‘Microsoft Edition’ Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ will be sold in the US

Samsung has enhanced its partnership with Microsoft this year. We’ve seen the latter’s Skype, OneDrive and OneNote apps come bundled on the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S7 but Samsung is taking a different route this year. After the new flagship was unveiled yesterday, it has been confirmed today that “Microsoft Edition” Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ will be sold in the software company’s US retail stores.

The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ Microsoft Edition is now available for pre-order from Microsoft’s retail stores in the United States. This particular version comes loaded with Microsoft’s apps and services.

“A Microsoft customization is applied to the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ Microsoft Edition when the devices are unboxed and connected to Wi-Fi,” Microsoft says, adding that this customization is going to provide customers with a great productivity experience courtesy apps like Office, OneDrive, Cortana, Outlook and more.

It’s not like the regular Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ don’t already come bundled with Office, OneDrive and Skype but the Microsoft Edition goes beyond that and adds Outlook and Cortana as well.

Both companies haven’t really said why the regular handset doesn’t feature both apps as well seeing as how they’re available for Android and can easily be installed later. Nothing else is different about the Microsoft Edition Galaxy S8 so it’s going to look the same and cost the same as well.

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Pre-order your Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+ through SamMobile and you could get it free!

If you’re planning on pre-ordering a Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+, we have a fantastic deal for you. By placing an order through one of our preferred retailers and forwarding the confirmation email to us, you’ll be in with a chance of receiving your device for FREE! We’re also throwing in a six-month SamMobile Premium membership, so you can keep your handset running with the latest firmware.

For more details on the promotion, instructions on how to enter and all of the terms and conditions, hit the link that corresponds to the country you reside in below. If you can’t find your homeland in the list, be sure to check back later as we’re constantly updating it with new regions. On that note, best of luck and happy ordering!

Australia

Spain

The Netherlands

United States

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Daily Deal: Pick up a 64GB EVO microSD card for 67% off

If you’re running low on storage, you’ll be pleased to hear that you can currently pick up a 64GB EVO microSD card for $19.99 (67% off). What’s neat about this promotion is that it’s available worldwide — so you can take advantage of it in just about any country where Amazon is accessible.

Like the sound of 64GB EVO microSD card and want to bag yourself one? Simply hit the Buy Now button below. We advise you to hurry, though, as Amazon only has a very limited amount of inventory available for this specific deal, and once it’s gone, it’s gone.

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[Poll] What do you think about the Galaxy S8′s design?

Samsung unveiled two new flagship smartphones yesterday, the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+. These smartphones feature Samsung’s new bezel-starved Infinity Displays. The company has also moved the fingerprint scanner to the rear for maximum screen-to-body ratio. Moreover, for the first time, Samsung has used on-screen buttons in a Galaxy smartphone, complete with a pressure sensitive area for improved usability.

Some consumers, however, are complaining about the positioning of the fingerprint scanner on the Galaxy S8 and S8+, which may be harder to reach for people with shorter fingers. The fingerprint sensor’s position may also result in the camera sensor getting smudged, which is why the Galaxy S8 will remind you to clean the smudges on the camera lens. However, the Galaxy S8 and S8+ are still a major step forward for Samsung, with what we think is a very beautiful design unmatched by anything else on the market.

But what do you think about the design of the Galaxy S8 and the S8+? Do you like it, or do you think Samsung could have done better? Vote in the poll below, and let us know your thoughts in the comment section!

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

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Samsung’s mobile boss was uncharacteristically confident during the Galaxy S8 event and that’s a good thing

Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+ at an event in New York City last night. As is the case with the company’s keynotes, it was opened by the chief of its mobile business, Dong-jin Koh. Koh took over the reins of the mobile business from J.K. Shin back in December 2015. Having joined Samsung in 1984, Koh had been instrumental in developing platforms like Samsung Knox and Samsung Pay.

The profiles done by major business publications on Koh suggest that he’s a soft-spoken executive who is well-liked within Samsung and is known to be direct and hardworking. His soft-spoken demeanor is one that we’ve all become accustomed to as well given that he has been opening Samsung’s keynotes for the past couple of years. However, he appeared a bit different last night.

Samsung has a point to prove with the Galaxy S8. This is the first flagship smartphone from the company since the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco last year which led to a lot of speculation about the company’s ability to deliver a great flagship product. Having lost billions of dollars due to the Galaxy Note 7, Samsung obviously needs the Galaxy S8 to perform well. It also needs to project confidence in its abilities and we saw Koh doing that rather uncharacteristically – for lack of a better word – during the Galaxy S8 event yesterday.

Koh came off as really passionate last night as he was building up the Galaxy S8 reveal. Koh highlighted the company’s achievements in the mobile market over the past few decades and got us all excited about the start of a new era which may see Samsung pushing the envelope further on design. He drilled on the point that Samsung’s utmost commitment is to quality, safety and craftsmanship, primarily to allay any lingering concerns about product safety.

“This commitment is the foundation for every step we take,” he said, adding that the company is honored that millions of customers around the world trust Samsung’s product. Throughout the entire presentation his body language projected a newfound level of confidence and as he delivered this point home he put up his fist to really emphasize how Samsung feels about the trust its customers have placed in it.

He actually made good use of his fists and animated gestures last night to confidently get the message across that Samsung has not been bogged down by the Galaxy Note 7′s failure and that it’s all in the past. The message he gave to the world and the company’s customers yesterday was akin to a vote of confidence in the company’s ability to overcome challenges and stay true to its “heritage of innovation and stunning design.”

It is no doubt personal for Koh as the Galaxy Note 7′s failure happened under his watch as head of the mobile business. There was even some speculation of him being replaced as the boss but Samsung remains confident in his leadership qualities to lead the mobile business out of last year’s mess and into the future.

This show of strength exudes faith and confidence in Samsung’s ability to forge a new path, to push ahead no matter what the obstacle and demonstrate to the world that it’s still a force to be reckoned with.

I think he did a pretty good job of driving that point home. Wouldn’t you agree?

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T-Mobile unboxes the Galaxy S8 rather dangerously under water

T-Mobile has a habit of pushing the limits when it comes to unboxing videos for new flagship smartphones. To highlight the Galaxy S7′s water resistance rating, the company unboxed last year’s flagship inside a swimming pool. It has gone back under the water to unbox the Galaxy S8 but this time around there’s an element of danger.

T-Mobile sent its product expect @AskDes to West Palm Beach in Florida to swim with the sharks and unbox the Galaxy S8. He’s in a cage under water surrounded by sharks as he walks us through the unboxing. He even captures some amazing footage of the sharks using the Galaxy S8′s camera which is capable of recording video in 4K resolution.

The third largest mobile carrier in the United States has already started taking pre-orders for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. More information about its pricing for the handset can be found here. T-Mobile is going to release the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ on April 21.

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Here’s how Samsung’s battery stats for the Galaxy S8 and S8+ compare to the S7 and S7 edge

The battery sizes on the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ don’t inspire much confidence, with the Galaxy S8 having a particularly small battery for a device with a 5.8-inch display. While the real world endurance will only be revealed once we have used the device for a couple of weeks, we can take a look at Samsung’s official battery stats for its new flagships to get an idea of what to expect.

First, let’s talk about the Galaxy S8+. Samsung’s data for the S8 and S8+ battery life is based on devices tested in Europe. Comparing the S8+ to the S7 edge based on stats for the latter in the Netherlands, it turns out Samsung has managed to eke out impressively similar battery endurance despite the S8+’ 100 mAh smaller battery. MP3 playback time with Always On Display enabled has gone down by 5 hours on the S8+ but is up by 4 hours if you disable AOD. Internet usage time on 3G, meanwhile, has gone up by an hour.

Here’s a comparison table for the battery stats on the S7 edge and S8+:

	Galaxy S7 edge	Galaxy S8+
MP3 playback (AOD on)	up to 55 hours	up to 50 hours
MP3 playback (AOD off)	up to 74 hours	up to 78 hours
Video playback	up to 18 hours	up to 18 hours
Talk time	up to 27 hours	up to 24 hours
Internet use (Wi-Fi)	up to 16 hours	up to 15 hours
Internet use (3G)	up to 12 hours	up to 13 hours
Internet use (LTE)	up to 15 hours	up to 15 hours

 

Now, about the Galaxy S8. It looks like the S8 will also offer endurance similar to the S7, which is to say that it will need to be connected to the charger every night. The only gains seen on the S8 are in areas of MP3 playback with AOD off and video playback. Video playback will allow for an hour more of entertainment on a single charge, while listening to music without AOD will go up by 5 hours. The latter’s notable improvement is likely because of the more efficient processor inside the S8 duo, something we also see on the S8+. The S8 is worse off than the S7 when it comes to talk time and internet usage over Wi-Fi and LTE by an hour.

Here are the Galaxy S7 and S8 battery life figures side by side:

	Galaxy S7	Galaxy S8
MP3 playback (AOD on)	up to 45 hours	up to 44 hours
MP3 playback (AOD off)	up to 62 hours	up to 67 hours
Video playback	up to 15 hours	up to 16 hours
Talk time	up to 22 hours	up to 20 hours
Internet use (Wi-Fi)	up to 15 hours	up to 14 hours
Internet use (3G)	up to 11 hours	up to 11 hours
Internet use (LTE)	Up to 13 hours	up to 12 hours

 

While Samsung’s official stats are theoretical and your battery life figures will vary based on your usage patterns and the network quality in your country, the Galaxy S8 might just end up turning people into the infamous wall huggers that Samsung has so often made fun of in recent years. It’s especially disappointing because the Galaxy S8 is likely to be the choice of many, as the S8+ will simply be too large for some. But those who do buy the S8+ might not have anything to worry about, as it seems the 3,500 mAh battery inside the 6.2 incher will be able to hold its own.

What do you think of these battery life figures? Will they sway your decision against the Galaxy S8, or do you think portable chargers and fast charging make small batteries a worry of the past? Let us know in the comments!

Also Read: Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ hands-on

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This is Samsung’s official spec sheet for the Galaxy S8 and S8+

The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ have finally been unveiled, and our hands-on experience with the devices is available for everyone to see. Everyone has a pretty good idea about the devices’ specifications at this point, but for those wanting to see it, we have added the official spec sheet offered by Samsung below. Remember, detailed specs are also available from our devices page. Oh, and don’t remember to take a look at what we think about Samsung’s new flagships.

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Bixby won’t have support for British English at launch

Prior to the launch of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ it was rumored that the Bixby AI assistant that’s debuting with the flagship is going to have support for up to eight different languages. However, that’s not going to be the case. Bixby is only going to have support for Korean and the American English at launch.

Samsung has confirmed that Bixby will only support the Korean and American English languages initially. However, support will be added for British English and other European languages like in the following months.

It’s obviously going to take some time before Bixby is further improved. Not only does it stand to gain support for more languages but it will also get support for additional apps. Samsung will eventually open up Bixby to third-party developers as well so that they can make it work with their apps as well.

If you’re interested in finding out more about the artificial intelligence-powered virtual assistant on the Galaxy S8, read our piece on what you can do with Bixby.

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Samsung spent a lot of money to tell New York that the Galaxy S8 has arrived

It goes without saying that Samsung is going to spend a lot of money on marketing to get the word out that its new flagship smartphone is the one you should be buying this year. Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ at an event in New York City today. Since it was an invite-only event, although it was streamed live online, Samsung decided to spend a lot of money to tell New Yorkers that the Galaxy S8 has arrived.

Samsung illuminated the iconic Times Square in New York City with immersive displays reflective of the visual experience that the Galaxy S8′s Infinity Display promises. It basically bought out almost every available signage to announce the arrival of its newest flagship smartphone.

As if that wasn’t enough, it even brought in a troupe of performers who danced “in celebration of the debut of the Galaxy S8.” Good stuff.

Customers in the United States can pre-order the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ from all major carriers today. The new flagship will be released on April 21.

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Galaxy S8 emoji offer 646 options to choose from

Do you like using emoji? If that is the case then you’re going to love the wide variety of options that the Galaxy S8 offers. The Galaxy S8 emoji features 646 different options. Since it’s running Android 7.0 Nougat it’s the first Samsung smartphone to include the new Emoji 4.0 straight out of the box.

Google actually came out with this new and improved emoji collection for Android late last year but Samsung didn’t update its devices with them. They’re included in Android 7.0 Nougat which is why the Galaxy S8 has them. You can also get Emoji 4.0 on the Galaxy Tab S3 which runs Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box as well.

There are a total of 646 new emojis present in this release which include all of the new gender and skin tone variations. Every male emoji has a female equivalent and vice versa. Since this is a Samsung device, all laptop-wielding emoji have a Samsung logo.

You’ll get to try them out on the Galaxy S8 once the handset is released on April 21.

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Samsung Pay makes online payments simpler and safer with Visa Checkout

Samsung today announced a new strategic partnership with Visa to bring Samsung Pay to online merchants. Later this year, Samsung Pay users will be able to pay for their online purchases using the company’s payment service at countless merchants globally where Visa Checkout is accepted.

Support for Visa Checkout is going to make the online payment experience for Samsung Pay users simpler, faster and more secure. The checkout experience will rely on the fingerprint sensor for authentication of payments, eliminating the need for users to add their payment card data on every website.

Users with fingerprint authentication-enabled Samsung devices will only need to click on this button and touch the sensor for the payment to be processed. They won’t have to enter a user name or password for each purchase.

“Our partnership benefits not only Samsung Pay users but also hundreds of thousands of online merchants who are looking for effective ways to increase their checkout conversion rates,” said Injong Rhee, CTO of the Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics.

Starting later this year, the Visa Checkout/Samsung Pay co-branded button will start appearing online at merchants across the globe.

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Find all the information from the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ unveiling here!

Yesterday, Samsung took the wraps off the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ at a dedicated event in New York City. As you’d expect, we published a ton of content before, during and after the unveiling — so there’s a chance you may have missed out on a few posts, which is why we’ve taken the liberty of compiling a list of our coverage (in order of publication).

Enjoy.

Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ specs and release date officially announced

Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ hands-on

Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ pricing

Samsung DeX transforms the Galaxy S8 and S8+ into desktops

Hands-on with the Samsung DeX accessory for the Galaxy S8

Here are the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ cases in pictures

Specs comparison: Samsung Galaxy S7/S7 edge vs. Galaxy S8/S8+

Specs comparison: Samsung Galaxy S6/S6 edge vs. Galaxy S8/S8+

Specs comparison: Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ vs Galaxy S8/Galaxy S8+

Here’s how the Galaxy S8 will take better photos despite the same 12 MP camera as the S7′s

Here are more details regarding the Galaxy S8′s camera sensors

Galaxy S8 offers five security features, more than any other device

Galaxy S8 April 21 release date confirmed

Galaxy S8 is the first smartphone to achieve gigabit LTE speeds

New batteries in Galaxy S8 would degrade less quickly compared to the S7′s

This is what Bixby can do on the Galaxy S8

Galaxy S8 Mobile HDR Premium certification promises a vivid viewing experience

The Galaxy S8 is the first smartphone to feature Bluetooth 5.0

Samsung posts official hands-on videos of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+

The Galaxy S8′s virtual navigation keys can be customized, home key is always on

Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ displays are set to Full HD+ resolution by default

Unlocked Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ will be sold by Best Buy in May

Samsung posts official introduction video of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+

Galaxy S8′s bundled AKG earphones will also be sold separately for $99

T-Mobile Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ pre-orders open tonight, price and incentives confirmed

AT&T Galaxy S8 pre-orders open tomorrow, offers free device and additional incentives

Verizon Galaxy S8 pre-order date and price confirmed

Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ on Sprint are HPUE-enabled, pre-orders open March 30

Pre-order Galaxy S8 from Best Buy and save big

PSA: Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ will have dual SIM capability in some markets

[Poll] Are you happy with the specs of the Galaxy S8 and S8+?

The Calculator application on the Galaxy S8 has a baked in unit converter

The Galaxy S8 reminds you to clean greasy fingerprints off its camera lens

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The Galaxy S8 reminds you to clean greasy fingerprints off its camera lens

It looks like Samsung’s aware of how badly-positioned the fingerprint scanner is on the recently-announced Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, as it’s programmed a reminder into the camera application reminding you to clean the camera lens.

“A clean lens makes for better shots. Clean your camera lens to keep taking better pictures.”

Granted, the pop-up alert doesn’t explicitly say anything about the fingerprint sensor — but it’s clear that’s what it’s about. After all, it’ll only appear when you activate fingerprint authentication and register at least one fingerprint.

We should probably note, however, that you won’t see the alert every time you use the camera. It’ll strut its stuff the first time, then (fortunately) every once in a while after that.

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The Calculator application on the Galaxy S8 has a baked in unit converter

The Calculator application that ships on board the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ is a huge step up from the one found on the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge. Not only does it sport a cleaner user interface, it also bundles a unit converter, which, as its name suggests, lets users convert units of measurement for area, length, temperature, volume, mass and data.

Check it out for yourself below:

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[Poll] Are you happy with the specs of the Galaxy S8 and S8+?

Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ earlier today, finally ending months of speculation about its new flagship smartphone. We now have all of the official details about the Galaxy S8′s specs, features and availability.

Speaking of specifications, are you happy with the specs that Samsung’s new flagship smartphone is offering? Or do you think that Samsung should have provided more given how much it’s charging for this handset?

Vote below and let us know in the comments section what you think and what specs you would have liked to see in its new flagship.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

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PSA: Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ will have dual SIM capability in some markets

Yes, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ will have two SIM slots in some markets, following in the footsteps of the Galaxy S7, S7 edge and Note 7. Samsung is yet to confirm which markets will receive the dual SIM variants, but if you need to check, simply head over to Samsung’s website for your particular country and see the Galaxy S8/S8+ listing. If your market is getting the dual SIM variant, the phones will be listed as the Galaxy S8 (Dual Sim) and Galaxy S8+ (Dual Sim).

Dual SIM smartphones are popular in Asian markets, so the dual SIM models should come to countries like India, Dubai, and China. Samsung hasn’t mentioned if the S8 and S8+ will have a hybrid slot or separate slots for two SIM cards and a microSD card, but we’re certainly hoping it’s the latter given the company has a lot of real estate to work with on its new flagships. The batteries aren’t very big on these handsets, either, so fingers crossed that having to choose between two carriers or a microSD will be a thing of the past.

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Pre-order Galaxy S8 from Best Buy and save big

All four major carriers in the United States – Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint – have confirmed their pricing and pre-order details for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. You can choose to buy the new flagship from either one of those carriers or wait until May for the unlocked units to arrive.

If you have no issues with buying a carrier-locked handset then perhaps you should go the Best Buy route. If you pre-order Galaxy S8 from Best Buy you stand to save quite a bit of money. It’s offering customers up to $100 off the Galaxy S8+ and $50 off the Galaxy S8 when they pre-order the handset via BestBuy.com or their local retail store.

Pre-order customers will receive a free Gear VR with Controller headset and the Oculus content bundle over and above this discount which can also be clubbed with select details available for Verizon, AT&T and Sprint customers.

Best Buy starts taking pre-orders for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ tomorrow. It will be released on April 21. Customers can put money down for the new flagship at Best Buy stores, including the Samsung Experience Shops inside Best Buy outlets.

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Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ on Sprint are HPUE-enabled, pre-orders open March 30

Sprint was the last of the four major carriers in the United States to confirm the pricing and pre-order date for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. The carrier has also pointed out that both the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are HUPE or High Performance User Equipment enabled on its network.

HPUE enhances the Sprint network experience with increased coverage, more capacity and faster speeds on capable devices. Sprint says that users with HPUE devices will experience better speeds when streaming videos, mobile gaming, and other online services.

HPUE is capable of extending Sprint’s 2.5GHz coverage by up to 30 percent to almost match its midband 1.9GHz spectrum performance which results in improved indoors coverage and performance.

Sprint has confirmed that it’s going to start taking pre-orders for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ from tomorrow. Available in Midnight Black, Orchid Gray and Arctic Silver the Galaxy S8 is going to cost $31.25 per month for 18 months and the Galaxy S8+ $35.42 per month for 18 months on the carrier’s leasing plan.

Pre-order customers will receive a free Gear VR with Controller headset and the Oculus content bundle.

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Verizon Galaxy S8 pre-order date and price confirmed

Like its rivals T-Mobile and AT&T, Verizon has also confirmed that it’s going to start taking pre-orders for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ from tomorrow. Customers with Verizon Unlimited on the carrier’s device payment plan can get the new flagship for $15 per month for 24 months when they trade in an eligible device.

All pre-order customers will receive a free Gear VR with Controller and the Oculus content bundle. Verizon is also offering them the Experience Box for $99 which is actually a $550 value.

The experience box includes the Gear VR with Controller bundle, a 256GB Samsung microSD card and a pair of Harman Kardon headphones.

Pricing for the Galaxy S8 without trade-in is $30 per month for 24 months and for the Galaxy S8+ it’s $35 per month for 24 months. The handsets have a full retail price of $720 and $840 respectively.

Samsung has confirmed that the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ is going to be released on April 21. All carriers and retailers in the United States are sticking with this release date.

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AT&T Galaxy S8 pre-orders open tomorrow, offers free device and additional incentives

The second largest mobile carrier in the United States has confirmed that it’s going to start taking pre-orders for the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+ starting tomorrow. It has plenty of offers that customers can take advantage of if they plan on getting the new flagship.

Those who pre-order it on the AT&T Next plan can get up to $750 in credits for another Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+ which essentially makes the second device free, a Samsung Gear VR with Controller as well as the Oculus content bundle.

AT&T is also offering them a deal on the Gear S3 smartwatch which they can buy for $49 with a two-year service agreement and a Gear S2 or Galaxy Tab E for just $0.99 when the two-year service agreement is activated.

AT&T customers can pre-order the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ on its Next plan for $25 and $29.34 for 30 months respectively with an eligible service plan. The incentives will certainly be enticing for many customers so it would be in their best interests to read the terms and conditions by clicking on the source link below before placing an order.

Galaxy S8 pre-orders can be placed starting tomorrow via AT&T’s website and retail stores.

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T-Mobile Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ pre-orders open tonight, price and incentives confirmed

Samsung’s new flagship smartphone has been officially announced today. The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ is unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. Samsung has confirmed that it’s going to release the new flagship on April 21 and now its carrier partners are gradually coming out with pricing and availability information.

T-Mobile has just confirmed that customers can pre-order the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ starting tonight at 9 pm PT via its website. Those who pre-order it from T-Mobile or buy it from MetroPCS at launch will receive a free Gear VR with Controller and Oculus content.

The Galaxy S8 is going to cost $30 down on T-Mobile with equal monthly payments of $30 for 24 months on the T-Mobile EIP with a full retail price of $750. On Demand customers can buy it for $0 down and $33 per month.

The Galaxy S8+ is going to cost $130 down and $30 per month for 24 months on EIP at a full retail price of $850. The down payment and monthly payment amount remain the same for On Demand customers. Pre-orders can be placed online or via the carrier’s retail stores.

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Galaxy S8′s bundled AKG earphones will also be sold separately for $99

Samsung had confirmed long before it made the Galaxy S8 official that the upcoming flagship will come bundled with a pair of AKG-branded earphones. This has been made possible by Samsung’s recent acquisition of Harman International which owns many premium audio brands including AKG. This partnership has also brought AKG-tuned audio to the Galaxy Tab S3.

Samsung says that these new AKG earphones that come in the box with the Galaxy S8 have a hybrid canal fit for better noise cancellation and have an anti-tangle cord. This seriously improves Samsung’s headset offering with its flagship smartphone and justifies the higher cost of the new flagship to some extent.

The company has also confirmed today that these AKG earphones will be sold separately as well for $99 so if you’d like to use them with an older Samsung device or just want what seems to be a good pair of earphones, you can buy them without having to splurge on a new smartphone.

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Samsung posts official introduction video of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+

Just a few hours ago, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+. If you had been waiting to find out more about this device then you may have already read the countless posts, articles and hands-on reviews that have cropped up online. If you’d like to hear more about this handset from the proverbial horse’s mouth then check out Samsung’s official introduction video for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+.

The video starts off by walking you through years of Samsung smartphone design. It shows the evolutionary leaps that the company has made over the years to become more innovative. The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ doesn’t seem to be the end of those efforts, rather, they feel like the beginning of something new.

An era of sleek and minimal design led by Samsung, at least that’s what the company would have you believe. Check out the official introduction video of Samsung’s new flagship smartphone below.

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Unlocked Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ will be sold by Best Buy in May

Samsung’s carrier partners in the United States have confirmed that they will open pre-orders for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ by tomorrow and will release the handset on April 21. However, what about the customers who want a factory unlocked unit? They will be delighted to know that this time around, they won’t have to wait for too long.

It took three months for the unlocked Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge to become available in the United States after the carrier-locked versions were released. With the Galaxy S8, customers will only have to wait for a few weeks.

Best Buy has confirmed that it’s going to start selling unlocked units of Samsung’s new flagship in May. It has already put up listings on its online store for both variants, asking $724.99 for the Galaxy S8 and $824.99 for the Galaxy S8+.

It remains to be seen though how many customers actually decide to purchase the unlocked model given Samsung’s poor track record of providing timely updates for the unlocked Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 edge in the United States.

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Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ displays are set to Full HD+ resolution by default

The newly announced Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ feature 5.8-inch and 6.2-inch dual-edge curved Super AMOLED displays, respectively. Moreover, these QHD+ (2960 x 1440 pixels) displays have an aspect ratio of 18.5:9 compared to 16:9 aspect ratio on previous Galaxy smartphones from Samsung.

It is now being reported that the Galaxy S8 and S8+ displays are set to Full HD+ resolution by default. Samsung moved to a default screen resolution of Full HD on the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge when it released the Android 7.0 update for the smartphones, and it looks like the company will continue with a similar resolution for its newly announced flagship smartphones.

Dropping the resolution to Full HD+ (2220 x 1080 pixels) might decrease the strain on the processor, thereby possibly increasing battery life. However, the screen resolution might change to QHD+ while using the smartphones with the new Gear VR virtual reality headset for sharper visuals.

Of course, you can manually change the screen resolution from the display settings menu to HD+ or QHD+, as per your liking.

 

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The Galaxy S8′s virtual navigation keys can be customized, home key is always on

If past sales are any indication, a few million folks will be buying the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ after the devices go on sale. For many, especially those coming from a Samsung device, will have to get used to the new software navigation keys on the S8/S8+. Samsung has made the home button pressure sensitive to ease the transition for consumers, and it turns out the company has also added the ability to customize the software keys.

Samsung isn’t one to shy away from offering as many customization options as possible, and this applies to the new software keys as well. First, you can set a custom color for the black bar behind the keys. Second, you can switch between right and left placement for the back and overview (recent apps) keys. This will be welcomed by fans of stock Android, which has the back key on the left. Samsung has always kept the back button the right (something we agree with when it comes to one-hand usage), but with the S8 and S8+ having narrow displays, it makes sense for the company to let the user choose based on his/her preference.

Read More: Samsung Galaxy S8+ and Galaxy S8+ hands-on

The home button also gets a few settings to play around with. On the S8 and S8+, the home button is always visible, no matter if you have the Always On Display feature on or not. There is an option that, when enabled, will let you go directly to the home screen (skipping the lock screen) if you hard press the home button when the screen is off. The amount of pressure required for the hard press can also be customized. Want to get the feel of Samsung’s hardware home button? Just set pressure sensitivity to the max!

Samsung has clearly put some thought behind this, and it’s not surprising, as it is a tall order asking millions of consumers to adjust to a new way of using a Galaxy device. Don’t worry about the camera quick launch feature, though: that feature has now been shifted to the power button.

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Samsung posts official hands-on videos of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+

You must have already read a lot about the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ by now and would rather want to see the devices in action. Samsung knows that too which is why the company has posted ten official hands-on videos of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ on its official YouTube channel.

These shorts videos will walk you through some of the biggest changes that Samsung has made with this flagship series. You’ll take a look at the hardware design, user experience design, the artificial intelligence-powered Bixby assistant, the camera, multiple biometric authentication features, Samsung’s Desktop eXperience, Samsung Connect, the Galaxy S8′s Infinity Display and more.

The entire playlist is now up on Samsung’s official YouTube channel but for your convenience, we’ve embedded it down below. Click on the icon in the upper left-hand corner of the video box to open the playlist or just play the first video and let it roll on its own.

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The Galaxy S8 is the first smartphone to feature Bluetooth 5.0

The Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+, which were announced earlier today, are the first commercial smartphones in the world to feature Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity. It’s a huge connectivity upgrade over Galaxy S7 and S7 edge’s Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity. Bluetooth 5.0 offers substantial gains in speed, range, and music quality.

The new version of Bluetooth theoretically offers twice the speed and four times the range. However, that’s not the only new thing in the Galaxy S8 and S8+. These smartphones can also stream audio wirelessly to two Bluetooth speakers or headphones simultaneously, also allowing users to control volume on both the headphones separately.

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Galaxy S8 Mobile HDR Premium certification promises a vivid viewing experience

HDR or High Dynamic Range is all the rage these days, popping up on devices like TVs and gaming consoles. Without getting too technical, HDR basically promises a more vivid viewing experience with colors that pop to provide a more true-to-life experience. You obviously need compatible content and display to take advantage of HDR.

Samsung pointed out during its presentation today that the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ have been awarded the Mobile HDR Premium certification by the UHD alliance. This certification signifies the ability of the Galaxy S8′s impressive Infinity Display to support HDR content.

The company has inked partnerships with the likes of Amazon Video and others to bring their HDR content to its latest flagship device. More information about these content partnerships will be provided once the handset goes on sale next month.

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This is what Bixby can do on the Galaxy S8

Samsung confirmed before it had even unveiled the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ that the upcoming flagship will come with a new artificial intelligence-powered assistant called Bixby. During its presentation today, Samsung provided more details about what Bixby can do on the Galaxy S8.

Samsung claims that Bixby can do almost everything in response to a voice command that the user can do by tapping on the display. That’s a tall claim. So basically, Bixby can help you share information or content inside an app with a friend.

For example, if you’re looking at a photo inside the gallery you can press on the dedicated Bixby button and tell it to “Send this to Cindy.” It will then present you with a list of contacts named Cindy in your phone if there are more than one. Bixby knows when to ask for more information so it will prompt you to tell it which the correct contact is and what service you want to use to share the photo through.

Bixby is also deeply integrated into native apps like the Camera. Bixby understands what the user is seeing in the Camera app so it can provide information about any landmarks, show places to eat and drink around that landmark and enable you to shop online by scanning a barcode.

The assistant is also aware of your needs. Swiping right on the homescreen will bring up the contextual Bixby screen which will display cards similar to what you get in Google Now. It will show cards from gallery, email, and third-party apps like Uber. It will know how to prioritize these cards as well.

For example, if you take an Uber to work every morning, it will eventually learn this habit over time and always place the Uber card at the very top. It’s also integrated with Google Play Music so it can stream songs from that service and even remind you when a new album lands on Google Play Music.

Bixby is only going to get better with time and given that Samsung has already confirmed that third-party developers will eventually be allowed to access Bixby on the Galaxy S8 well, we’ll certainly see a lot of interesting Bixby integrations in the months to come.

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New batteries in Galaxy S8 would degrade less quickly compared to the S7′s

Even though Samsung has increased the screen sizes of the Galaxy S8 and S8+ compared to that of the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, battery capacities haven’t been increased accordingly. Is Samsung too confident in the power efficiency of its new processor and display used in the Galaxy S8? Well, Samsung has an interesting explanation to the questionably small battery capacities inside the Galaxy S8 and S8+.

According to a new report from Android Police, Samsung claims that the new-generation batteries that are used in the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+ would lose substantially less effective capacities over the same amount of time compared to the batteries used in the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge. The company said that a typical year’s worth of usage leaves the Galaxy S7 with just 80% of its original battery capacity. In comparison, the Galaxy S8 would preserve about 95% of its original battery capacity.

Samsung didn’t explain as to how it managed to accomplish this impressive feat, but it could be a combination of new advancements in battery technology and new power management systems that are developed by either Samsung or its partner companies. If you hated how the battery life on a Samsung smartphone degraded over time, the Galaxy S8 and S8+ should do better in that regard, at least as per the company’s claims.

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Galaxy S8 is the first smartphone to achieve gigabit LTE speeds

The Galaxy S8 has the unique distinction of being one of the very first smartphones on the market that’s capable of hitting gigabit LTE speeds. This has been confirmed in a video published online by T-Mobile which shows the Galaxy S8 hitting some enviable LTE speeds, however, the test is being conducted in a lab and isn’t necessarily indicative of real-world conditions.

This isn’t surprising, though, given that it has been known for a while now that Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 processor has the company’s X16 LTE modem that’s theoretically capable of hitting gigabit LTE speeds. Samsung appears to have dibs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 at least for a few months which means that the Galaxy S8 will claim this distinction all to itself until a rival flagship comes out with a Snapdragon 835-powered device.

Samsung’s own Exynos 8895 processor which will be found in some variants of the Galaxy S8 is also capable of hitting gigabit LTE speeds so this isn’t a claim to fame that will be exclusive to the Snapdragon 835-touting variant of the new flagship.

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New Samsung Gear VR with Controller goes on sale in April for $129

At the Mobile World Congress 2017 in Barcelona last month, Samsung unveiled the new Gear VR with Controller. As the name suggests, it comes with a wireless controller. The headset supports both microUSB and USB Type-C ports so it’s compatible with the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S6 series as well as the Galaxy Note 5.

There’s nothing really new about the headset itself aside from some minor tweaks. It’s the wireless controller that demands attention. The controller has a clickable touchpad, volume keys, navigation buttons and a trigger button.

The touchpad makes it very easy to navigate the user interface and interact with VR games and apps. Samsung didn’t really confirm last month when the new headset with controller is going to be released and how much it’s going to cost.

A representative from Oculus, which has partnered with Samsung on the Gear VR, confirmed today that the new Gear VR with Controller is going to be released in April for $129.

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Galaxy S8 April 21 release date confirmed

Samsung today confirmed the official release date of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. The new flagship smartphones have been unveiled today and it goes without saying that many are interested in finding out when they will be able to get their hands on one.

The company has confirmed that the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ will go on sale starting April 21. If history is any indication, this is going to be the release date for markets like South Korea and the United States. It will arrive in other markets later.

Pre-orders should open in the coming days but that’s certainly going to vary by market, carrier and retailer. More information to follow in the coming days.

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Galaxy S8 offers five security features, more than any other device

Samsung has unveiled the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ today, going into the details of all of the new features that the flagship provides. It has officially confirmed today that the Galaxy S8 features an iris scanner which brings yet another way to secure access to the device. It’s interesting to note that the Galaxy S8 offers five security features with which you can protect your device, that’s more than what any other device offers right now.

The first is the iris scanner which creates an eyeprint of the user to control access to the device. Then there’s the fingerprint sensor which now resides at the back of the device. Samsung’s new flagship even has facial recognition which quickly provides access to the device when the user picks up the phone.

It retains the conventional Android security features such as pattern and password which can also be used to control access to the phone. So the Galaxy S8 offers Iris, Face, Fingerprint, Pattern and Password features for access control. That’s impressive, to say the least.

Which one do you prefer the most? Let us know in the comments below. Don’t forget to check out our hands-on of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+.

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Here are more details regarding the Galaxy S8′s camera sensors

The Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus have just been made official, and they bring improvements in quite a few areas, including the display, performance, and connectivity. However, as per the specifications, there doesn’t seem to be a significant upgrade in terms of the rear-facing camera. As opposed to Apple, Huawei, LG, and Honor, Samsung still hasn’t started utilizing dual-camera setups in its smartphones even though the Exynos 8895 processor supports such camera configurations.

The Galaxy S8 duo feature 12-megapixel rear-facing cameras with F1.7 aperture, OIS and Dual Pixel phase-detection autofocus. Even though these specifications appear similar to that of the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, there’s a slight difference. As opposed to last year, System LSI (a Samsung arm) is said to be the sole manufacturer of Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus camera sensors. However, we won’t count on that information just yet. As always, there’s a chance that Samsung might source at least some units from Sony (rumored to be the IMX333).

The 8-megapixel front-facing camera on the new smartphones features autofocus mechanism, a first from Samsung. This 1/3.6-inch camera sensor is being manufactured by System LSI as well, and it has an aperture of F1.7 and QHD video recording abilities. Both cameras can activate the HDR mode whenever necessary, depending upon the lighting conditions. Hopefully, those important selfies would come out much better than the Galaxy S7′s front-facing camera. There’s still no OIS for the front-facing camera, though.

Samsung is claiming that its new phones feature “enhanced image processing” for better images in low-light conditions. There are some new effects, filters, and stickers for a fun camera experience. Whether or not there’s an improvement in the image quality remains to be seen, though. We’ll test the cameras on both these smartphones during our review before commenting on the image quality. We will also try to compare the camera performance of the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S8 in a comparison review.

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Samsung Connect Home is a mesh Wi-Fi router that can also be a SmartThings Hub

Apart from the Galaxy S8 and S8+, Samsung also announced its first mesh Wi-Fi router: Samsung Connect Home. However, we’re talking about Samsung here, which is known to push the boundaries. Samsung Connect Home can also act as a SmartThings Hub, so buyers can use it to control SmartThings-compatible IoT products.

The Connect Home is a small puck that can replace your big and unwieldy Wi-Fi router. Since it’s a mesh Wi-Fi router, you can add more modules as and when necessary and place them in spots where the Wi-Fi signal isn’t strong. Multiple Connect Home modules (each offering an Ethernet in and an Ethernet out ports) work together to create a mesh, which offers a superior and more stable Wi-Fi signal everywhere in your home.

Samsung’s new mesh Wi-Fi router can also act as a SmartThings Hub, so you can control hundreds of smart IoT and connected home products that are compatible with Samsung’s IoT platform. This includes Amazon Echo speakers, Bose speakers, Google Home, Leviton products, Philips Hue platform, sensors from Halo Smart Labs, dozens of Samsung products, and more.

At the press conference today, the South Korean electronics giant showcased how you can use your Galaxy smartphone to see what’s inside your compatible Samsung refrigerator when you’re at a grocery store without a shopping list. In an ideal environment, the company wants you to be able to control all your connected home products through your smartphone and the Connect Home.

The company is selling two variants of Connect Home routers. The normal variant has 2×2 MU-MIMO antenna array, a slower processor, and its maximum theoretical speed is 866Mbps. The Pro variant has 4×4 antenna, a faster processor, and a maximum speed of 1.7Gbps. Both routers also feature Bluetooth 4.1 wireless connectivity in addition to Wi-Fi.

Samsung claims that each individual Connect Home unit can cover an area of up to 1500 square feet, and consumers can buy them individually or in a pack of three. The Pro variant of the Connect Home isn’t being offered in a pack of three right now. Pricing and availability details are scarce, but we will report back as soon as any such information arises.

Image Credits: The Verge

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